4" can be ok if the style you have chosen has plenty of room to clean round the base of the actual faucet spout and handles on all sides and in between. 8" pretty much gurantees you'll have that space to get a cleaning cloth or sponge in between and all around the spout & handles but they do tend to be a bit more expensive.

I might be wrong in my assumptions, but I plan on using a 4" drain instead of a 3" drain for the simple reason that, to my thinking, it seems that a 4" drain would have a MUCH less likelihood of clogging. 3" = 7.06 square inches 4" = 12.6 square inches 4" has nearly twice the area and I don't see the cost being that much more. I know code says 3" is ok but code is minimum acceptable standards. People are free to correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks, Ronnie

Got a question. My shower has 3 body sprays that never worked right because they were hooked up with the other shower heads and therefore had no pressure. I opened up a part of the wall on the outside to see what I could do. The body sprays have a 1/2" presure balance system hooked up to a regular valve coming from the shower heads. I bought a Moen 1/2" posi valve to hook up to the body sprays and separate from the shower heads. My main is 3/4" branching off to the 1/2" balance system. My question is the 1/2" posi valve has small holes inside for the water, would it benefit me to use a 3/4" posi valve to mix more water or would that just turn down the pressure. I hoped I explained this right. I cannot redo the 1/2" balancing system without taking all the tile and cement board off and really creating a mess. Thanks in advance.

Helpful discussion! I am installing hardwood on our top floor, and I'd like a good quality hardwood. The trouble is that I have an open staircase going upstairs with lots of railing on both sides of the open hallway. I pulled up the existing carpet upstairs and realized that I only have 1/2 inch between the carpet and the railing. The hardwood contractor says that I'll have to go with 3/8 inch engineered hardwood; If I don't, the new floor will be higher than the railings. Alternatively, the railings will all have to be pulled out and their height increased-which will cost thousands. My question is this: Are these the only two options? 3/8" hardwood or raise the railings? Since we have a dog, I am a bit concerned about getting a flooring product with a 2 mm wear layer.