Asked on Sep 17, 2020

How to fix a big screw hole to reinstall towel bar ?

Deepee
by Deepee

Hello friends,

My towel bar was loosen up. I can see the screw holes got bigger and unable to put the drywall anchor now. Any idea to fix these holes in the wall?


Picture is attached. Thank you in advance. :-)

  23 answers
  • Karolyn Slader Karolyn Slader on Sep 17, 2020

    Cut a square out and put a piece of square drywall to match . Tape with mesh tape and put wall repair on a little at a time . If you put too much then you will need to use a hand wall sander. Then paint.

  • 17335038 17335038 on Sep 17, 2020

    Using a stud finder is a more reliable way than looking at a wall, or knocking on it, to determine where the studs inside a wall are located.

  • Kat Kat on Sep 17, 2020

    few ideas that may help..

    If you are re-installing the same towel rack in the same place (ex: after painting) then you can use anchors in the wall and use the same screws to attach.

    If you are planning to cover it up, then you can repair with a quick dry spackle and wall tape, sand, and then paint.


  • Cindy Cindy on Sep 17, 2020

    Hi Deepee. Put a little spackle in each hole. Allow it to dry completely according to instructions. Then sand it so that it is smooth. Wipe all of the sanding dust off with a damp cloth. And then you can paint with color of your choice. Good luck Deepee. I hope you are well.

  • Rosemary Rosemary on Sep 18, 2020

    In my daughter's home, there are pieces of wood behind every location where the towel bar or toilet paper holder are attached to the wall. These provide the necessaty and crucial stability, regardless of the condition of the wall. These pieces of wood could be painted, stained or designed to appear to be part of the towel bar. or part of the wall and mimic the shape of the bar that attaches to the wall. Just a thought and a possible solution. Good luck!🤞

  • Tom Stuart Tom Stuart on Sep 18, 2020

    This is a simple fix. Take your towel bar to the hardware store and get the proper size molly bolt. You can tap these in place with a hammer then attach the bar to them.


    If this was a grab bar for safety it would need to go into a stud. Towel bars are normally placed where they look good. People usually don’t hang on their towel bars but they can loosen after a while.

  • 17335038 17335038 on Sep 18, 2020

    Putting small wall decals over/around the holes may be an option for a temporary way of disguising them.

  • Can you not use bigger screws

    • See 3 previous
    • 17335038 17335038 on Sep 21, 2020

      No, trying to use bigger screws will not only be ineffective, it will likely also cause more damage to the existing holes. As there is no longer sufficient backing in the hole for any screw to affix to, the answer is, as others have already mentioned, to use drywall anchors.



  • K. Rupp K. Rupp on Sep 18, 2020

    You will have to fix those screw holes first before putting another one on. Yes I agree with Karolyn's answer. Cut a square out of the wall that incorporates those 2 holes. You can cut a square of drywall to fit right into your hole and then use spackle tape. If the holes aren't that big and the square isn't that big, you can use a mesh tape to put right over your square. Then spackle right over that. But just like Karolyn said, a little at a time...sanding in between. After you sand, prime and paint, then you will want to use a stud finder and put your towel rack into that.


    If there isn't a stud where you need to put it, the key is buying a different set of screws than what comes in the towel rack kit. The screws that come with these kits are cheap set of anchors and screws that don't work well and always come loose. You want to buy good drywall screws! This prevents the same problem you had the first time.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQWIZNlf9ZE

  • Kathy Gunter Law Kathy Gunter Law on Sep 18, 2020

    To piggy back off K. Rupp's solution, you appear to have textured walls. Check out the spray cans of "orange peel" or similar in the paint section to try and match the texture you have on the wall now.

  • Dee Dee on Sep 18, 2020

    First sand the area down even. Then apply fiberglass mesh tape for drywall. Home depot sells it. Then fill the area with either drywall mud or use Dap Drydex spackle. Over fill then sand down with a sanding sponge. Then paint


  • GrandmasHouseDIY GrandmasHouseDIY on Sep 18, 2020

    Bigger sheetrock anchors :) They make them pretty much as big as you could ever need. I would check your local hardware store.

  • Lauren of Mom Home Guide Lauren of Mom Home Guide on Sep 19, 2020

    We had a towel rod that came down and left big holes in the wall. First spackle and sand the walls to fix the holes. We painted a piece of wood white. We hung a length of wood by screwing it into the studs behind the drywall. Hanging the wood gave a secure space to hang the towel rod, since there aren’t studs in that spot. Then we hung the towel rod from the length of wood.

  • Lauren of Mom Home Guide Lauren of Mom Home Guide on Sep 19, 2020

    This is a photo of our towel rod.

    • 17335038 17335038 on Sep 21, 2020

      Yes, this is a sensible solution to the dilemma that unfortunately, it is almost impossible to repair holes in textured walls so that they are invisible.


      If you can't beat them, then join them.

      If you can't join them, then cover them.

  • Jeremy Hoffpauir Jeremy Hoffpauir on Sep 19, 2020

    Definitely bigger and better anchors with wings that expand on the other side of the wall. I use these and they work great: https://amzn.to/2FM7g1j


    Hope this Helps! Jeremy - https://do-daddy.com

  • Ken Erickson Ken Erickson on Sep 19, 2020

    I would patch with joint compound and maybe move the bar slightly to get new holes. Stop doing pull ups on the towel bar.

  • Johnavallance82 Johnavallance82 on Sep 20, 2020

    Hi Deepee,

    I would suggest you buy a new and different fix Towel Rail (one that will cover the old fixings or put a shelf up to cover the holes, or maybe as the Rail came out buy a FREE STANDING Towel bar. Best wishes.

  • Morgan McBride Morgan McBride on Sep 20, 2020

    You'll need to patch, sand, and paint

  • William William on Sep 21, 2020

    Use toggle bolts in the same holes to remount the towel bar.

  • 17335038 17335038 on Sep 22, 2020

    For anyone who is not as familiar with some of the terms mentioned in this thread, here is a good video demonstrating the differences between toggle bolts, molly bolts, and anchors.


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkcQr1lFU5M

  • Maura White Maura White on Sep 22, 2020

    You will need to fill the holes with wood filler and sand them down when dry. Then you'll need to paint over the area so it matches the rest of the wall. Next time you install a new towel bar - find a stud to screw it into if you can so this doesn't keep happening to the drywall.


  • Agnes Chrzanowska Agnes Chrzanowska on Sep 30, 2020

    Wood sparkle for sure will help with correcting a hole