Home Building - Bathroom Showers

You can really make a big splash when it comes to designing your shower. Unlike the old days when manufacturers offered a only few standard stalls or tub/shower combinations - now you can choose all your shower fixings, including valves, doors, shower heads, handle bars, jet sprays and much more to create a one-of-a-kind shower.

Shower Surrounds

Any surface material for a tub or shower surround should be applied on top of water-resistant or waterproof wall material. The most common type is water-resistant drywall, sometimes called "greenboard" because of its color. A more durable and water-resistant product is a cement-board. Cement-board products may be more expensive than greenboard, but the added expense affords you the peace of mind of knowing that your walls can stand up to the moist environment of the bathroom.

Types of Shower Surrounds

Prefabricated surrounds are available in fiberglass, acrylic, vinyl, plastic laminate, or synthetic stone. They’re available in one-piece and multipieces surround kits.

Solid-surface materials are made with a smooth acrylic surface that makes it easy to clean and it’s a material that will last a lifetime. Solid-surface materials start from $40 to $75 a square foot installed.

Ceramic tile is waterproof, durable, and easy to maintain, but has one drawback - the grout, which if not properly cleaned can grow mildew. To save on the cost of installation you can get small mosaic tiles (which measure about 1 inch square) that are bonded to sheets of 1x1-foot or 1x2-foot fiber mesh. These sheets go up faster than loose tiles, because you don't have to set each piece individually - but for many that’s half the fun - creating a masterpiece in the master bathroom. Tiles are priced from 17 cents to 40 cents a tile (not including installation) , but can easily escalate in cost.

Fiberglass is waterproof, durable, and simple to clean. Many companies manufacture three- and five-piece shower/tub surround units in various sizes. These are the cheapest units on the market with a range of $200 to $400.

Shower Doors

When installing any type of shower, your first priority should be to make sure the water stays in the shower area. This can easily be done by using either a shower curtain or shower door.

For a quick (but not always efficient) way to enclose your shower you can opt for a shower curtain. While you may like the idea of being able to change them - say seasonally - for a new look, you’ll probably be changing them more frequently because they to get dingy looking and can easily rip or tear. If you’re not careful about fully and properly (use those magnets) closing the curtain - water will easily escape.

All your water problems can be solved by installing a fixed door - which thanks to new styles and materials are very eye catching.

There a many configurations to choose from depending on the area they’re intended to cover, like the opening over a tub, the open side of a one-piece enclosure (shower stall) or the doorway to a custom shower. They open and close by either sliding, swinging or a combination of both. Keep in mind the layout of your bathroom, when you choose how your door will operate.

Sliding doors are the most common and use the least amount of space because they glide in a track, which is either mounted to the tub or the floor in a stand-alone shower. They’re available in two or three sections, but because of the track can be difficult to clean.

Bi-Fold / Curved Doors are made in folding sections that open like an accordion and use minimal space, while providing full access to the shower. The downside to using this door is that it can bind up in the track after excessive opening an closing and it’s difficult to keep clean. Like the bi-fold door, curved shower doors offer the advantage of "zero clearance" and are the perfect solution for corner installations. The door itself is a curved glass panel attached to a frame at both the top and bottom for stability and smooth operation. The door is reversible for right or left access.

Swinging Doors are made as wide as 48", but rarely are they more than 36" in width, because they need to clear the other fixtures in your bathroom. These doors can be hinge-mounted or pivoting and are secured with magnetic catches.

Glass Options

Glass is offered in a variety of styles, but they generally come clear or opaque. For a more unique look you can get a glass door that is obscure, fluted, etched, beveled and even stained.

Don’t vent about ventilation
Whether you’re soaking in your tub or enjoying a nice hot shower - you should have peace of mind knowing that a properly sized ventilation fan has been installed to eliminate condensation, which will eventually damage your decor. There are many different styles and sizes to choose from - just be sure you choose one.

Shower Sprays

The most common type of shower sprays are the fixed showerhead, handheld and body spray. A showerhead installed in a fixed position on the wall or ceiling and may have adjustable water direction and spray styles - depending on the manufacturer. Handheld sprays are very versatile and have a hose connection (in varied lengths). You can mount them to a shower wall or sliding bar and they usually have two or more adjustable spray styles. A body spray is usually installed below your shoulder and in groups of two or more. The direction of the water and the amount of spray styles varies from each unit. Spray styles vary with each product, but you’ll get to choose from a soft-aerated spray, strong, deep massage spray, pulse spray, strong concentrated spray, concentrated pulse spray and a mixed spray that’s strong and pulsating.

Custom Showers

While traditional single-spray showerheads are still widely used for a single-purpose shower enclosure, or as part of a tub-shower combination, the new trend is using showerheads with multiple spray patterns and multiple valves. Current state-of-the-art shower systems are quite elaborate, so they require a lot of additional plumbing. If you want to have a high tech shower installed in your new home, you must decide this before construction begins and discuss your plans in detail with your plumber. Be sure your water supply and pressure is plentiful, because these units use up a lot of natural resources. Note: Some well and septic systems can’t handle these units.

Basically custom showers are multiple-head showers that consist of valves, water outlets, volume controls, shower heads, handheld showers, or body sprays. There are two main types of custom showers - full body spas or carwash showers and shower towers.

Carwash showers/Full body Spas

Full body showers consist of a dual array of vertically mounted spray nozzles, designed to spray the body from head to toe under adjustable volume and pressure. 'His-and-her' temperature-control valves and arrays of as many as 6 or more water sources are common.

You can choose a body spa, which is a re-circulating stand up whirlpool with a waterfall, or you may prefer an electronically controlled shower system that consists of pulsating and pivoting body sprays to which you can add a showerhead. Most spas and carwash showers use about 80 gallons of water per minute (that’s more than the combined delivery of 25 standard showerheads).

If you like steam, then you can add a steam generator to your system, but be sure your electrician knows about this in advance so he can include the additional wiring when laying out your bathroom.

Shower Towers

These mighty fountains are an integrated one-piece custom shower that combines valves, body sprays, handheld sprays, and water jets using a single water line connection. Multiple units can be installed to create a unique and luxurious custom shower, without complicated plumbing design considerations.