Where Can I Buy Grab Bars for a Shower or Walk-In Tub?

If you are buying an Ella walk-in tub or an Ella walk-in shower kit, you do not need to shop for grab bars separately. The bars specified for that model ship in the crate or carton, and they are part of the order you place through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850. What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy lists the grab bar set among the shower carton contents, and the walk-in tub crate likewise holds the chrome bar or bars for that tub.

Grab Bars That Come with an Ella Walk-In Tub

An Ella walk-in tub ships as a complete, factory-assembled package, and the grab bar or bars specified for the model are in the crate in a chrome finish. There is no separate hardware kit to buy. The same crate holds the therapy systems you selected, the drain assembly, the controls, one end panel and, on models that include a faucet, the Ella fast-fill faucet with its hand shower. Your plumber supplies only the PVC couplings and pipe needed to tie into your home's drain and water supply. The full crate list is in What Comes With Your Walk-In Tub Order.

The Ella overview video on this page shows why the bars are built into the product rather than sold as an afterthought. It describes Ella tubs as designed first and foremost with safety in mind, with easy step-in low thresholds, textured slip-resistant floors and robust, perfectly placed grab bars for stability and peace of mind, and it calls the bars sturdy and well positioned for wheelchair users as well.

Grab Bars That Come with an Ella Shower Kit

An Ella shower kit ships with the shower stall, the grab bar set listed for that kit and the drain. The bars are packed loose in the carton rather than mounted at the factory, so fitting them is part of the installation, and it is worth confirming the bar count against your order when you unpack. The kit is purchased through your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850, and Ella ships its walk-in showers nationwide, as Where Can I Buy a Complete Ella Walk-In Shower Kit? explains.

On a one-piece stall, the team contacts you before the order goes to production to confirm three things: that you understand the unit is one piece and needs at least 33 inches of clear opening on the delivery path, the seat side and drain side you selected, and the number of grab bars. That call is the moment to settle how many bars you want, because the bars ship with the unit and your installer mounts them during installation. The same video describes the barrier-free walk-in shower kit as one that can be outfitted with your choice of wall tiles, shower bases, grab bars, several styles of folding seats, an extended hand shower and a caregiver shower curtain, so the bars are one of the choices made when the kit is put together.

What You Still Need to Buy

Grab bars are not on the shopping list, but a few other items are. For a shower kit:

• A shower valve with its trim, chosen with your plumber and on site before the stall is set. The wall arrives solid, with no valve cutout and no preset height or offset, so your plumber marks and cuts the openings during installation.
• A shower head, and a hand shower with slide bar if you want one. Nothing in the box detaches for hand-held use.
• The rough-in piping and fittings, supplied by your plumber, who connects the kit's drain to the house waste line.

For a walk-in tub, the only items your plumber supplies are the PVC couplings and pipe for the drain and supply connections. A heated seat and backrest, shower columns and a second end panel are optional and appear as their own lines on your order.

Adding Bars Beyond the Ones Included

If you want more support than the included set provides, the extra bars go on the walls at the points where a person reaches for support, and they are mounted by your licensed contractor. Ella's guidance for wall-mounted bars follows ADA practice:

• Horizontal bars at standing height, 33 to 36 inches above the floor of the bathing space, along the walls you lean on while standing, showering or turning.
• A vertical bar at the entry, at the spot where you step in and out over the threshold.
• Every bar fastened into studs or solid in-wall backing rather than drywall alone.
• Every bar clear of the door swing, any shower screen and the valve, so nothing competes for the same stretch of wall.

Because the shower wall arrives without a valve cutout, plan the bars and the plumbing openings together so the valve and the bars do not end up on the same stretch of wall. The placement rules are covered in Where Should Grab Bars Be Installed in a Shower?.

Grab Bars and Medicare

Shoppers sometimes hope to obtain grab bars through Medicare. Bathroom safety items such as grab bars, raised toilet seats and shower chairs do not appear on Medicare's published list of covered durable medical equipment, and bathroom remodeling is a home modification rather than equipment, so these are generally not covered by Original Medicare. Ella's Bubbles does not bill Medicare. A commode chair is the notable bathroom item that does appear on the covered list. Original Medicare and Walk-In Tubs explains the Part B tests, and any specific item should be confirmed with Medicare.

Watch: Why Choose Ella's Bubbles Walk-In Tubs | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

Related Guides

• Grab Bar Length, Diameter, Weight Rating and Wall Spacing
• Where should grab bars go in a shower or walk-in tub?
• What grab bars does Ella offer for its walk-in tubs?

Common Questions