Entry & stair grab bars

Grab bars at entry steps, doorways, and short stairs

A single step at the front door can be harder than a whole staircase, because there's often nothing to hold. You're carrying keys or groceries, the door is swinging, and the step down is onto concrete. A grab bar right where you take that step gives you a steady grip. We install them for $185 per bar, inside or out.

Who an entry grab bar helps

Anyone who pauses at the door before stepping up or down, uses a cane, or now reaches for the door frame or the storm door handle to steady themselves. Entry bars matter most for older adults who still come and go on their own, for someone home from surgery who has to manage the front step to get to appointments, and for visitors who don't know your steps.

Where entry and step bars go

Beside the door

The most common spot is a vertical bar on the wall next to the door frame, on the side that doesn't block the door as it swings. You hold it while you open the door and step through, at whatever height your hand is.

At a single step or threshold

For a step up into the house, a sunken living room, or a raised threshold, a bar on the nearest wall gives you something to push and pull against as you shift your weight from one level to the other.

At a short run of steps

For two or three porch or patio steps next to a wall, an angled or horizontal bar along the steps gives your hand a hold the whole way. A long staircase is different: the ADA guidelines call for a continuous handrail on both sides of a stair, 34 to 38 inches above the stair nosings, with 1 1/2 inches of finger space (sections 505.2 to 505.5). For a full flight, a grab bar isn't the right tool, and we'll tell you so.

Outdoor bars and Florida walls

Many Central Florida homes are concrete block finished with stucco on the outside, and the wall beside an inside step can be anything. Each calls for its own method:

• Stucco outside: usually over concrete block or wood framing. We find out which before we choose the anchor, and seal the mount so rain stays out.
• Concrete block: common in Central Florida, inside and out. We check it before we drill, because the hollow cells inside the block matter.
• Drywall on wood studs: most newer homes. Drywall alone won't hold a bar, so the stud layout decides where a bar can fasten directly.
• Plaster (older homes): plaster over wood lath or block is hard, can crack if drilled carelessly, and can hide old repairs, so we check it before we drill.

On a hollow inside wall with no stud where the bar belongs, we use commercial-grade grab bar fasteners, rated by the maker for up to 600 lbs in drywall with tile and made to exceed building codes and ADA guidelines. If we ever use a different fastener, it's comparable or better. Wood-framed walls, siding, and brick each need their own method too. Outdoors, the mount also has to keep rain out of the wall, so we seal it.

Outside, choose a bar made for it. Solid stainless steel holds up to Florida rain and humidity; a plated or painted bar can chip and rust. If you'd like us to supply the bar, we'll pick one that suits an outdoor wall. Our guide to good and bad grab bars explains what to look for.

Our entry and step work, honestly

Our team has installed grab bars across Central Florida, first as HandyMangum and now as Grab Bar Heroes. Tell us about your door or steps, ideally with a photo, and we'll tell you what will help.

What an entry grab bar costs

$185 per grab bar, installed, inside or outside. A bar at the front door and one at the back step is $370 in labor.

• Included: installing each grab bar, with all mounting hardware and heavy-duty anchors rated for the bar
• Included: a placement walk-through before we drill, from techs who know the ADA guidelines
• Included: a lifetime workmanship warranty and a free one-year check-up
• Included: an itemized invoice listing each bar, where it went, and the cost, for HSA/FSA, VA, or Medicaid paperwork
• Most home grab bars in Florida are sales-tax free (bars $100 or less).
• Not included: the grab bar itself. Bring your own, or we can supply one at extra cost.

See full pricing or get a free estimate.

Walk-through and warranty

Before we drill, your tech walks through each spot with you: who will use the bar, which hand they lead with, and where their hand naturally goes. We hold the bar up to the wall, adjust, and mark it only once you're happy with it. At a door, we'll have the person step in and out the way they do every day, carrying what they usually carry.

Every bar we install comes with our lifetime workmanship warranty for as long as you own your home or building: if a bar loosens because of how we installed it, we fix it free. The bar itself is covered by its maker's warranty, and damage, misuse, and wall problems that were already there aren't covered. We also come back for a free inspection at one year.

Entry and stair grab bar questions

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