Bathroom fixtures and showerheads

S

Shann

Joined
Sep 2, 2004
Messages
5,250
I finally got the money to put in a bathroom upstairs :) So I'm having the contractor build in a shower instead of one of those little shower stalls. I need to know about showerheads. Who here knows of such things. I want good pressure and maybe multiple heads

Also, short of going to Canada to get a high flow toilet, are there toilets out there that handle the low flow issue?
 
Moving to Gadgets & Gear.
 
There are 3 kinds of legal 1.6 gallon flush toilets:

1) You can get the old-fashioned-looking kind with a separate tank high up on the wall. It works, it's cheap -- but it's not fashionable.

2) You can get one that looks like a 2.5 gallon toilet but has a pump inside to increase the pressure and make it work with 1.6 gallons. It works, it's fashionable -- but it's expensive.

3) You can do what all the builders do: get a toilet that's just like the 2.5 gallon toilets except it only uses 1.6 gallons. It's fashionable, it's cheap -- it doesn't work, but the buyers won't find out until it's too late, so why should the builders care about that? :confused:
 
I splurged on a shower faucet that has a thermostat. Money well spent. I can turn up and down the pressure, even turn it off for any reason, and turn it back on or up and the temp hardly changes enough to say that is for sure different.. It laughs at flushed toilets!

It also makes it real hard for the kiddies to turn it up and scald themselves. the normal temp for everyone is not exactly the same, but just twisting the knob will bring up something in the neighborhood. To increase the temp to all hot requires pulling on part of the knob while turning the bigger part so younger ones can be sent in alone without fear of burning.

The shower head has been a point of contention for years. I am over a foot taller than my wife and normal shower heads have diverging water cones that get farther and farther spread out the lower the body part making the water density insufficient for some types of rinsing. I splurged on one of the big "rain" shower heads that are almost a foot in diameter, but the individual streams are almost parallel so the pattern is the same for her knees or whatever as it is for the top of my head. The head I got has a button that changes to a middle section that is more like a higher pressure cone like "traditional" heads if that is desired.

I thought about multiple heads, body sprayers, etc. and decided after the previous splurges I would have to cheap out. If I had to choose, I would give up my rain head before my faucet. I would not trade my thermostatic faucet for any arrangement of heads. In a bigger shower, more heads might be needed. Maybe adding a whole second station at the other end with individual temp controls? Hey, I can dream...
 
Speakman shower head. Best there is with many models. Even the low end is better than everyone else's high end. I have moved my Speakman from every house that I have lived in since 1960. My son has started the same practice.
Needle spray to a flood and everything in between. Great product, I didn't realize I was so passionate about them until now.
 
Hans Grohe makes some of the best shower systems in the world. Here is their US website:

http://www.hansgrohe-usa.com/products/bathmain.php

Click on the "Brands" menu and select "ShowerPower".

My wife and I just build a double shower with an African Slate interior and a Hans Grohe shower system inside. We each have a large showerhead and three body sprays. Each side has its own temperature control (she likes hot and I prefer warm) and the water will not change temperature on us. Period. We have experimented with the shower thermostats by running two washing machines, two dishwashers, and having our four kids simultaneously flush toilets -- our shower temperatures remains constant and will not fluctuate in the least.

We each have two dials controlling water pressure, one to the main shower head and one to the three body sprays. It's great and I couldn't ask for more (I'm fairly demanding of what I buy).

We did a lot of research on showers and were most impressed with the quality and features of Hans Grohe. Whatever you do, I would avoid getting the large "rainforest" type shower heads. It's like standing in a downpour. You get drenched but it's not satisfying, and most are designed to go directly overhead which makes me feel like I'm underwater. What you need is quality equipment with a good aerator inside which will deliver good volume and pressure and still feel "soft" against your skin.

Hey, if you're re-doing the entire house, consider getting a potfiller with a good aerator (avoids splashing the soup or pasta water) on the wall behind your stovetop.

Good luck with your search. Let us know how it all works out.
 
Wow, RobbW. I just went with the Home Depot thermostatic one. Your setup sounds incredible. Any way to post a pic? (of the shower, not in use!)
 
How ironic! Just yesterday I searched this forum looking for a discussion on shower heads. I figured that something that alot of us use to wake up in the morning would have been discussed in the past, but it hasn't. The gadget article in Maxim with the $120 shower head made me think that there were probably some really good ones and some really bad ones and that the guys on here might know.

Carry on.

Mark
 
grommit said:
Wow, RobbW. I just went with the Home Depot thermostatic one. Your setup sounds incredible. Any way to post a pic? (of the shower, not in use!)
Click to expand...

I have the pics on my computer, but have no way to post them here. Anyone know of a good (i.e. spam free & not require personal info) hosting site I could join?
 
You're a premium member -- you can upload pix! Click on the "manage attachments" button below the box you type your message into. :cool:
 
Cougar Allen said:
You're a premium member -- you can upload pix! Click on the "manage attachments" button below the box you type your message into. :cool:
Click to expand...


(In my best Homer Simpson voice): Doh!
(Hits self in the forehead).

Thanks for the tip. I guess I never realized Premium membership had its privilege. I'll give it a whirl.
 
On a related note, I replaced the wax seal under one of my toilets this week. Not too bad, took about an hour with my brother helping.
 
My boss who still holds a Master Pipefitter's license (but hasn't worked in the trade for 25 years) would back the speakman recommendation. He's a second generation plumber by training. He even carries one in his travel bag with a little wrench to use in hotel rooms. He also recommends Grohe fixtures and faucets as does my next door neighbor who is a plumbing contractor and has used them throughout his home.

This is a timely thread as just tonight my neighbor was explaining to me the finer details of what he did over the last two days whilst replacing my water main! I haven't got the bill yet but my 40 year old gavanized main line sprung it's last leak a few days ago and has now been replaced by a one inch grade L copper main line. The timing was bad financially (when is something like this ever good?) but the good news is that I have a great neighbor and I'm sure it will end up costing me WAY less than just calling some plumber from the phonebook, and I know he did it right. This involved 75 feet of trenching and passing under three different concrete areas. While this kind of expense is never welcome, at least we finally have some water pressure! I can shower now and my wife can flush the toilet or maybe even run the dishwasher at the same time. Unfortunately the increase in pressure has shown that a couple fixtures around the house now need upgrading as well. Most specifically the waterheater which the home inspector told us needed replacing when we bought the house six years ago, but it's held so far:) It looks like a couple faucets need to be replaced as well.

Regarding the shower head, I had drilled out the restrictor of a Moen head to get enough flow to rinse my hair, but with the increased pressure, the thing will now remove your scalp! Time for a new shower head.

John
 
Regarding the shower head, I had drilled out the restrictor of a Moen head to get enough flow to rinse my hair, but with the increased pressure, the thing will now remove your scalp! Time for a new shower head.

Removing the restrictor is a good suggestion, you also will want to make sure that you run a full 3/4" hot and cold water supply to feed that bathroom (The fixtures are usually fed through 1/2" inch lines, and sometimes people will tap into those rather then the main water supply).

n2s
 
I just checked ebay for speakman shower nozzles and they are dirt cheap there. Are those lower end models or are they all so inexpensive? It would be nice for a change to get quality stuff that doesn't break the bank. ;)

Nevermind, I just spent 30 mins researching them and reading webpages. I have an idea now. :)

Now my question is, which of the Anystreams? The newest plastic one (and most adjustable), the Anystream 2000? Or one of the older 4,6, or 8 nozzle all brass ones?

Mark
 
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