Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Replacement towel bars for ceramic towel bar holders — our research — 3 sources

replacement-towel-barsWhere to turn when the towel bar that hangs between built-in ceramic tile towel bar holders breaks? Luckily, with the help of reader Kathy, we’ve found three sources for trim-to-fit, spring-loaded replacement towel bars — including a “hack” to use a chrome bar, rather than the off-the-shelf plastic solutions. No need to touch those vintage tiled-in towel bar ends! 

Reader Kathy wanted to help a friend repair her original 1934 bathrooms. In her search, she found two sources for spring-loaded replacement towel bars that can be cut-to-fit.

replacement towel bar1. Lenape Re-Place-A-Bar via distributor Eclectic-ware

First Kathy wrote:

I found a website that carries replacement white and clear plastic spring-loaded 3/4″ square towel bars to fit old ceramic towel bar holders!

Eclectic-ware has a wealth of information on the size, installation and modifications you can do using their spring-loaded replacement towel bars. The bars are available in white or clear in 12″, 24″ or 36″ lengths that can be trimmed-to-fi. Prices range from $11-$13 each.

replacement-towel-bar-retro2. Adjustable plastic towel bars via Amazon

Amazon has a few options for spring-loaded replacement towel bars in white or clear from Ez-Flo, Moen and Franklin Hardware. The bars are available in sizes from 24″ – 36″ and range in price from $5-$15 including shipping — comparable in price to the Lenape models from Eclectic-ware.

Important hack idea: Use the spring-load ends on a chrome towel bar to avoid a plastic bar:

Interestingly enough, Kathy also wondered:

I’m wondering if those spring-loaded plastic ends from Eclectic-ware/Lanape could be retrofitted into a a square metal replacement bar, or with scavenged for parts from a cheap modern towel bar.

replacement-chrome-towel-barYup! Ez-Flow has a 36″ chrome, square towel bar that could fit the bill — and their spring loaded ends are available separately. This way you could make your own chrome, spring-loaded towel bar replacement without having extra parts from cannibalized sets left lying around.

replacement-towel-bar3. Big box home improvement and hardware stores

I also found that replacement bars can be found at local brick and mortar stores like Lowe’s, Home Depot and Ace Hardware:

Mega thanks to reader Kathy for pointing out the availability of these replacement towel bars!

The post Replacement towel bars for ceramic towel bar holders — our research — 3 sources appeared first on Retro Renovation.

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