Where should grab bars go in a shower or walk-in tub?

In an Ella shower the grab bars go where the reinforced backing is built into the wall panels, fastened with the correct screws, and nowhere else. Around a walk-in tub, added bars belong on the walls, anchored into studs or solid in-wall backing, with horizontal bars 33 to 36 inches above the tub floor and a vertical bar near the door, and they are never drilled into the tub itself. The tub side of that guidance is set out in Where and how should grab bars be installed around a walk-in tub?, and this page adds the shower side and the ordering questions that come with it.

In an Ella Shower, the Wall Panel Decides

An Ella shower kit ships with the stall, the grab bar set listed for that kit and the drain. The bars are packed loose and are not pre-installed, so mounting them is part of the installation, and it is worth confirming the grab bar count against your order when you unpack. The placement question has a narrower answer in a shower than around a tub, because the bars supplied with Ella showers must be fastened into the reinforced backing built into the wall panels, using the correct screws, so that they are secure. Those backing zones are the mounting locations. A bar screwed into an unreinforced part of the panel will not hold, so the installer works from the backing zones and the screws supplied rather than choosing a spot freehand.

Plan the bars alongside the plumbing openings. The shower wall arrives solid, with no valve cutout and no preset height or offset, and your plumber marks and cuts the openings for the valve, the shower head and any hand shower once the valve is chosen. Settle those positions and the grab bar positions together so nothing competes for the same wall space. If you want a hand shower on a slide bar, choose that hardware with your plumber when you select the valve. The full carton contents, and the fixtures you still need to buy, are in What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy.

Around a Walk-In Tub, Follow the ADA Heights

The tub's own deck-mount bar is positioned for entering, exiting and standing up from the seat. Wall bars add support once you are standing, showering or turning in the tub, and Ella's guidance follows ADA practice even though a private bathroom is not inspected against it.

• Mount horizontal bars along the wall 33 to 36 inches from the tub floor, where a standing bather reaches them naturally.
• Add a vertical bar near the door, at the spot where you step in and out.
• Keep every bar clear of the door swing and of any shower screen or valve you plan to add.
• Anchor every bar into studs or solid in-wall backing that a licensed contractor has confirmed. Drywall alone will not hold a bar under a person's weight, and suction-cup bars are not recommended.
• Put silicone in the screw holes, the same care Ella gives its wall-mounted seats, benches and shelves, so water stays out of the wall.

Do not drill into the tub shell or deck to add a bar. The factory drills the holes for the included bar before the tub ships, and any alteration not done by Ella is excluded from warranty coverage.

What ADA Compliance Does and Does Not Mean Here

Ella shower stalls are not ADA compliant, and Ella gives that answer directly whenever it is asked. The stalls are built as accessible residential showers with a low step-in and factory grab bars, but they are not certified to the ADA standard for accessible shower compartments, which covers the compartment dimensions, the threshold height, the seat, the placement and strength of the grab bars and the reach range for the controls. Installing the bars correctly makes the shower safer at home, but it does not change the compliance status of the stall. For a private residence that is rarely an issue, because ADA certification is generally not a building code requirement there. For a commercial building, a rental unit under accessibility rules or any project that will be inspected, confirm the requirement with your local code official before you order. Are Ella Shower Stalls ADA Compliant? explains the distinction for both kinds of project.

The Bars That Come with an Ella Tub

Per the current spec sheets, the Elite, Royal, Deluxe, Ultimate, Capri and all Transfer models include both a deck-mount and a wall-mount grab bar. The Petite and Companion include a deck-mount bar only. The Standard and Zen list a U-shape deck and wall-mount bar exclusive to those models, and the Ultra, Lounger, Big4One, ShaK, Escape and Big4Two list a wall-mounted bar. The Tub4Two and the LayDown tubs ship without grab bars. Included bars are chrome only.

The deck-mount bar ships loose in its own kit and bolts through the deck on site, into holes the factory has already drilled. Its one rule protects the shell and the warranty: the large metal washer must go under the shell, because installing the bar without it can crack the acrylic. If the bar sits where you want a shower screen or another accessory, it can be unfastened, but the pre-drilled holes stay visible and Ella does not offer a cap or plug for them. Can I Remove the Interior Grab Bar, and Is There Anything to Cover the Holes? covers that decision, and in many layouts the better answer is to place the accessory where it does not compete with the bar. Share a sketch with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before you order so any conflict is flagged early.

Where to Buy Grab Bars

For an Ella shower, the grab bars arrive with the kit, which is purchased through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 and ships nationwide. For an Ella tub, the bars listed for your model on the spec sheet come with the tub. If you want wall bars beyond those, ask your Ella dealer or the team what is available for your model, and have your licensed contractor confirm the backing behind the wall before any bar is fastened. Before installation day, agree with your installer that the loose bars will be mounted as part of the job, choose the valve and trim so the openings and the bars can be planned together, and confirm that the drain position on the stall matches your rough-in. A licensed local contractor does the mounting.

Related Guides

• Mounting Grab Bars on Ella Shower Walls: Reinforced Backing, Finding the Zones, and Which Screws to Use
• Grab Bar Length, Diameter, Weight Rating and Wall Spacing

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