Installing the Wall-Mounted Hand Shower Slider Bar and the Extension Coupler So Nothing Leaks Behind the Tub

The Ella hand shower slider bar lets you park the tub's pull-out hand shower on the wall at any height, and it installs with two anchored brackets, a chrome column, a holder, and, most importantly, a coupler and extension line that seal the hand shower's deck receptacle. Skip the coupler and extension, stretch the factory hose to the wall, and water will drip through the deck hole and pool behind the tub. This article covers the slider bar kit and the coupler logic; the hand shower hose, diverter and the full shower column kit are separate articles.

What Is in the Slider Bar Kit

• 1 chrome-plated slider bar, 24 inches of slide travel (about 27 3/4 inches overall)
• 1 stainless steel chrome pipe (the column)
• 1 flexible 60 inch stainless steel hose
• 1 double-threaded extension pipe (the coupler that plugs the deck receptacle)
• 2 chrome caps for the brackets
• 4 wall screws and 4 wall anchors

The supplied anchors and screws are the ones shown in the video. If your wall is tile over a stud wall, drill in the grout line where possible and use fasteners suited to the wall type so the bracket sits flat.

Why the Coupler Matters

On an Ella tub the pull-out hand shower normally lives in a receptacle on the deck, and the hose passes down through that hole. If you lift the hand shower out and hang it on a wall bracket, the hose is pulled up and out of the receptacle, and every drop that runs down the hose finds the open hole and drips behind the tub. The stainless barrel coupler screws onto the end of the factory hose, sits in the receptacle and seals it with its rubber washer; the extension line then runs from the coupler up to the hand shower. The printed instruction sheet is direct about it: do not attach the hand-held shower to the wall unless you have an extension hose with barrel protection. A leak that appears under the tub near the hand shower after a wall relocation is almost always this, and it needs the kit rather than a service call. Other spots to check for a puddle are in water under or behind the tub, and the deck receptacle itself is covered in hand shower leaks at the head or deck.

Watch: Installing the Slider Bar

The video walks through the whole installation. Follow it in this order: Watch: Ella's Bubbles: Installing the Wall Mounted Sliding Shower Column with chapters and a full transcript.

1. Decide where the column will go and find a perfectly level vertical line. Mark the drill hole for the lower bracket, using the shorter screw.
2. Drill, insert the anchor and tap it gently until flush. Insert the short screw and tighten the lower bracket to the wall securely, then slide the chrome cover over the bracket.
3. Set the column into the lower bracket. Before fixing the top, slide the shower head holder onto the column, then place the upper bracket over the column.
4. Mark the upper drill hole, drill and insert the anchor. The longer upper screw passes through the hole provided in the column and into the anchor; tighten, then slide the chrome cover over the upper bracket.
5. Remove the hand shower head from its hose and attach the coupler, tightening it securely.
6. Attach the extension line to the coupler and hand-tighten. Feed the excess line down into the deck receptacle; the coupler creates a waterproof seal at the receptacle and its rubber washer is what makes that seal.
7. Reattach the shower head to the extension line and place it in the holder. The holder adjusts up and down the column and pivots side to side.

The video also shows what happens when the extension and coupler are left out: the hose is overextended to reach the wall and water runs straight into the deck opening, which it calls a leak hazard.

The Extension Kit on Its Own

Watch: Hand Shower Extension Kit For Your Walk-In Tub on its own page.

This short clip has no written transcript and simply shows the coupler and extension hose being fitted. The printed steps are: unscrew the shower head mixer from the hose, screw the stainless steel barrel onto the end of the hose, screw the extension hose onto the other side of the barrel, place the barrel in the shower base to plug the hole, and screw the shower head mixer onto the far end of the extension hose. The hand shower hose and diverter article covers this kit in more depth.

Slider Bar, Shower Column or Waterfall Faucet?

The slider bar is the simplest way to shower standing or seated with the hand shower you already have, and it can be fitted to an installed tub. The shower column kit adds a 10 inch rain head on a column that connects to the faucet diverter, and because it needs access behind the tub it is best installed before the tub's final placement. The wall-mount waterfall faucet comes with its own 24 inch slider and a wall-fed hand shower, so it never uses the deck receptacle. Wider tubs give more room for a standing shower; see can I shower in a walk-in tub?.

Which End of the Bar Goes at the Bottom

Before you drill, look at the bar itself. One end is notched and the other is plain. The notched end goes at the bottom. Now compare the two wall brackets: one has a notch cut to receive the notched end of the bar, and the other does not. The notched bracket mounts low and the plain bracket mounts high, so the notch on the bar and the notch on the bracket line up. The bar and brackets are meant to pair up in one direction only, so check both pieces first.

The center of each bracket end is narrow, so a pencil or pen may not reach the wall through it. Hold the assembled bar and brackets against the wall at the height you want, confirm that the hand shower hose reaches comfortably with the holder at the top position, and mark the bracket locations from there. Check that the two marks are plumb with each other before drilling.

Use anchors and screws suited to your wall material, whether tile, drywall or a solid surround, and take care not to scratch the finish of the bar while you work. Once the brackets are up, fit the bar with the notched end down, then continue with the coupler and extension line steps above and run water to check for leaks behind the tub.

Related Guides

• Slide Bar Holder Will Not Hold the Hand Shower Up: Fixes and Replacement Options
• Can I Add a Hand Shower Slide Bar or Rain Shower Column After My Tub Is Installed?
• How Tall Is an Ella Walk-In Tub, With and Without a Shower Column?
• Is the Gray Ring Inside My Hand Shower Holder Broken?
• What is a shower slide bar and how does it work?
• What is a slide bar in a shower and how is it used?

Common Questions

For anything specific to your model, serial number or jetting package, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support.