THINGS I'M GLAD WE DID We planned for the future and ran PVC pipe underneath all our concrete walks and drives so landscape lighting could be added later. Also ran pipe for electric wires out to the backyard where we would be building our barn the next year so we wouldn't have to dig up the yard again. Wired for an entertainment system in the basement (which we are finishing now -- 2 yrs. after move-in). DH insited on 400 amp service so we would have plenty of electrical for pool, barn etc. Splurged on the kitchen cabinets and appliances. It's one of our favorite rooms and is large enough for both of us to cook at the same time. Makes cooking & cleanup easy and enjoyable. Insisted on a pool bath with a separate entrance into the home. We fired our first designer when he insisted it was a waste of space in our northern home and would present a security risk because it makes another entrance to the home. It's great not to have guests walk across our wood floor when coming in from the pool to use the restroom. It's also a great changing room for the pool and hot tub and the shower is a great place to wash the doggie. Lots of very large windows to view the beautiful landscape and wildlife from everywhere in the home. What a way to increase the endorphins during an upper midwest winter. We used to live in a house where we could barely see outside. Our coffee area in the MB suite. We saw this in a parade home and had our second (and final) architect plan for this. It consists of some cabinetry, a small refrigerator and a bar sink -- perfect for making coffee in the morning or storing juice and sodas. It's located outside the bedroom, bathroom and closet area but still inside the suite area. Planned for a single, very large MB closet. It's 10 x 15 and is a perfect size for storing all our clothes and is also a roomy changing room. A covered lanai in the back of the house to escape the summer heat but enjoy the rainstorms. Our hardwood floor (Brazilian Teak) throughout the house. One of the biggest "wow" factors to people visiting. THINGS I WISH WE HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY Mostly small size changes which you wouldn't understand unless you were inside the house. A couple of feet here and there to make a room slightly larger. We actually cut those feet off the original plan to keep it just under 4000 sq.ft. Boy, I wish we had kept them. Really checked our cabinet layout. Our laundry room has a tight area when using the fold-down ironing board. It's mainly because we chose a front loading washer & dryer which are deeper than traditional machines. Try to visualize the cabinets and how they work in the room.

My husband and I both now think this problem in shower is really a valve/cartridge problem... the plumber is not coming out until Monday -- the company said that they were not required to come out sooner because 1--the weather is still under 32 and apparently this plumbing co will not check frozen pipes when it is still freezing (unlike some others -- I know that is a jacked-up attitude) and 2-- we don't really HAVE an emergency since we have another shower to use and there is no evidence of secondary damage occurring-- frankly I think that is because we are using our home warrenty contract to cover this call and they know they can't jack up our rates -- We have no basement--house is in DFW TX area--homes here (unless they are built on sloping lot with serious elevation change)almost never have basements... We still have no prblem w/water flow in any bathroom except for this shower-- but we are letting it drip again tonight--and a sink faucet on an exterior wall...(just to humor me more than anything) Do either of you know if having a re-circulating HW system so that you get "instant" hot water when you turn on that tap makes a difference when you are trying to prevent freezing pipes-- I don't know how these plumbing lines are run for that system--and I have read there are couple of ways to design/install one...

If ever there was a useless piece of equipment offered for sale in the hardware store it has to be the WATTS pressure gage with the attached female hose connecter. For a mere $10 you can purchase the gage, attach it to any faucet in the house with a hose thread, turn the faucet on and voila, you instantly know the static head pressure in your water distribution system. Big Deal, with that fact and about $5 you could get a cup of coffee at starbucks but in the real world of plumbing you donÂt know any more than you did before you got the gage. Ask yourself this question. What psi do you need to get a good shower? What psi does it take to fill your bathtub from the spout? In truth, at this point we havenÂt even established a proper standard of measurement. Is this psi? psia? or Psig? PSI simply defines pounds per square in, however vacuum can be expressed in psi, and in that case the water would be getting sucked back into to pipe rather that providing a solid force in your shower. PSIA (Pounds per square inch-absolute) is commonly used in scientific notation because it measure the total pressure above zero pressure (Perfect Vacuum) and a psia gage sitting alone on a workbench not connected to anything would read 14.7psi at sea level. Why? Because the atmospheric pressure is 14.7psi at sea level and a PSIA gage reads all available pressure above zero, but then the atmospheric pressure drops one pound for each 1000ft of vertical elevation so if the gage is on a bench in Denver, Colorado it will only read 9.7psia. In fact, this is exactly how the altimeter on an airplane works. On the other hand, if you lived at sea level and hooked a PSIA gage on your water line and you got a reading of 10psi it would be indicating 4.7pounds of negative pressure (vacuum) on your water line and your not getting any water. For the record, the WATTS gage in question is calibrated as a PSIG (pounds per square inch gage- meaning pounds per square inch above standard atmospheric pressure). Technically speaking where I live the elevation is 1154ft above sea level so a PSIG gage has a 1psi error here. Some gages such as those used by HVAC technicians have a removable cover glass and a small set screw so the technician can zero the gage for the current atmospheric pressure but for the purposes of measuring water pressure one psi more or less is not going to make much difference. Now let us consider the question at hand. The shower is on the third floor in a row house in NYC, For the sake of illustration let us assume the water main is under the sidewalk immediately outside the house about 25ft from the water meter and the post says they have a 1" water line coming in. The International Residential Plumbing Code says we must have a minimum of 45psig static head pressure (static meaning at rest-no flow) at the junction of the house main shutoff valve. (Under the Uniform Plumbing Code we are only required to have 15psig per UPC 608.1). Assuming for the moment that we have the required 45psig at the main in the basement, what do you suppose the static head pressure is at the tub on the third floor? Water weighs .434pounds per foot of vertical column and the physical weight of the water standing in that riser opposes the flow so while the static head pressure at the main is 45psig at the tub 30ft above the static head pressure would be 45psig  (,434x30)= 45psi- 13.02psi = 31.98psi but keep in mind that this is still the static head pressure. Once flow begins all this will change instantly. Once flow begins we not only have the vertical static head loss but we also have pipe wall friction loss and pipe wall friction loss changes proportional to the velocity of flow. The post stated that the showerhead has a flow rate ranging from 9.8 to 15gpm. For simplicity let us use 10gpm as the flow rate. Consulting the Copper Tube Handbook, page 30, table 6-Pressure loss of water due to friction in types K, L & M copper and let us use the figures for type L. We now have 10gpm coming in the 1" water line from the municipal main and the distance is 25ft. At 10gpm the friction loss in a 1" Type L copper pipe is 0.027psi/ft 0.027 x 25ft= 0.675psi so the pressure at the main shutoff is now 45psig  0.675psi = 44.325psig From the main we have two ¾" risers (hot & cold) and the ratio is 2H to 1C or 6.66gal. of hot water and 3.33gal. of cold water. At 6.66gpm the friction loss in ¾" copper is approx. 0.030psi/ft and we have a 30ft rise so the friction loss is 0.030 x 30= .9psi and the vertical static head loss on the 30 ft riser is 13.02psi so the combined loss is 13.02 + 0.9= 13.92psi. The hot water pressure at the shower mixer is then 44.325psig  13.92psi = 30.405psi. Also keep in mind that if any other demand for water is turned on during your shower the velocity of flow in the main and distribution lines would increase, thereby increasing the friction loss and again lowering your shower pressure. The reason we donÂt install a pressure gage on the water system is because under normal use the gage needle would be jumping like a windshield wiper and the average homeowner would be in a panic thinking something is wrong with their system. In fact, these changes are so dramatic that while the International Residential Code requires 45psig static head pressure at the main, TableT-2903,1 only requires a flow rate of 3gpm @ 8psig at the shower.

It has to work. Then again, if you say it doesnÂt, I believe you. But my first sentence was correct, in that, such an arrangement is made to be open at two places, the spout and the showerhead. Water naturally falls, so it will try first to exit the spout. When the diverter is actuated, and it cannot fall, it seeks the other option. This is a nice arrangement, because when the shower is shut OFF, it will drain the riser tube, so that you donÂt get a blast of chilly water next time. There are three reasons why this might not work. The first two involve the installation. If the shower was Âabandoned by an earlier user, it may have been capped-off at the top of the mixing valve. Similarly the valves are Âdirectional. It may be in upside down. But, often the problem is in the Âsmart valving that is used for anti-scald control. Since it is "anti-scald," these are made more cheaply by sensing too-hot water and stopping it, while the COLD still flows. Some valves shut down both sides. If the cartridges in these are installed upside down (handle 180° out of position) no water will flow. But I donÂt think it can be true for the shower-only. If you think the water should flow to the showerhead, it can be in the mixing valve itself. You can get a Moen repair kit almost everywhere. If you remove the cartridge, you may find that the seals have been sheared by sharp edges of the valve body, where the finely-machined bore meets the cast passages at an oblique angle. As this material accumulates, it can lodge in the small port that feeds the riser, eventually creating a packing capable of stopping the water from rising. Before installing a new kit, insert an emery board into the valve body and try to round off any sharp edges. If this is the problem, the port will need cleaning, too. You can probe that with a small wire (paper clip) or try blowing back an air blast thru the shower arm. Any clogging material will end up in the valve and must be washed out before reassembly. Then run the shower water with the head off for the same reason, before reinstalling it. Pinoke