What is a slide bar in a shower and who needs one?

A shower slide bar is a wall-mounted bar with a holder that slides up and down, so a hand shower can be parked at any height between seated level and standing level. The Ella slide bar kit is a 24-inch wall-mounted bar with a sliding holder, a 5-foot hand shower hose and a coupling kit, and it suits anyone who wants the hand shower within reach without holding it the whole time. It is a holder, not a support bar, and that distinction is explained in Should I choose a shower slide bar or a grab bar?

What a Slide Bar Is, Piece by Piece

The name describes the whole idea. A straight bar is fixed to the wall, and a holder rides along it, so the hand shower can sit wherever is comfortable for the person bathing today. On the Ella kit, each part has a clear job:

• The bar. A 24-inch wall-mounted bar, held by a lower and an upper bracket. Each bracket is finished with a chrome cover that slides over it.
• The slider. A short piece, about three inches long, that rides up and down the bar and locks at the height you choose. It holds by tension.
• The cradle. Attached to the slider, it rotates to angle the hand shower. The installation video shows the holder adjusting in height and pivoting from side to side.
• The 5-foot hose. A longer hand shower hose, so the hand shower can reach the bar on the wall without being stretched.
• The coupling kit. The coupling seals the hand shower connection, which is why the kit is also called a leak elimination kit.

The slide bar is an accessory, not part of the 5-piece fast-fill faucet. On the 5-piece faucet as it ships, the hand shower and its hose sit inside the tub, pushed into the deck holder. Adding the bar gives you a second place to park the hand shower, this time on the wall and at the height you pick.

Who Needs a Slide Bar, and Who Does Not

The slide bar solves one specific problem: the hand shower is only useful while someone is holding it, unless there is somewhere to park it at the right height. Once the bar is up, you can hang the hand shower at standing height for a rinse or at seated height for hands-free use. It is a good fit in these situations:

• You bathe or shower seated and want water on you while both hands are free.
• Different people use the same tub, one standing for a quick rinse and another seated, and each wants the hand shower at their own height.
• Your bathroom is already finished. Because the bar attaches to the wall and uses the hand shower you already have, it can be added on installation day or long afterward, as Can I Add a Hand Shower Slide Bar or Rain Shower Column After My Tub Is Installed? explains.
• You are planning an Ella shower kit and want a hand shower in it. A shower kit does not include a hand shower or a slide bar, so that hardware is chosen with your plumber when the valve is selected, and the wall openings can be planned at the same time. What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit lists what is and is not in the carton.

Some bathers do not need to add one. The Ella waterfall wall-mount faucet already includes a 24 inch slider bar with its hand shower, so there is nothing to add with that faucet. And if what you really need is something to hold while stepping in, sitting down or standing up, that is a grab bar, mounted into reinforced backing by your installer, not a slide bar.

How the Slide Bar Compares with the Other Showering Options

What the differences mean for you: the slide bar is the only option on this list that can go into a finished bathroom with no access behind the tub, because everything it needs is on the wall side. The rain shower column is connected behind the tub, so on a finished and enclosed installation it can be added only where there is still access to the back of the tub. The grab bar does a different job altogether, so most bathrooms that need support end up with both a slide bar and grab bars, planned together.

What the Installation Video Shows

The video on this page, Installing the Wall Mounted Sliding Shower Column, walks through the whole job on a finished wall. In order, it shows:

1. Choosing where the bar will go and finding level.
2. Marking and drilling the hole for the lower bracket, tapping the anchor in gently until it is flush, and tightening the shorter screw securely to the wall.
3. Sliding the chrome cover over the bracket, then placing the bar into the lower bracket.
4. Placing the hand shower holder onto the bar, and then the upper bracket, before anything is secured at the top. The holder cannot go on afterward.
5. Marking, drilling and anchoring the upper position. The longer upper screw passes through the hole provided in the bar, and the second chrome cover slides on.
6. Removing the hand shower, attaching the coupler and tightening it, then attaching the extension line hand tight and feeding the excess line into the receptacle.
7. Reattaching the hand shower and placing it in the holder.

The video also shows why the coupler and extension matter. The rubber washer in the coupler creates a waterproof seal at the receptacle, and the video demonstrates that overextending the hand shower without the extension and the coupler creates a leak hazard. If you plan to reach the hand shower up to a wall bar, use the hose and coupling that come in the kit rather than stretching the original hose.

What a Slide Bar Is Not, and How to Look After It

The slider holds by tension, and that tells you what the bar is built to carry: a hand shower, not a person. Never lean on it or pull on it for balance. Over time a worn slider can creep down the bar under the weight of the hand shower. Tightening usually helps for a short while, but once the slider is worn it will not hold, and the lasting fix is a replacement holder or the complete slide bar kit, sent as a part under the lifetime parts warranty.

Before you ask for a part, notice which way it fails. If the hand shower droops but stays at the same height, the rotating cradle is loose. If the whole assembly slides down the bar, the slider has lost tension. Also check that the slider is seated squarely and that the bar itself is firmly fixed to the wall, because no slider will stay put on loose mounts. Slide Bar Holder Will Not Hold the Hand Shower Up covers the checks and the replacement request in full. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your model, serial number and a photo. Ella ships the part and does not send technicians, so a homeowner or a local plumber fits it.

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Installing the Wall Mounted Sliding Shower Column with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Installing the Wall-Mounted Hand Shower Slider Bar and the Extension Coupler So Nothing Leaks Behind the Tub
• What Is a Barrel Extension Hose (Leak Elimination Kit) on a Walk-In Tub?
• Which Handheld Shower Head Is Best for an Ella Walk-In Tub?

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