We have a Hansgrohe Aktiva hand shower/slide bar. Had to take out the water restrictor because it causes the hose to burst apart from the (whatever the technical name is) round wall connector. We went through five hoses before giving up and popping the restrictor out. No problems since. I don't like doing this because: 1) we're serious about saving water in CA; our drought is on its third year and this is the fourth serious drought I've lived through since moving here. So it's EXTREMELY wasteful. We take short showers and are putting in a gray water system. 2) I frankly consider the Waterpik in the other bathroom to be a better showerhead, saves water without the overpressure problem, and costs 1/10th the price. Our last one was still going strong after 17 yrs when we left in our last apartment. It is, however, not as pretty as the Hansgrohe.

There's no one correct answer regarding elevation. The slide bar should be installed at a height that makes its range functional. That can make it dependent on the highest height you want, the lowest height you want, as well as the length of the bar itself. Some folks simply want to take a traditional shower. Some want to be able to lower the head so there is no way that their head can get wet. I've had some require a height for waist-down showers. And for shaving legs, some have requested the head to be able to be lowered to a mid-thigh height. I do have to say that I prefer the shower head to be able to be raised about 8" above the height of the tallest user. If there is no "tallest user" then I shoot for the bar to be set so the head can be raised up to a generic 7' above the shower floor. As far as centering things, again, that can depend on the style of the bar, the bracket, and the head. I do prefer the head to be close to centered. It can depend on the length of the hose too. Let's say the bracket offsets the shower head to the left of the bar. I might install the sliding bar to the right of center so the head can be centered. I might install the wall outlet just to the right of the bar. That way the hose will hang down from the wall outlet, make a "U" under the bottom of the slide bar, then go upwards to connect to the handheld. But again, that's dependent on the length of the hose and the length of the bar. But that layout will allow the hose to hang in a "U" shape flush to the wall instead of the hose crossing over in front of the bar and projecting out into the shower, or getting looped over itself in a twist. Sounds like a weird point to make, but it does neaten things up. The height of the wall outlet can depend on those same things. Your configuration, the length of the hose, etc. What you don't want is your hose to snag on anything when you adjust it upwards or downwards, the location of the wall outlet can be varied to minimize the possibility of that happening. Again, it all does depend on the fixtures in the shower. The length of the bar, the length of the hose. It's easy to mock things up with tape on the wall and a piece of rope for your proposed hose length. Don't forget that the style of the handheld itself can result in the actual shower head being several inches higher than the height of the sliding bracket. Some brackets are adjustable so that the handheld can be rotated up/down on the bracket, as well as the bracket sliding up/down on the slide bar. So a sort of ambiguous reply, but there is no hard and fast rule. Example, in my own shower? I'm 6'4, my wife 5'1. I have a 40" long slide bar. I have a large shower, so I have an 8' long hose. The shower head can go from well above my head to below the height of my wife's head. The hose allows the head to reach out and touch every point within the shower for bathing or for rinsing the shower walls down if needed. Depends on what you want. Some want the head lower for kids using the shower. Lastly, you can usually by just a wall bracket that can get mounted to the wall. So you can have your handheld on a slide bar that goes up and down as needed. If you then need an out of that range height, say for shaving legs, you can mount a small wall bracket lower on the wall just for that.

Well it's really your decision on whether you want to trade form for function. In my case, I have never thought a bar looked badly. It simply never crossed my mind. When we built, I wanted a bar pretty badly because I came from the exact situation you were considering and I hated it. When I diverted to the handheld, the power of the spray spun the handheld around on the pivet point and I had to make sure I had it in my hand when I diverted the water. I never could use the handheld as shower head on the pivot because it wasnt in the right spot. We had four people using one shower and nothing was ever in the right spot for any of us. It was a no-brainer for us that we would never get ourselves in that "fixed position" again. With the handheld on the bar, you save yourself the cost of a showerhead PLUS a handheld. We were then able to afford a quality company, Grohe, for one of our baths. We did make a huge mistake in choosing Moen for our master bath, however. We have had nothing but problems. We only chose them originally because the polished brass (very desirable at that time) was more affordable...now I know why....

I just purchased a Danze on a 24" bar for my kids' shower. I bought it in Brushed Nickel but Costco has the same one in Chrome at a great price. I have received it but not installed yet as the house isn't done. But it feels very sturdy and the shower head has some weight to it. It's very nice. Hopefully, it will work as good as it looks. Here is a link that might be useful: danze shower