Recovering from surgery

Grab bars after surgery: get the home ready before you come home

The first night home after a hip or knee replacement is not the time to find out there's nothing to hold next to the toilet. Sitting down, standing up, stepping into the shower, and getting out of bed all get harder for a while after surgery. Grab bars put a solid handhold at each of those spots, and the best time to install them is before you go in. We install them for $185 per bar.

Your care team comes first

We install grab bars; we don't give medical advice. Your surgeon, physical therapist (PT), or occupational therapist (OT) knows your surgery, your movement limits, and what you'll be able to do in the first weeks. Follow their instructions. If they give you a list of where you'll need support, or tell you which side to lead with, send it to us with your estimate request and we'll plan every bar around it.

Not sure yet? Ask at your pre-op appointment where you'll need something to hold at home. It's a common question, and the answer makes our job, and your recovery at home, simpler.

Timing: book before the surgery date

1. As soon as there's a date

   Call or text (321) 204-8477, or use the free estimate form. Tell us the surgery date, the expected discharge date if you know it, and which spots worry you.

2. Send photos

   A photo of the toilet area, the shower or tub, and any entry steps helps us plan and price the job before we arrive.

3. Install before you go in

   We schedule Monday through Saturday, 7 AM to 5 PM. Getting the bars in before surgery means you can try each one while you're moving normally, and nothing is left for the day you come home.

4. Already home, or the surgery was sudden?

   Call us anyway. Tell us the situation and we'll find the soonest time we can.

Where bars usually go for a surgery homecoming

Every recovery is different, so start with what your care team tells you. These are the spots people most often ask us about:

Beside the toilet

Usually the first priority. Sitting down and standing up from a toilet takes leg strength you may not have for a while. A bar on the side wall, or behind the toilet if there's no side wall, lets your arms help. If your care team has you using a raised seat or a toilet frame, tell us so the bar goes where it works with it. More on toilet grab bars.

At the shower entry

Stepping over a shower curb or track is a balance moment even before surgery. A bar right at the opening gives you a hold before your foot leaves the dry floor. If you'll be using a shower chair, a bar within reach of the seat helps too. More on shower grab bars.

At the tub

If a tub-shower is your only option, ask your care team how and when they want you to use it, especially if they recommend a tub transfer bench. Bars at the entry end and on the back wall give you something solid during the transfer. More on bathtub grab bars.

Beside the bed

Getting out of bed is the first move of every day. If the side you get out on is next to a wall, a bar where your hand lands helps you go from sitting to standing. More on bedside grab bars.

Entry steps and the garage step

The first thing you face coming home from the hospital is the step into the house. A bar beside the door, at the front entry or the garage step, gives you a grip for that first step and for every follow-up appointment after it. More on entry and stair grab bars.

Placing bars for how you'll move after surgery

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. Before a surgery, that walk-through also covers what will change: which leg is having surgery, whether you'll be on a walker for a while, and which hand will be free. The ADA guidelines put grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor (section 609.4), and we use that as the starting point, then adjust for you.

If you can't be home for the walk-through, a family member can stand in. Tell us your height and anything your care team said, and we'll plan with them.

Families can book it

You can book for a parent, a spouse, or anyone else, even from out of town, and we keep you in the loop from estimate to install. Our guide for families booking for a parent walks through how that works.

What's behind the wall

The age of the home matters as much as the wall finish. An older home may have plaster, block, or tile on a mortar bed; a newer one is more likely drywall on wood studs, tile over backer board, or a fiberglass surround. A wall that has been remodeled can be any mix of these, so we look before we drill.

• 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.
• Tile over backer board: most tiled showers and tub walls. We drill the tile carefully so it doesn't crack and anchor through the backer board into what's behind it. Older tile is sometimes set on a thick mortar bed, which is harder to drill but very solid.
• Fiberglass and acrylic surrounds: a thin shell, often with an air gap behind it. The anchor has to grip from behind the shell, not just the surface.
• 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.

Where there's a stud or solid backing in the right spot, we fasten into it. Where there isn't, 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, so a bar can go exactly where it's needed even without a stud. If we ever use a different fastener, it's comparable or better. If we find a wall problem that was already there, like soft drywall or damage behind tile, we'll show you before we drill, so there are no surprises the week of your surgery.

Our work, honestly

Our team has installed 178 grab bars in 73 home jobs since January 2024, first as HandyMangum and now as Grab Bar Heroes. Here's the kind of work a homecoming usually calls for: one home accessibility job put a bar beside each of the home's two toilets and two bars in the main shower, and homeowners have had grab bars installed on the same visit as a new toilet.

What it costs

$185 per grab bar, installed. A common surgery setup, a bar beside the toilet, one at the shower entry, and one beside the bed, is $555 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.

Every job comes with an itemized invoice listing each bar, where it was installed, and the cost, for HSA or FSA claims and other paperwork. We can't promise that a plan, grant, or program will approve a claim. Your plan may also ask for a letter of medical necessity from your doctor, so check with your plan administrator before you pay. See full pricing.

Warranty

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. By the one-year visit, most people are moving very differently than they were the week after surgery, so it's a good time to see whether a bar should be added or a spot rethought.

Grab bars after surgery: questions

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