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Choosing Showers

Soaking in a nice hot bath, with or without whirlpool/massage action, is certainly a luxury. But when time is a luxury that few can afford, a shower is a more efficient means of getting clean. You would be hard-pressed to find a modern bathroom that didn't have a shower, either as a self-contained unit or in combination with a bath. Simply put, showers are a necessity of modern American life.

Unfortunately, the most common type of shower in American bathrooms leaves something to be desired. While the ubiquitous combination bath/shower has the advantage of packaging a bathing and showering area into a meager 15 sq. ft.—no mean feat when space is at a premium—there are trade-offs, perhaps the most important being safety. The curved sides of a conventional bathbath and the oftentimes slippery porcelain or plastic surface contribute to the fact that the bathbath is one of the most dangerous spots in the home. The actual standing area is often less than 20 in. wide, and the water controls are usually inoperable unless standing directly in the shower stream, an uncomfortable place to be when there is a surge of hot or cold water.

Nevertheless, the combination bath/shower continues to be a popular choice in both new construction and renovation. Builders like these units because they are quick to install and relatively foolproof, while homeowners like them because they don't leak and they're easy to keep clean. One-piece bath/shower units in acrylic (at the higher end of the price scale) or gel-coat fiberglass (at the lower end) are common in new construction, while two- or three-piece units are suitable for renovation and remodeling work because they can be broken down into smaller components that fit through interior doorways, then be reassembled on-site. One-piece units are virtually leak free, but two- and three-piece units don't present much of a leakage problem either if they are well designed and manufactured and assembled correctly.

Prefabricated Showers

If space isn't at a premium and there is room for both a shower and a bath, or if a shower is all that is desired for a particular bathroom, then there are a number of different styles and sizes of prefabricated shower stalls. These range from simple fiberglass or acrylic stalls to self-contained shower modules with options like built-in seats, electronically controlled multiple showerheads, and steam generators. In addition to the regular square and rectangular shapes, prefabricated showers are also available in angled shapes, commonly called neo-angle, to fit into corners and in multipiece configurations, which may be the only way to fit them into a bath renovation.

Bigger shower stalls offer more room for features like shelves and molded-in seats. Many units have integral grab bars for safety, although they might not necessarily be rated at the required strength or located properly for ASTM certification (or ANSI Z124.1 or Z124.2). Bigger units also offer more room for bending over to wash legs or for standing out of the shower stream, as well as room for two people to use the shower comfortably at one time. And in addition to the features mentioned previously, some shower stalls have a deeper base, allowing the inclusion of a foot massage. Expect to pay over £900 for one of these units.

Prefabricated shower units that are designed for universal access are also available. Typically, these units feature low curbs to make it easier for wheelchair entry and exit and extensive grab bars, as well as options like fold-down transfer seat.

Though a totally custom-built shower is technically demanding, I find these showers to be the most satisfying from a builder's standpoint because of the personal satisfaction that comes from creating something from scratch, rather than simply installing components like a technician. Waterproofing such an enclosure is a challenge, however, and in many cases using a premanufactured shower receptor—a waterproof base with a drain already installed—is a cost-effective middle-of-the-road approach. These one-piece receptors are manufactured out of a variety of materials, including fiberglass, acrylic, and cast polymers, and are available in a number of colors, shapes, and sizes. Waterproof sidewalls will still need to be built on-site, but the labor and worry of installing a waterproof shower pan while still retaining a considerable degree of design flexibility are eliminated.

In addition to the personal satisfaction of building a custom shower, there is the flexibility in materials and design that these showers allow. And while materials like fiberglass and acrylic have found wide acceptance in bathroom construction, I still think that natural materials like tile, glass block, and stone have a solid feel under foot that makes them compelling alternatives to plastic, with a real feeling of quality.

Wall-less showers I've seen a number of appealing ideas recently in custom shower design. One approach is to eliminate the shower walls altogether, waterproof the entire bathroom floor with the use of a waterproofing membrane, and simply situate the shower valve, showerhead, and drain in one corner of the bathroom. A curtain can help to control the splash if the bathroom is quite small, while a larger room might not need any curtain at all if the other fixtures aren't affected by an occasional splashing. This type of shower is particularly appealing for wheelchair users, as it eliminates many of the maneuvering problems associated with bathroom stalls and curbs. Of course, the bathroom will often have a wet floor, which might be a problem, and the entire floor will have to be sloped 1/4 in. per ft. toward the drain, but if the floor is a radiantly heated slab (a commonly used approach in this type of bathroom), then the floor will dry out quickly, at least during the heating season.

If a wall-less shower isn't an option, you might consider a doorless one. Again, the shower area has to be sufficiently large, and the controls and showerhead need to be situated so that oversplash doesn't cause any problem with adjoining fixtures (nobody likes to sit on a soaking wet toilet seat, and most cabinets and countertops suffer from constant exposure to water). While oftentimes a shower stall might be deep enough so that a door is simply unnecessary, sometimes simply angling the entrance to the shower will keep water where it belongs. Again, building this type of shower without curbs will make it easier for wheelchair users to use it.

Multiple showerheads There's no rule that states that showers may have only one showerhead, though in most combination bath/showers this is the only alternative. But if a shower has room for two people, then installing two showerheads is a good idea. A configuration that I like is a standard fixed showerhead as the main unit, with a track-mounted handheld shower located on an adjacent-or opposing wall. At minimum, each showerhead should have its own volume control, but adding a second valve will provide the option of independently controlling temperature as well. Mounting the handheld shower on a track makes its height adjustable, an especially useful feature for households with children who have outgrown the bath. Showerheads should be mounted so that a person can stand with his head and neck out of the spray, not usually possible with conventional showerheads roughed in at 66 in. high. Besides being convenient for body and hair washing, a handheld shower mounted on a long-enough hose is also great for rinsing out a shower stall after cleaning.

In addition to showerheads for overall use, consider installing body-spray units too. These offer horizontal spray hydromassage to specific areas of the body. Some have adjustable spray patterns, some are designed to be mounted individually, and some are mounted as complete units.

One point to remember when installing multiple showerheads is that they require a lot of water; simply using 1/2-in. supply lines won't provide sufficient volume or pressure. In most cases, 3/4-in. supply lines and mixing valve will be necessary, as will a manifold loop to equalize pressure and temperature at all of the spray heads (see the drawing below). Also, keep in mind that the flow rate for individual showerheads shouldn't exceed 2.5 gpm (gallons per minute), but that in a multihead system the cumulative demand on the hot water supply will be much greater.

Steam showers It isn't that difficult to add a steam shower to a regular shower enclosure. Compact and self-contained steam generators for residential use are now available that will easily fit in an adjacent vanity cabinet or closet. These generators typically require their own 220-volt circuit and are sized according to the volume of the shower stall. Hookup is relatively simple, with usually a 3/8-in supply line off the hot-water line and a 1/2-in. copper line supplying the steam to the enclosure. In order for the steam generator to work effectively, the stall needs to be vapor-proof, which might mean that curb-to-ceiling doors, additional glass panels, or a vapor-proof ceiling needs to be added.