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handheld shower head question

14 years ago

Hi, we are interested in a handheld shower head only (we currently have a fixed and separate handheld and never use the fixed). I am looking at hansgrohe that can be fixed or slid along a bar. The problem is that I am confused as to what I would need to buy in ADDITION to the shower head. There are diverters and mixers and knobs etc and I can't figure out what is necessary to buy and what are options to make this more luxurious. Can someone who's been there please help? Thanks.

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Comments (4)

bikrchc
14 years ago
I, too, am interested in help with this as that is what I would like to have as well. My understanding is that what is needed is

-showerhead
-hose
-showerhead holder
-slider bar
-diverter
-volume control
-temperature control
-rough-in valve
-tub spout

I was looking at the Hansgrohe 27160001 but it doesn't have a tub spout.

I am going to see if I can use the Grohe grohterm 3000 in some way as that way I don't have to buy a separate tub spout. Ideally, I would like a unit that combines features such as the volume control, temperature control and diverter.

The hansgrohe website has a resource page with FAQs which may be helpful.

(I wish the handshower could function as a tub spout!)
astridh
14 years ago
I bought a Hansgrohe hand held mounted to a bar along with the tub spout.
I bought:
Wall bar
Handshower
Wall supply
Hose
Tub spout
Thermobalance II TRIM KIT
Thermobalance II ROUGH IN VALVE
(the II means two options for the water: handheld showerhead or tub spout, or fixed shower head or handheld)
I bought the one with service stops, which you may not really need.
If you only need a single shower head and no tub spout you would want the Thermobalance I.
There is also a Thermobalance III if you want a fixed shower head, hand held, and a tub spout.

I LOVE the thermobalance valve. There is one knob or lever for temperature and a separate one for volume. I like to be able to turn on the shower every morning and get the perfect temperature every time without fiddling with it. I highly recommend it. Also, you can't get scalded if someone flushes the toilet.

I bought all of this from Faucet.com. I got the faucets there, too. They had the best prices, service, and helped me figure out what I wanted. If you talk to someone, they can sell you any combination of parts. You are not limited to the combinations on the web site.
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I have the Hansgrohe Retroaktiv 2-jet handshower. I think the number was 0612-7000 (I think 7000 = chrome). I chose it for its somewhat old-fashioned/Victorian look. They lots of different handhelds, most look more contemporary. 2-jet means that you can select two spray options which they call "full" and "massage". I would call them "regular shower" and "narrow pulsing". You adjust the water pressure on the wall valve. I always use it on the highest pressure, though. I have just the wall bar, but you can also put in a diverter valve or use two separate valves, one for the wall bar and one for the wallmount. I bought through faucet.com and had no problems. By the way, I also like the Hansgrohe thermostatic wall valve. It has the thermostatic temperature control and the volume on one unit. You can leave the water temperature on the setting that you like and just turn the volume up and down. I thought that Hansgrohe was a good value.
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Since this is a "medical" and as such might be a temporary need, and you say you have no desire to run more than one head at a time, the simplest and least invasive would be to replace your existing shower head with a hand held retrofit kit. Yes, you can buy additional brackets so the head can be mounted elsewhere on the wall. And you are correct, the bracket needs to be matched to the head, they are not necessarily universal. A lot of showers I build, I also make a teak bench for them. In addition to an extra bracket or two on the wall, often times I'll add a bracket to the edge of the bench. I'd look for the longest hose you can find. Personally I find the segmented metal hoses lay flatter and loop over themselves less than the plastic hoses. Plastic versus metal head? Plastic is fine in a decent head, but in a $9.00 head the entire thing might be too lightweight and spray water everywhere regardless of what material it is made from. Mongo
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I used a single thermostatic valve made by California Faucets that has a large temperature control in the center of the bezel, flanked by two smaller levers for water volume control, which allow the two showerheads to be used together or alone in any proportion, with all three levers contained in one valve unit. They're available with round or rectangular metal backplates, in several colors/finishes, with numorous style choices for the knobs and levers. Like it a whole lot.
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Comments (23)
Thanks for all the input everyone! So I think I made some decisions. I bought a handheld showerhead from Hammerhead showers. They are all metal, under $100, look nice and get good reviews. I’ll just have the showers plumbed with a regular showerhead pipe and then install the hand held showerhead as the main/only shower head. For my son’s bathroom, I bought this suction cup handheld showerhead holder that we can place lower down for him. It was $15 on Amazon. I just need to find a tub spout and shower diverter now. When we remodel, the horizontal bar won’t be there any more.
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btnik
14 years ago
Astridh -- we are looking at a similar Hansgrohe setup for the redo of our boys' bath. Only difference is we want the Thermobalance III so that it controls shower head, tub and hand shower from one control. Question: it isn't clear from looking at it how well it controls volume. The temp dial is easy to understand ("set it and forget it"). But the other dial is for selecting both the outlet and the volume. In your experience, how well does that work, now that you've used it? We like the idea of minimizing clutter and the controls on the wall. According to our supplier, Hansgrohe is the only maker of a 3-way diverter and temp control like that. The whole set-up is pretty expensive, so we want to make sure it's worth it. Thanks for any thoughts.
astridh
14 years ago
I can only speak for the Thermobalance II two-way diverter, which is what I have. If the lever points straight down, it is off. Turn to the left to turn on the shower (more left = more volume) and turn to the right for the tub (or maybe vice versa). It functions fine and is easy to use. Anyway, I don't know how it works for the Thermobalance III. You could call Hansgrohe and ask them.

I don't really see a need for a separate fixed shower head and the hand shower. The hand shower fixed to the bar works great for us. Not sure how much money you'd save by skipping the fixed shower head. I would definitely not skip the hand shower, though.

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