Today I installed an L-shaped shower curtain rod in the boys bathroom. Because we have a cap cod style second floor, the full bath in the boys bathroom has a slanted ceiling. Thus I can’t install a straight shower curtain rod.
We purchased our Barclay L-Shaped Shower Curtain Rod on Amazon.com
Below is the step by step pics for our install. It was fairly easy and the shower curtain rod is rock solid. I wouldn’t do pull ups on it but it will be fine for a bathroom shower curtain. Tool wise I used a drill, laser level, pencil, masking tape, and I got a cool package of wall anchors from Lowes. The Cobra brand anchors included a 5/16″ drill bit that was designed to go through ceramic tiles. I did check YouTube to make sure I knew how to drill though tile. Some of my holes were close to the edge of the tiles but I can safely report that none of the tiles broke thank god. Masking tape is the key to starting the drill holes…yay for YouTube.
Before I get to the pics and install notes, I did use stone sealer on the cement counter in the half bath. Regular hand soap was leaving rings in the counter. Turns out I couldn’t really wash out the rings, so after using the sealer the rings are a permanent fixture of the counter. I wish I’d known about this before we started using the counters or our fabricator would have sealed the cement countertop. I also used the sealer on the marble tops on our Kohlers bath cabinets in the master suite as well.
Ok, onto the shower curtain rod install. Some other notes, I caulked the drill holes before installing the anchors, then caulked again after the anchors where in. I also caulked the brackets as best I can. All this caulking will help eliminate air and water penetration into the wall cavities behind the shower. Also the shower rod comes with an 18″ support rod that you’d normally mount to the ceiling in the corner of the “L”. In our case we have our 12/12 ceiling at the far end of the “L”. I actually cut down that rod, well into the threads and essentially only had one inch of the 18″ rod left that I needed. It worked out fine but was probably an extreme situation.
Overall the shower rod was rock solid and the install was fairly easy, though it did take me over an hour….I was taking my time.
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- Masking tape allows drill bit to “bite” a little so you can get started drilling into ceramic tile. I used a laser level across both walls to assure brackets are in right place.
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- I caulked before and after putting anchors in to keep air and water out from behind the shower wall.
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- I mounted the brackets using the screws included going into my purchased anchors, once again caulk everywhere. All my holes lined up but one force the screw to go in at an angle. I took my time and mounted the screws using a hand screwdriver. I did not over tighten, just worried bout the tile breaking.
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- This is the other bracket mounted normally. You’ll noticed the first one I mounted at a 45 degree angle.
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- The straight tube is easily cut by hand by a hack saw. I measured to the center of the bracket on the wall, then I screwed together the two tube pieces to create the “L” shower curtain rod. I then butted the assemply against the wall…measuring along the straight tube, wrapping it in tape and marking where I needed to cut it for length. The tube is one inch in diameter so I accounted for that as well by adding a half inch to my measurement. I ran both tubes well into each bracket length wise.
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- I sized up the support rod by assembling it and seeing where it hits the tube, represented by the projection on the bracket. In this case I’m cutting most of the 18″ rod off, leaving only about an inch left over. Once again, it was easy to cut this by hand with a hack saw.
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- Here I’m lining up where I want the support. It’s about 16″ from the side wall.
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- the three components that make up the support assemply. Rod in the middle is normaly upto 18″ long.
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- Fasten support using two screws and caulk to keep water out.
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- Support assembled and ready for shower rod.
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- I then inserted the “L” part of the shower rod, then the straight section of the rod. The two are then hand screwed together easily. Finally tighten all the set screws and hang the shower curtain.
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- Fin.
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- Dyson hand held vac rules for cleaning up after “honey do” chores around the house.
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- Soap stains on our cement counters. Oh well, I’m tired of fighting life. Life wins.
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- These wall anchors worked great plus the came with their own tile drilling drill bit
Much obliged. Getting ready to do this today.
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Good luck, it’s a fun project! This is my most popular post by far, the world over. Post up a picture (I think you can do that) when you’re done!
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Can you tell me where I can find the curtain rod hangers you used? I have the same kind but they both cracked after 40 years. I can’t find them anywhere local. I want to be able to use the original holes.
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Everything I used can be found in the article above, click on the blue words to be linked to Amazon and Lowes. I forget where the curtain is from, but the rings used to hang the curtain are from Pottery Barn I think, or Bed Bath and Beyond. The L shaped rod is from Amazon.com, and the wall anchors are from Lowe’s.
Does this answer your question?
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