Handheld shower conversion in Southeast Michigan

A handheld shower conversion is the smallest change that makes a bathroom usable for somebody who cannot stand for the length of a shower. A slide bar, a long hose and a head that comes down to the person rather than the other way round. Wright’s bathroom repair crew fits them in an afternoon, and the whole job happens on the front of the wall without opening any tile.

Who this actually helps

Anybody who bathes seated, on a bench or a transfer chair, because a fixed head aimed at head height is useless to somebody sitting down. Anybody recovering from surgery who cannot get a dressing or a cast wet. Anybody with balance that is not what it was, for whom turning under a fixed stream is the risky moment.

It also helps a household that has nothing to do with any of that. Washing a dog, rinsing a toddler, cleaning the tub itself. Plenty of these get fitted for straightforwardly practical reasons and stay because nobody wants to go back.

The slide bar, and why it does most of the work

A handheld on a hook is one fixed position. A handheld on a slide bar can be parked anywhere along its length, which means the same shower suits a seated adult and a standing one without anybody adjusting anything but the bracket.

Bar mounting is where these installations go wrong. The bar has to go into framing or into anchors rated for real load, because somebody will use it to steady themselves whether or not it is designed for that. Some slide bars are rated as grab bars and some are decidedly not, and we fit the kind that will take a hand.

Hose length, and the detail that gets forgotten

A standard hose is often too short for somebody seated at the far end of a tub, and the difference between reaching comfortably and stretching is a foot or two of hose. Longer hoses cost very little and are the single most common thing we change out on an existing handheld that is not working for its user.

Too long has its own problem, because a hose that pools on the tub floor is something to stand on. We size it to the actual room and the actual person rather than to the box.

Hose material is worth a moment as well. Plastic hoses are light and cheap and they kink, and a kinked hose has to be straightened by somebody with two working hands. Stainless braided hoses cost slightly more, hang straight and outlast several of the other kind, which makes them the sensible default in a bathroom fitted for somebody with limited grip.

Diverters, and keeping both heads

Most households want the handheld without losing the fixed head, and a diverter fitting at the shower arm does that. Turn a lever, water goes to one or the other, and everybody in the house gets the shower they prefer.

The tradeoff is one more joint to leak and one more thing to operate, and a stiff diverter defeats arthritic hands. Where the handheld is going in for somebody who will use it every day, a single handheld on a slide bar is often the better answer. It depends on who is in the house.

What the conversion covers

  • Existing fixed head removed and the shower arm checked and resealed
  • Slide bar set into framing or load rated anchors, with tile penetrations sealed
  • Handheld, hose and bracket fitted, with hose length matched to the room
  • Diverter fitting installed where the household wants to keep the fixed head
  • Everything run and pressure checked, with the bracket height set with the user

Water pressure, and the head that disappoints

A handheld pushes water through a hose and a hand unit rather than straight out of a wall fitting, and on a house with marginal pressure that is noticeable. The fix is choosing a head designed for lower flow rather than accepting a weak one, and there are good ones.

If pressure at that shower has always been poor, the handheld will not be the cause and it will not be the cure. That is usually a supply or valve question, and the valve behind the wall is where we would look first.

The pause button people do not know about

Many handheld units carry a trickle valve at the head, which cuts the flow to almost nothing without touching the main valve. For somebody washing seated, that means the water stops while they soap and comes back at the same temperature, rather than having to reset the mix every time.

It sounds minor and it is one of the features that decides whether a handheld gets used properly. We point it out when we fit one, because plenty of people have had the feature for years without realizing what the small lever does.

The rest of the room, because the handheld is not enough

A handheld helps somebody who is already safely in the shower. It does nothing about getting them in there, and it does nothing about the surface they are standing on. Fitting one alone can give a household a false sense that the bathroom has been dealt with.

The three that belong together are bars anchored into structure, a tub floor that is not slippery, and the handheld. Any one on its own leaves a gap. All three in one visit is usually a single afternoon.

When the tub itself is the obstacle

For somebody who cannot lift a leg over a tub wall, no amount of hardware inside the tub solves the problem. At that point the honest recommendation is changing the room rather than fitting to it, and our renovation side handles that as a tub to shower conversion or, where the need is greater, a fully accessible bathroom.

We will say when we think that is the real answer, even though it is a much bigger job than the one you called about. A handheld in a tub somebody cannot get into is money spent on the wrong problem.

The claim we will not make

The Americans with Disabilities Act governs public accommodations rather than private homes. No handheld, bar or package makes a house compliant with a federal standard, and anybody telling you otherwise is selling something. We fit equipment to the person’s reach and movement, which is what actually matters in a house.

Short notice, and coming home from hospital

Where we work across Southeast Michigan

These calls run from our Ypsilanti shop across Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties, including Ann Arbor and Canton. When there is a discharge date attached, tell us and we will work to it.

Get the handheld fitted

Tell us who is using the shower, whether they sit, and what is on the wall now. View our Portfolio to see the bathroom work our crews do, or contact us now for a free quote.