I think you'd want a real safety bar. The shower bar is not strong enough.

ditto.

I also agree that there Should Be One Somewhere to do both functions, but I've never found one yet and I've stopped looking.

No no no. Only use a true grab bar and make absolutely sure it's anchored properly to studs or properly installed backer. We had four grab bars installed for my father-in-law and took no chances.

We hired a pro do do the work and he did a great job. There are all sorts of "rules" for safety with grab bars. Call the local council on aging and get a referral for a pro. The guy we chose was an occupational therapist and did the grab bars as his second job. He was thoroughly knowledgeable.

Yes, there is such a thing! We just bought a grab bar which is also a hand-held shower bar. It's made by Jaclo. Our style is contemporary, so it's this grab bar...

with this handheld shower mount on it:

I haven't had a chance to shoot final pictures since these went in a few days ago; I'll post them when I do. Meanwhile, I couldn't find one picture with both on their web site. Jaclo makes a finish to match almost every other manufacturer. The grab bars are expensive, but this fit the bill to do the double duty that we wanted. (We also installed another one, just the grab bar, along the long wall of the bath.)

-- Eric

I have been looking at a moen hand held. If you want to use the moen shower bar as a safety bar, they sell an $18 bracket that must attach to the shower bar I suggest you call Kohler customer service and see if they sell a bracket or part that turns it into a safety bar.

good luck!

We have the Moen and installed it to the studs while building in our walls. I bought the brackets but ended up not using them. But yes, it serves both purposes now, it's a bar to adjust the height and a grab bar. Works Great!

I need help with this too.
I just took back a Moen because the brackets were made out of plastic. I called Grohe and they said theirs were plastic too. I've ordered Alno safety bars that are one inch diameter thinking I'd pitch the bars that come with the shower slide systems and use those in their place on both baths. I'm not having much luck finding anything that will fit the alno bars. I guess I'll just keep buying every brand until I find one that fits. The P-f is also an inch in diameter but doesn't slide on the alno bar well at all.
This shouldn't be this hard.

Jane, it's not hard if you buy the bar with the slider from the same manufacturer -- only if you try to piece the bar and slider together from different companies. I posted above about the one we purchased from Jaclo; if that's not your style, you might still want to take a look at Jaclo because they have many styles of bars. (And Jaclo makes all their products in 17 different finishes to match most other manufacturers' finishes.)

-- Eric

Here is a link that might be useful: Jaclo

We are looking for our shower fixtures and are wondering about this. It has been a few years since these posts. Has anyone started offering more shower bars as grab bars? We'd appreciate any info.

We have Delta grab bar as a slide bar. It was installed in February and we're happy with it. If I remember correctly, it was part of a new product line with Delta where all the products (towel bars, slide bars) are grab bar rated.

janel84 - Thank you for the detailed explanation of how you made things work. And...your story was kinda terrifying. I absolutely don't want to have the same experience!

But I'm glad things worked out for you, sounds like you created a beautiful-and safe- bathroom.

benjesbride - Do you happen to know the name of the Delta line?

I don't remember the grab bar line. One warning about our chrome delta grab bar is that there is one component that turned a slightly different color after a couple months daily use in our shower. This doesn't bother me, otherwise I would contact ferguson and ask them to replace it. We had great service from Ferguson Plumbing, their salesperson was knowledgable and pointed us in the direction of the grab bar slide bar. I think they're a national plumbing supply place.

Wow....I am really wary about buying a fixture that changes color. I think that would bug me...a lot.

Just so you know exactly what I have...The two rings that trim out where the grab bars attach to the wall each have circlular section that are a slightly warmer tone, almost satin nickel-ish compared to the rest of the chrome grab bar.

It would probably normally bother me a lot, but after a total gut renovation on this old houseI've had to let go of perfection to save my sanity. Especially on things that I might only see for a moment each day when I turn the shower water on and off. Also, at the time I was shopping for grab bars, these deltas were the style, function and best price point for us. I'd buy them again. I might request replacement trim pieces after I get a kitchen counter, but right now they're way down on the renovation's prioritized to-do list.

ah ok! That doesn't sound as bad as it looked in my head. Do you think this might be the one you have?

http://www.amazon.com/Faucet-52001-DS-Adjustable-Shower-Chrome/dp/B006WL03B2

No idea. My husband accuses me of seeing flaws that no other human being sees. I'd take a picture, but I don't think you'll even detect the difference. It's probably similar difference in the chrome components like fabric or carpet but from different dye lots. I noticed the difference after a couple months here, but honestly they could have always been that way.

haha! I know what you mean about seeing flaws! I'm incredibly detail oriented and my better half teases me about it, too. After reading your description I thought "dye lots". If you don't think I would detect the different in the photo, I bet it is one of those things most people wouldn't even notice.

Fwiw, we have two of the jaclo slider grab bars. Very happy with them. When we put the first one in our master bath reno a couple of years ago, our GC joked that when the big earthquake hits, the jaclo bar will be the only thing still standing in the house.

I installed a fancy Delta slide bar. I wanted to be able to grab it if I needed to. The part they sent to anchor it securely was just a giant molly bolt. I had it installed into a stud and it is really strong. I also have a grab bar. I am now looking for a towel bar that can double as a grab bar. I will check out jaclo. My towel bars disengage with a heavy towel - even though they are mounted on studs. It is very frustrating.

crl_, I know this is an old post, but can you tell me how the slider mounts on the Jaclo grab bars have held up? I'm thinking of the doing the same thing in our MB, but haven't seen any reviews of the grab bars used as sliders? Can you angle them at all, or just go up and down?

Just moved into a new house that has a horizontal grab bar that I put a washcloth on. I like a horizontal grab bar. Looks nice.

I installed a Moen grab bar for our tub. I don't think the hand held shower mount would be safe to use as a grab bar.