Can you get access from the other side of the wall? Vinyl siding unzips very easily.

This is an interior room, no outside walls. And if it was an outside wall there would be brick to tear out. What is the best that we can do?

If you've got your heart set on blocking, unzip the drywall in the other rooms, install the blocking, patch and paint.

What Joseph said. Drywall is an easy fix. And you wanted to repaint that room anyway, right?

HC bars are set at 34 to 36 inches above finished floor height

Don't have my heart set on blocking now that it's too late. No, didn't want to repaint that room(s) anyway. Not going to rip anything out. What can we do with what we've got...hardibacker is up.

Wingits Maybe someone here has experience with these in their grab bar models and can comment?

i used some 300lb rated Wingits (4 total) to hang a shelf in my kitchen recently. First experience with them, I wanted to try something that looked stronger than the Molly bolts and drywall anchors I have used.

Those things are -solid-. I bought two more for a coat hook bar, and plan on replacing the drywall anchors on my other shelf eventually (one side is on a stud so it's fairly stable, I just hate the little wiggle in the anchor side).

Their grab bar products look promising. If I couldn't/won't open a wall for bracing, this would be my first choice to try next.

This is the generic multi-purpose model I used. Says you can mount bath accessories, might be an option if the grab bar models don't work (not sure if you -have- to use their grab bars or can use any bar) Basic multipurpose model

grab bars must be screwed into blocking.

Thanks williamsen. I'll check to see if they can be used with the Delta grab bars I'd like to use

Am I missing something? Is there a reason you can't screw into the wall studs?

Yes, that is what we did - into the studs.

You'll only hit two of the three escutcheon holes if you attach to studs and will probably have to angle the bar to hit the studs.

I've wondered all along why you couldn't anchor them into the studs.

Sometimes the easy way actually works!

You can't anchor into a single stud because the diameter of the bar is so wide that all 3 screws (at each end of the bar) won't go into a 1.5" 2x4. Our bath had another wall T into the shower wall, so there were 2- 2x4s next to each other. We used that.

The T-wall

The double stud on bath sideInstalled grab barWe worried that the bar wouldn't be in a really useful place, but it turns out to be excellent for steadied entry and exit. (I got really sick shortly after this bathroom was finished and actually needed that bar for a couple of weeks, so got to test it out. With any luck, I won't need it again for another 20 years.)