Where should grab bars be installed around a tub and shower?

Grab bars in a bathroom belong on the walls, fastened into studs or solid in-wall backing, never into the tub or shower shell. Around an Ella walk-in tub, horizontal wall bars go 33 to 36 inches above the tub floor with a vertical bar near the door, and in an Ella shower the bars that ship with the kit are mounted by your installer into the reinforced backing zones of the stall. The tub-specific detail is in Where and how should grab bars be installed around a walk-in tub?, and this page brings the tub, the shower and the planning for the rest of the room together in one place.

The One Rule That Applies to Every Bar

Ella's rule for every wall-mounted seat, bench and shelf is the same rule to follow for a grab bar: it must anchor into studs or solid in-wall backing, confirmed by a licensed contractor. Drywall alone will not hold a bar under a person's weight, and a bar you lean on has to be fastened into the structure of the house. That is why suction-cup grab bars are not recommended anywhere in the bathroom. They can feel firm when the wall is dry and let go at the moment they are needed.

Water is the second concern. Ella's wall-mounted accessories are fitted with silicone in the screw holes to keep water out of the wall, and a grab bar deserves the same care. Every fastener that passes through a wet wall should be sealed so the backing behind it stays dry for the life of the bar.

The third rule is what not to do. Never 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. Extra support goes on the walls around the tub, not on the tub itself.

Around the Walk-In Tub

The deck-mount bar that comes with most Ella tubs 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. Ella's guidance follows ADA practice, and following those guidelines is good practice in a home even though a private bathroom is not inspected against them.

• Mount horizontal bars along the wall 33 to 36 inches from the tub floor, where a standing bather can reach them naturally.
• Add a vertical bar near the door, at the spot where you step in and out of the tub.
• Keep the bars clear of the door swing and of any shower screen or valve you plan to add, so nothing competes for the same wall space.

Measure the 33 to 36 inch height from the tub floor, not the bathroom floor, because the bather is standing inside the tub when a wall bar is used. Find where the studs or blocking fall on each wall before you fix the exact spot, and slide the bar along the wall to reach solid framing rather than compromising on the anchor. If the only solid spot is in the path of the door or a planned screen, choose a different wall rather than a weaker fastening.

In an Ella Shower

An Ella shower kit ships with the shower stall, the grab bar set listed for that kit, and the drain. The grab bars are packed loose rather than factory installed, so mounting them is part of the installation, and your installer fastens them into the reinforced backing zones built into the stall walls using the screws covered in the installation guide. Confirm the grab bar count against your order when you unpack, and agree with your installer before installation day that the bars will be mounted as part of the job. The full carton contents are listed in What Comes in the Box With an Ella Shower Kit, and What You Still Need to Buy.

For the one-piece shower stall, the team contacts you before the order goes to production to confirm the seat side, the drain side and the number of grab bars, because the unit is molded as a single piece and cannot be changed later. The bars still ship with the unit for your installer to mount. That same stall needs at least 33 inches of clear opening at every doorway and hallway on the path to the bathroom, as explained in Will a One-Piece Ella Shower Fit Through My Doorways?. The confirmation call is the right moment to think through where the bather will reach for support while stepping over the threshold, turning under the water and sitting down or standing up from the seat.

The shower wall arrives solid, with no valve cutout and no preset height for the shower head, so your plumber marks and cuts those openings on site. Plan the grab bar positions and the valve position together so a bar never lands where the valve, the shower head or a hand shower slide bar needs to go.

Planning the Layout Before Anything Is Drilled

1. Walk through the bathing routine. Where does the bather step in, where do they stand to shower, where do they turn, and where do they sit and stand up? Each of those moments is a candidate for a bar.
2. Check the door swing. On a walk-in tub the door path and the wall bars must not conflict. On a Capri with a right-hand door and drain, for example, the deck-mounted bar sits on the plumbing side, which is also the hinge side, so a screen planned for that side will clash with it.
3. Locate the studs or backing on every wall you intend to use and have a licensed contractor confirm the anchor is solid before a hole is drilled.
4. If you are adding a shower screen, a shower valve or another accessory near the tub's own bar, share a sketch with your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 before you order so the conflict is flagged early. In many layouts the better answer is to place the accessory where it does not compete with the bar.
5. Seal every fastener with silicone and keep each bar clear of any screen, valve or hand shower.

The tub's included bar is a safety feature, so if a planned accessory seems to clash with it, check first whether the accessory can go elsewhere. Removing the interior bar leaves its pre-drilled holes visible, and Ella does not offer a cap, plug or cover for them. Customers who want the holes hidden hire a local acrylic service, as described in Can I Remove the Interior Grab Bar, and Is There Anything to Cover the Holes?.

What Ships with Your Tub, and What You Add

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. 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. Ella does not factory-install a bar from another supplier, so if you want a different finish, your installer swaps it on site before the tub goes in, using a bar whose hole spacing matches the factory holes exactly; see Can Ella Factory-Install a Grab Bar From Another Supplier?. Every bar beyond the ones in the carton is a wall bar you buy and your contractor mounts into the framing, following the same anchoring rule wherever it goes in the room.

Related Guides

• Grab Bars: What Is Included, Installing the Deck-Mount Bar, and Add-On Wall Bars
• Grab Bar Length, Diameter, Weight Rating and Wall Spacing
• Where Should Grab Bars Be Installed in a Shower?

Common Questions