Hi GH, All of that water demand will, most likely require a 3/4" water line, instead of the standard 1/2" water line, be piped to the shower to deliver additional volume and pressure. Without that, you will not have good performance from using multiple sprays, regardless of the valve type or diverter option. And yes, the volume is cut in half with shared functions from a diverter, but depending on the shower heads, may still be adequate. It's a balancing act, and will depend on your water pressure from the street. For a standard 1/2" diverter, to just switch between functions, the Delta R11000 rough-in body is reasonable and good quality. Then you choose the type of trim option and a 6 function cartridge. Otherwise, if 3/4" water line is at the shower, separate volume controls will allow all the functions to flow at full blast.

Thank you so much for the responses. Sorry, I didn't reply sooner. antss - I'll check out the Kohler. Thanks for the heads up. mongoct - thanks for the detailed reply. I really appreciate the time you took. I agree that it doesn't look like we have much storage in the bathroom. However, the closet near the shower is 8 1/2 feet long and the other one is a little over 13 feet. Rather than add another door for a linen closet in the bathroom, we decided we would just have shelving in one of the closets for the excess linens. I think it will work for us given all that space & the fact that we have additional storage for off-season clothing. Yup, already got "beaten up" about the 2' doors on the new home forum (reposted there since I wasn't getting nibbles here & that is more my "home".) Anyway, I thought it was OK since we have a 2' door in our current powder room. Upon reflection, I think we will increase those to 2'4" to avoid banging knuckles when carrying a laundry basket. The WC compartment in our current master bath is 2'8"x5'2" with an in-swinging door which is on the side. I don't know if code is different in TX or the spec builder just got away with it. These plans were drawn up by an SC designer to build in SC. I'll ping the builder about code so we don't have any surprises. I was more than beaten up about this on the other forum with claims that 3 feet wide was absolutely insufficient to exist in. We must just be weird because our current room is fine & this is a touch bigger. We have used our WC room as a "mockup" & measured where the door would swing on the new one. Well, you have me there about the open door. ;^) Like I said, we're weird. I know that I won't be seeing much when its steaming, I was more interested in the sense of light I would get when sitting there. I want to maximize that. The steam shower is mostly for me (& our future septic tank). I take very long showers because I just stand there daydreaming & thinking. We had the idea that if I could sit in the shower surrounded by steam, I wouldn't go through so much water. I do think the seat is a problem. I couldn't get the designer to put in a bench deeper the 12", so I finally gave up & asked for a corner seat. Its seems like a bench should be between 15"-18" deep & long enough so I could lean against a wall & stretch my legs out along it. (I'm only 5'2" so that's not much length.) Do you have suggestions about height, length, depth & which wall to put it along? I've never had a rainshower experience so I don't really know what I want. In our current shower, we replaced the fixed showerhead with a Waterpik, so that is the extent of my direct experience with shower fixture technology. Pretty sad, right? I know we have to have a handshower, but that can also be what we use for general washing, right? I'd like body jets to be able to direct to parts that get sore (my shoulder & DH's elbow). I think if we are going to have a rainshower is should be the real deal as you described it. I was looking at Moen because that is what the plumbing supply house quoted as the basis for our builder's bid, but we're not limited to Moen. Also, our builder has no issue with us providing fixtures & our allowance will be credited. Since I have the quote sheet, I know that the builder's discount brings us in line with what we could get off the internet, so I have no problem going with the supplier for most things. I agree that the Moen system looks like a mess, but DH is leery about the digital alternative which is much sleeker. (And, we're both EE's; go figger.) Thank you so much for the advice about the Hansgrohe. I think that is exactly what I need. I did a quick look online & the (cheapest) trim kit + rough-in is ~$350. I read through the installation manual so I can start thinking about what fixture I want to go to which port. I assume that I can get whatever fixtures I want to work with the Hansgrohe, right? Again, I really welcome the advice & I understand what you were saying about the doors. I will quiz the builder on the WC room swing & code. Thanks - Jo Ann

I put in the handheld for a couple of reasons, one is that the hose allows the head to be moved around and hung from other points in the shower. Example; I have a head bracket in the wall down low, my wife sometimes hangs the head on that when she's shaving her legs, etc. Or the hose allows you to easily use the head to rinse down the walls and floor of the shower. Some people use it to wash their kids or even their dogs. One thing I learned a few years ago is that handhelds are no longer the cheap leaking showerheads that I grew up with back in the 70s. Hand held heads are now the same fine quality shower heads that go on a shower arm, except they're mounted on a (ta da!) handle. The only caution I'll offer is that rain heads have a gentle flow, it's not the vigorous spray that typical shower heads provide. Some people with long hair would find rinsing shampoo from their hair to be a slow process. So don;t plan on a rain head as your "main" shower head.

I enjoy the body sprays in my shower which are temperature controlled by the same thermostatic valve that the showerheads are connected through. You simply need to install a temperature control valve that is large enough to supply all the emitters you're likely to have on at the same time. Either a 3/4" valve or a 1" valve, depending on flow rates of your various emitters. That being said, if you live in a place with high water rates or a high sewer tax that is determined by water usage, you'll want to be conscious of what you have going on in a shower. Shower heads are limited by federal regulation to dispensing no more than 2.5 gallons per minute. Oddly, there's no restriction to the number of shower heads that you're permitted in a shower, so technically, you can blow through as much water as you want. Showering with a single shower head will use a maximum of 2.5 gallons per minute. If you've got a shower head and 3 body sprays going simultaneously, you're now going to be using 10 gallons per minute (2.5 gals per emitter). At that rate, a 10 minute shower is going to send 100 gallons down the drain. It doesn't take long for the costs associated with a luxury shower to really add up. You also need to keep this in mind when sizing your water heater because you'll be using 4 times as much hot water, too. As much as I enjoy my body sprays, I now limit their use to a Sunday morning treat -- for only a portion of my shower. I simply can't justify their use on a daily basis. It just seems wasteful.