A hand shower slide bar can be added at any time, including long after the tub is installed, because it mounts to the wall and works with the hand shower you already have. A rain shower column is different. It replaces the hand shower holder on the tub deck and is connected from behind the tub, so it is best ordered and installed together with the tub. Adding a column to a finished installation is possible only if you still have access to the back of the tub, for example through the wall of an adjoining closet. If you are still deciding, order the column with the tub so your installer can fit it before the tub is enclosed.

The Slide Bar: An Add-On for Any Tub

The slide bar is an accessory, not part of the 5-piece fast-fill faucet. The kit is a 24-inch wall-mounted bar with a holder that slides up and down, a 5-foot hand shower hose, and a coupling kit. The coupling seals the hand shower connection, which is why the kit is also called a leak elimination kit. Once installed, you can hang the hand shower on the bar and position it as high or low as you like, at standing height for a rinse or at seated height for hands-free use. The waterfall faucet already includes a slide bar, so you do not need to add one with that faucet. Installation steps are in installing the hand shower slider bar and extension coupler, and the waterfall faucet overview explains what comes with that 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 simply gives you a second place to park the hand shower on the wall.

The Rain Shower Column: Order It with the Tub

The rain shower column is a vertical pole with an overhead shower head that mounts at the deck position where the hand shower normally sits. The hand shower connects to the column, and everything is still controlled from the faucet and diverter on the tub deck, so there is no separate valve to install in the wall. The tub's own valve supplies the column.

Because the column's supply connection is made behind the tub, it is best fitted before the tub is set in place. If your tub is already installed and enclosed, the column can only be added when there is access from behind, which is why the team asks about the layout before recommending it. Showering in a walk-in tub compares the hand shower, column and screen options.

Using Your Own Wall Shower Head

Some homeowners want a conventional shower head on the wall instead of the Ella column. A licensed plumber can do this by feeding the new head from the tub's diverter valve, since the tub's faucet is what controls the hot and cold supply. Ella does not sell the connection parts for a third-party shower head, so your plumber sources the fittings and plans the plumbing modification. Talk this through with your plumber before the wall is closed up.

Keeping Water Where It Belongs

If the hand shower connection at the deck is letting water through, the extension hose and coupling kit is the first thing to ask the team about. For water spraying outside the tub while the hand shower is running, see why water sprays out when using the hand shower. Other add-on questions are collected in common questions about showering add-ons.

Related Guides

• Installing the Shower Column Kit on Your Walk-in Tub
• What Is the Shower Column Kit on a Walk-In Tub?
• Shower Column Drips After Shutoff, Deck Hole Size, Connector Rods and Replacement Column Sections

Related Videos

Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Shower Column Installation With A 2 Piece Faucet with chapters and a full transcript.

Common Questions

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