Towel Bar & Toilet Paper Holder Height Calculator

The short answer

Center the toilet paper holder 26 in above the floor and 8 to 12 in in front of the edge of the toilet bowl, as NKBA’s bathroom planning guidelines advise.

Towel bars, rings and hooks have no set height: NKBA only asks for towel holders near the fixtures, and the makers’ guides we read leave the height to you. So work it out from the towel. A bath towel folded over a bar hangs about half its length, 29 in for one 58 in long, so the bar goes at least 33 in up to stop 4 in above the floor. On a hook, a towel or robe hangs its full length.

For someone in a wheelchair, the 2010 ADA Standards keep hooks and the things you reach 15 to 48 in above the floor, and grab bars 33 to 36 in up.

How to use the calculator

1. Pick what you’re hanging: a towel bar, a towel ring, a hook or the toilet paper holder.
2. Pick the towel or robe it holds, or enter your own towel’s size. Measure the long side, or a robe from the collar to the hem.
3. Measure what’s under it. Leave 0 for the floor. Over a vanity, a toilet tank or a tub, enter the height of its top.
4. Choose the space under the towel, how far above the floor or fixture it should stop. The calculator starts at 4 in.
5. For a bar, choose the fold and the number of towels to see the bar length they need.
6. Tick the wheelchair box if someone in a wheelchair will use it.

The result gives the lowest height for the bar, the bottom of the ring or the hook, with a drawing of the towel hanging, and the reach range from a wheelchair. Use Copy link to keep your numbers for the hardware store.

Towel bar and hook heights by towel size

The lowest height over the floor for each towel, with 4 in of space under it:

Each towel uses the longest size in the makers’ size guides: bath towels run 56 to 58 in long, bath sheets 65 to 70 in and robes 44.5 to 48.5 in. A bar or ring higher than the table is fine as long as you can reach it; over a vanity or a toilet tank, add its height or use the calculator.

What the standards say

Where NKBA’s bathroom guidelines, the 2010 ADA Standards and a towel bar maker give a number:

The 2010 ADA Standards are written for public places and government buildings, under Titles II and III of the ADA, not for private homes. In your own bathroom, they’re a guide for anyone who uses a wheelchair.

How we calculate

1. Towel sizes. Brooklinen’s and Parachute’s size guides both list hand towels at 20 × 30 in. Bath towels are 30 × 56 in at Parachute and 30 × 58 in at Brooklinen, bath sheets 40 × 65 in at Brooklinen and 40 × 70 in at Parachute, and Parachute’s robes run 44.5 to 48.5 in long from XS to 3X. The presets use the longest of each, so a shorter towel only gets more room.
2. How it hangs. Folded over a bar or ring, a towel hangs half its length below it (we leave out the bar’s thickness). On a hook, a towel hung by its loop or a robe by its collar hangs its full length. A towel hung by a corner hangs lower.
3. The lowest height. What’s under it, plus how far the towel hangs, plus the space you choose under it. For a ring, that’s the height of the ring’s bottom, where the towel rests.
4. The reach range. The 2010 ADA Standards put the high reach for someone in a wheelchair at 48 in and the low reach at 15 in (308.2.1, 308.3.1), or 44 in reaching over a counter deeper than 20 in (308.2.2). Coat hooks go within those ranges (603.4), and NKBA’s access standard puts bathroom accessories 15 to 48 in above the floor.
5. The bar length. The towel’s width divided by the fold, times the number of towels side by side, on the shortest of the bar lengths in Kohler’s installation guide (18, 24 and 30 in) that holds them.
6. The toilet paper holder. NKBA guideline 23: centered 26 in above the floor, 8 to 12 in in front of the edge of the bowl. With the wheelchair box ticked, ADA 604.7: the centerline 7 to 9 in in front of the toilet, the outlet 15 to 48 in above the floor and never behind a grab bar.

Worked examples

Example: A towel bar for one bath towel

What we know

• Hanging: Towel bar
• Bath towel: 30 × 58 in
• Under it: the floor
• Space under the towel: 4 in
• One towel, folded in thirds

How it works out

1. A 30 × 58 in bath towel folded over the bar hangs 29 in below it. To stop 4 in above the floor, put the bar at least 33 in above the floor.
2. Anywhere from 33 in to 48 in works for everyone in the home: the 2010 ADA Standards keep what a wheelchair user reaches 15 to 48 in above the floor.
3. Folded lengthwise in thirds, the towel is 10 in wide, so it fits an 18 in bar.
4. A towel bar isn't a grab bar and isn't made to hold your weight. Grab bars go 33 to 36 in above the floor, to the top of the bar, in the 2010 ADA Standards.

Put the bar at least 33 in above the floor.

Example: Two bath towels on a bar over the toilet

What we know

• Hanging: Towel bar
• Bath towel: 30 × 58 in
• Under it: 30 in up
• Space under the towel: 4 in
• Two towels, folded in thirds

How it works out

1. A 30 × 58 in bath towel folded over the bar hangs 29 in below it. To stop 4 in above what's under it, 30 in up, put the bar at least 63 in above the floor.
2. That's above 48 in, the top of the reach range in the 2010 ADA Standards, so someone in a wheelchair may not reach it.
3. Folded lengthwise in thirds, the towel is 10 in wide; two side by side need 20 in, so use a 24 in bar.
4. A towel bar isn't a grab bar and isn't made to hold your weight. Grab bars go 33 to 36 in above the floor, to the top of the bar, in the 2010 ADA Standards.

Put the bar at least 63 in above the floor.

Example: A hand towel ring above the vanity

What we know

• Hanging: Towel ring
• Hand towel: 20 × 30 in
• Under it: 34 in up
• Space under the towel: 4 in

How it works out

1. A 20 × 30 in hand towel folded over the ring hangs 15 in below it. To stop 4 in above what's under it, 34 in up, put the bottom of the ring at least 53 in above the floor.
2. That's above 48 in, the top of the reach range in the 2010 ADA Standards, so someone in a wheelchair may not reach it.

Put the bottom of the ring at least 53 in above the floor.

Example: A hook for a bathrobe

What we know

• Hanging: Hook
• Bathrobe: 48.5 in long
• Under it: the floor
• Space under the towel: 4 in

How it works out

1. A bathrobe 48.5 in long hung by its loop hangs its full length, 48.5 in. To stop 4 in above the floor, put the hook at least 52.5 in above the floor.
2. That's above 48 in, the top of the reach range in the 2010 ADA Standards, so someone in a wheelchair may not reach it. Folded over a bar instead, the same robe needs only 28.3 in.

Put the hook at least 52.5 in above the floor.

Example: Where to put the toilet paper holder

What we know

• Hanging: Toilet paper holder

How it works out

1. NKBA's bathroom planning guidelines center the holder 26 in above the floor, 8 to 12 in in front of the edge of the toilet bowl.

Center it 26 in up, 8 to 12 in in front of the bowl.

Before you drill in a rental

• Ask first. A towel bar, ring, hook or toilet paper holder screws into the wall. Get your landlord’s OK in writing, and ask whether they want the holes filled at move-out.
• Find a stud or use the anchors. Kohler’s guide says a bar mounted to a stud gives the best results, and shows how to set wall anchors where there’s no stud.
• Never use it as a grab bar. Kohler’s guide warns that its towel bars are “not designed or intended for use as a grab bar or support bar.” If someone needs support, ask your landlord about a grab bar rated for it.
• Mark the wall with the towel in hand. Hold the folded towel where the bar will go and check the bottom edge before you drill.
• Check the floor plan too. The small bathroom layout calculator checks the toilet’s side room and the walkway against the code minimums and NKBA’s guidelines, and shows where a cabinet fits.
• Skip the drill if you can’t get permission. An over-the-door rack, a freestanding towel or toilet paper stand, or adhesive hooks made for bathrooms (follow the weight limit and wait time on the package) hang towels without holes. The over-the-door organizer guide compares door racks, and the over-the-toilet storage guide covers racks above the tank.

Changing the vanity’s knobs and pulls too? The cabinet hardware calculator finds sizes that fit the screw holes already there.

Why this gets a High deposit risk

New holes in a wall, and especially in tile, are a permanent change, and many leases need your landlord’s OK for them. Hanging a new bar on the old holes, or choosing a no-drill option, keeps it reversible. The bar itself goes with you when you move.