I need to mount a grab bar in the bathtub wall. Would like to avoid drilling extra holes in the tile. What’s a good brand of stud finder?
Also any tips on mounting the grab bar?

i have a zircon brand that, surprisingly works well. never tried it through tile though.

I had to find about 70 studs on my new house, four years ago. This detector is batting a thousand. Best I've ever used!

https://franklinsensors.com/prosensor-710-2/

Mine works every time…..

I see it works they are all above you.

Those are ceiling joists, not studs you dummy!

A rare earth magnet works great, it will find sheetrock nails and stick right there.

I ordered the Franklin sensor unit JG suggested. It should be here tomorrow.

Well technically Snake is a human….so there is that.

I know, just trying to have fun

Why did I know this post was coming...

Once you make sure you know where the studs are located, you need to ensure you know where the plumbing is run as well. Found out the hard way one time making a bathroom ADA compliant. Plumbers who don't put in protection plates after they run pipe should be hung by their thumbs.

Good plan, I know where it is due to previous issues.

Also, get plumb bob or a spool of thread and a 1/4" nut.

You walls are likely tile and tile plus cement board is often tough on a stud finder....but the tile rarely goes all the way to the ceiling, especially in newer construction. Find the stuff near the ceiling and then hope it does not have a bad bow in it.

I won’t read through the tile, I’ll take a 16” measurement off the closest stud behind sheetrock.

I clicked on this thread to post "Don't buy SW's brand as it's broken"...he beat me to it

I ended up with a suction cup style grab bar. I’ll try it first, before drilling in the tile. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other opportunities to use the stud finder.

Update, suction cup grab bar doesn’t stick. Will return to Lowe’s and get tile bit and stainless grab bar.

I've done that to my wife so many times, she doesn't even make a disgusted face when I do it anymore. LOL

How about this one

Tried the ProSensor 710+ again over the bathroom tile. It worked this time! Headed to Lowe’s to return suction cup grab bar and pick up tile drill bit. Have a stud in a usable location.

You got me curious about reading thru tile. I just took my Zircon OneStep studsensor i65 and found the studs thru the tile in our shower that we redid in 2017. Good luck.

I have several, but the Franklin 710 was my favorite until it crapped out. I'll probably order another anyway. None of my studfinders, including the 710, work on my bath tile, which has metal lath embedded in cement backing the tile.

BTW, the one that quit on me was 10 years old

I just recently had to buy a stud finder that would read through Hardiplank. The one I bought struggled a bit, but worked. What I could not buy was the cute gal that responded to my request to find their best stud finder by saying “That would be me”. She did not, unfortunately, point at me. Oh well…

I will loan you my wife she found me!

Personally, I wouldn't do it myself on this one. You want someone licensed, insured, and bonded for a safety job that could result in serious injury, or worse, if it fails. I refused to do a shower handrail system for my mother in law for this very reason. Basically, you want someone for the family to blame besides you if something goes south. I wouldn't want to be on that hook. Best of luck.

I'd be very careful installing grab bars directly into studs. Most of them have at least 3 mounting holes and you run the risk of splitting out a stud putting 3 screws in the 1.5" face of a stud. I've installed hundreds of grab bars in ADA compliant restrooms and I always install 2x10 or 2x12 blocking between the studs before my sheetrockers cover up the walls so I have plenty of room to mount and know that I'll be making a solid connection in a strong piece of lumber. I've seen plenty of grab bars that have failed when people tried to skimp on blocking or mount to a stud because they weren't able to get all fasteners secured into that little stud. When a person falls and really uses a grab bar, it needs to be strong and properly secured. Just my .02.