Are you asking for specific products, or are you asking if having a handheld is adequate as the main shower head? We have handhelds on sliding bars as the main shower head in both baths (walk-in showers). We also have a rainhead in the master bath, but we don't really use it...I prefer the water pressure of the handheld. I love that the handheld can be stationary for washing and then handheld for rinsing and cleaning the shower. Master bath has Grohe and the guest bath has Santec. Both have performed perfectly for 10 and 9 years, respectively.

When I redid my hall bath last year I kept my tub and switched from a fixed shower head to a handheld on a slide bar. I did it for the reasons stated by you and decorpatti. I didn’t feel that 2 shower heads were needed. I used a tub spout with a diverter in it so I did not need a separate diverter on the wall. The valve on the wall turns the water on and off and controls the temperature.

My fixtures are all Moen.

My shower is about 33 inches square and the hand-held is plenty. There is a large tiled niche across from the shower for products. The tile is 15x30 porcelain with 1/16" grout. It is a dream to keep clean.

Thanks for the comments and pictures. Sorry, I'm a bit scattered since I'm also trying to spec out a shower fixture for my master (just a shower). You would think it would be super simple, but there are all these new parts that I don't think I really need - thermostatic valve. And then my DH puts in his two cents... from his days of traveling, he does not like the handheld showerheads on a bar. He said they always are breaking or hard to figure out. Anyone else have that issue?

I would just go to Kohler, but I've got pitting on the trim kit and tub drain parts from the set I bought 9 years ago (but it's been pitted probably for the past 5 years). Anyway, just not impressed. And at the same time I bought a Speakman showerhead that had a handheld shower attached near the showerhead. But I had a hard time getting them both perfectly tightened so neither would leak...

decorpatti - thanks! We currently have a handheld as the main in the guest bath (screwed into where a normal showerhead would go). I may go this route again because it leaves the option of putting a regular shower head in down the road. Just need to find a nice enough handheld with coordinating valve/diverter and tub spout. I'll check out those brands...thanks! I don't think we'd use a rainshower either... and since we are in CA, I'm sure there are regulations on which handhelds and showerheads I can even order.

badgergal - your set up is what I'm thinking would be great for our guest bath. My only issue is if we really don't like having the showerhead on a bar (you've had no issues?), you can't just pop in a regular shower head right? Looks like the pipe would be at shoulder level on the side?

gustaviatex What brand is yours? Looks nice!

I have the slide bars on 5 showers in 2 homes with zero issues. Brands we have are Groehe and Santek. One advantage is that they make cleaning your shower so much easier!

We have not had any issues with the shower head on a bar. We also have a handheld on a bar in our master bath. It's a Kohler fixture. No issues with it functionally and no issues with the finish pitting. We also have a rain head in our master shower.

The slide bar in the hall bath is 32" long and the bottom end of the bar is about 47" above the floor of the tub. I'm not 100% sure what you mean when you say "Looks like the pipe would be at shoulder level on the side" but if you are talking about the water supply elbow it is about 57" inches above the tub floor. It's above my shoulder height but then I'm only 5'4".

If you didn't like having the shower head on a bar you would not be able to "just pop in a regular shower head.

We had a similar situation and installed both the slider bar and the overhead with the overhead being set to allow for a 6’ person. It’s worked great for our girls who were little at the time and are now the age of your son. Our oldest is about to switch to the overhead.

We installed both a plain showerhead and one on a sliding bar in the master shower. We use the sliding bar all the time and rarely the fixed head. DH comment "shoulda gotten 2 of these instead...".

Interesting... what brand did you get Jean?

For sure I want a hand held for our master to make cleaning the shower easier. But I don't think we'll need the sliding bar in there...so for the master that is just a shower (no tub), maybe I have it plumbed for a regular shower head, but attach the handheld there instead and use that as the only showerhead in the master bathroom.

For the guest bath that my 9 year old shares with guests (uh, can't remember the last time we had guests lol), a sliding bar with handheld would be good. What if I had it plumbed for a standard height showerhead, but instead of a fixed showerhead, I screwed the handheld's hose there? And then had the handheld attached to the sliding bar. Would that work? I'm just thinking down the road, if we want to replace the handheld with a fixed showerhead, then it would be super easy. And we could use the bar as a grab bar maybe?

Thanks for all the help everyone!

You don't need to replace it with a fixed head, ever. It functions just like the fixed head, but with adjustability. Slide it to the top, don't move it, then you can call it "fixed". You can put the supply elbow wherever you want it, low, high, in-between. See you you want the hose to drape, and put it where it works best.

yeah - I've had 2 sliding bars in my master shower for 20+ years. Not once have I ever said "boy, a fixed shower head would have been nice here..." the easy of rinsing, and the adjustability of height and angle make this a no brainer.

Santek.

One learning. Don’t underestimate the need for niches

The Hansgrohe 27143001 shower pipe includes a shower head, hand shower, and tub spout. Your son can select the hand shower -- raising it on the pipe as he grows -- and adults can select the shower head or hand shower. This shower pipe requires the hansgrohe 16181181 to be installed inside the wall. All the other parts are outside the wall so they can be repaired or replaced without opening the wall.

Thanks wdccruise- that’s pretty slick loooking

"Your son can select the hand shower -- raising it on the pipe as he grows -- and adults can select the shower head or hand shower."

How silly. Everyone can select the hand shower and put it where they like it. There is no need to spend the money on an extra fitting (the fixed head and associated plumbing for it). The hand shower on the slide bar does it all.

I did both in our walk-in and the fixed one does not get used at all. I agree with Grohe.

We went with just a handheld in our current master shower. We had a fixed head and hand held in our master shower at our previous house and used the hand held most often. We had Grohe in previous house and current house.

@catbuilder: "How silly. Everyone can select the hand shower and put it where they like it."

The fixed shower head is a rain shower and has a larger diameter (5-3/8") than the hand shower (4"), and whose spread is increased further by its height (85") on the wall. With the tub spout at the recommended 24" above the tub bottom, most people would not be able to push a hand shower to a height of over seven feet to maximize its already-limited flow.

Thanks for all the input everyone! So I think I made some decisions.

I bought a handheld showerhead from Hammerhead showers. They are all metal, under $100, look nice and get good reviews.

I’ll just have the showers plumbed with a regular showerhead pipe and then install the hand held showerhead as the main/only shower head.

For my son’s bathroom, I bought this suction cup handheld showerhead holder that we can place lower down for him. It was $15 on Amazon.

I just need to find a tub spout and shower diverter now.

When we remodel, the horizontal bar won’t be there any more.

I was just going to suggest the suction cup! We used one (well kids are taller than me now) and it was great. Many people like having the spray at chin height or lower, particularly if they don’t like getting sprayed in the face. Helped my kids like the shower better. Whether it’s on a rail or via suction cup, adjustable height handheld is awesome!

Turns out my son didn't like his bath/tub shower because the spray from his handheld showerhead was either too hard or too tickly. lol. This one is a bit like a rainshower...not hard, not soft.