It is safest to have both: a vertical grab bar next to the place where people will enter and exit; and an horizontal one to hold onto while showering or to help you rise from a seat. If you have glass for the entry wall, this can make using the vertical grab bar difficult or impossible. Placement with a glass door is also difficult as one is often reaching around a door or a slim glass partition to reach the bar. For this reason, a shower curtain may be a better bet. Another solution for assisting someone while not jumping into the shower with them is to get a combination of bifolding glass “caregiver doors” that are 3 to 4 ft high. Caregivers can reach around them to help a seated person wash, rinse, and such. The top half of the shower opening is covered by a short shower curtain that overlaps the doors below them (keeping the water inside and the caregiver dry) and this curtain may have several places to open in order for the person inside to remain in a warm enclosure, yet allow the caregiver to reach in from several angles.

Given the danger of trying to lift someone in a wet, slippery environment, many people use shower chairs on wheels that can be wheeled into and out of the shower area. They have an opening in the seat to allow a person to wash the peri-anal area and rinse. Arms, head rests, and seatbelts can provide a more secure seat. The bather may be wheeled out of the shower to be dried and to stand or transfer in a safer, dry state.

Thank you for your informative and thoughtful response. I remember your bathroom post.

Our shower is about 4’ x 6’ with a clipped corner and the glass door opens both inwards and outwards. My brother leaves the door open outward while helping my SIL. I think I have identified the best 2 places for 1 vertical and 1 horizontal bar.

I’m thinking like a 12” vertical entry bar, but a bit wider horizontal bar on a different wall. We don’t have a built-in bench, just a teak one. So in the future we could remove that if she needs a shower/transfer type of chair. The curb is not zero-entry, but by the time we get to that stage they’ll probably not be staying here that much.

Nancy, do you think it’s worthwhile to get a consultation from a designer who specializes in this?

If needed, I could arrange for the glass company to come and safely remove the glass shower door temporarily and wrap/protect it.

Then we could put a shower curtain to make things easier for them. We’re not at that stage yet, but I’m just trying to think ahead.

Download the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design from the US government and read through the sections on grab rails. Though not legally required within your home, they are a good source for what the experts have determined is most beneficial for the disabled.

Thank you. I will do that.