Licensed #EASTGB744B1. Insured. Senior discounts available. Eastside Grab Bars is owned and operated by Mark Costello, and the business installs bathroom grab bars that look good, hold weight, and build confidence the moment a hand reaches for them.
The bathroom is where most home falls happen. Wet tile, low toilets, high tub walls, and slippery soap all work against an older body. A well-placed bar near the toilet, inside the shower, or beside the tub changes that. The goal is to figure out the right bar for the bathroom and the person who uses it, then install it properly the first time.
The CDC reports that roughly 234,000 older adults are treated in emergency rooms every year for injuries that happen in the bathroom. Getting in and out of the tub is the single riskiest moment. Standing up from a low toilet comes next. A bathroom grab bar installed at the right height and angle gives a person a solid place to put their hand during those exact moments.
Bathroom bars are not cosmetic. A proper bar holds 250 to 500 pounds of pull-down load when mounted to studs or backed with heavy-duty toggle anchors. That load rating only holds if the install is done right. Drywall alone will not carry an adult leaning at a bad angle. Eastside Grab Bars locates studs, uses blocking where builders included it, and uses correct anchors where they did not.
Modern bathroom grab bars no longer look like hospital hardware. Available finishes include brushed nickel, polished chrome, matte black, oil-rubbed bronze, and white to match existing fixtures. Many of the bars used double as towel bars or toilet paper holders so the safety function stays quietly in the background. Every bar installed is ADA-compliant and load-rated to at least 250 pounds, with heavy-duty options rated for 500 pounds available when a larger body or a caregiver transfer is part of the picture.
Bathroom work is personal. Letting an installer into a private room calls for a calm and clean process.
A call or email starts the conversation. A description of the bathroom and the person who will use the bars matters: a walk-in shower with a glass door is a different conversation than a tub-shower combo from 1978. Ten to fifteen minutes on the phone is usually enough to plan a visit.
An on-site visit follows within a few days. Wall construction behind the tile gets checked, tub and shower heights get measured, and the homeowner’s step-in and step-out movement gets watched. A written quote arrives before any work is scheduled.
Every tool and part arrives ready. Drop cloths go down. Drilling into tile is done slowly with the right bit, and every penetration is sealed against water. Most bathrooms are finished in two to three hours. Every surface is vacuumed and wiped before the install ends.
Before leaving, Mark walks the homeowner through each bar in real situations: stepping in, sitting down, standing up. That gives the user a feel for the bar under load while the installer is still on site. A check-in a few weeks later confirms everything still feels solid, and one call brings a return visit if anything ever feels off.
Mark founded Eastside Grab Bars after watching his own aging family members lose confidence in their bathrooms. Small changes, done right, gave that confidence back. After retiring from the US Small Business Administration in Seattle in 2021, he turned that experience into a local business.
Mark holds the Aging in Place Home Safety Advisor designation through Age Safe America, the largest aging-in-place advocacy organization in the country. He also volunteers with Rebuilding Together Seattle, installing grab bars in homes across King County for low-income seniors. After putting bars on hundreds of bathroom walls, he knows what holds and what fails.
Yes. Tile installation is most of what Eastside Grab Bars does. Diamond-tip bits rated for ceramic and porcelain are used with slow drilling, and every hole is sealed with silicone rated for wet areas. Done right, the wall behind the bar stays dry and the tile stays intact.
Standard guidance puts shower and tub grab bars 33 to 36 inches above the floor, and toilet grab bars about 6 inches above the toilet seat. That said, the right height is the one that matches the user's arm, reach, and movement. Adjustments happen during the in-home assessment.
Honest answer: suction-cup bars are fine as a temporary aid for a guest staying a weekend. They are not safe as a primary grab bar for someone with real mobility concerns. Seals break, soap weakens the grip, and grout lines stop the cup from sealing at all. A bar that can actually be trusted has to be mounted into the wall.
Call Mark at (425) 522-8663, or send a message through the contact form. Most bathrooms can be made much safer in a single morning.
Senior discounts are available.
