Where do you live? My code for putting shower plumbing on exterior walls would have cost me lots of money and six inches of space in the shower. So I would place the regular shower head and hand held on the small wall on the left and controls on that wall or on the pony wall. I would use three volume controls so that I could use my hand held alone at times without needing a diverter. I like niches or shampoo ledges on a pony wall out of sight when possible so I would try and fit that on the pony wall too.

I live near Houston, TX and my current single shower head is on the exterior wall, so I presume it is allowed and would not require additional work. But I will ask the contractor about that.

So is it better to have 3 volume controls rather than 2 volume controls plus diverter? I have to admit I am confused about controls and diverters and all the choices of how to set up a shower. I had picked out a 3-way diverter that can enable showerhead only, hand-held only or in-between for both to work at the same time. Now that I think of it, it does seem to make sense to just have 3 volume controls instead.

Than shower and hand held on the right exterior wall. Thermostatic pressure valve and volume controls on the opposite small wall, rain can on ceiling center with lights flanking it, shampoo ledge across pony wall and towel rack outside on pony wall is how I might set it up.

Sorry, I have a dumb question. So if I put the regular shower head on the right-side exterior wall and the valve on the opposite small wall, if I am under the shower and I want to change the temperature, do I have to walk over to the other wall to change that? I don't think thermostatic is available with Delta fixtures and that is what I chose. I can change that. Can you explain what a thermostatic is? Sorry, I have been able to learn and understand so many things, but the shower set up has stumped me. I've read so many thread on GW about this and it still confuses me.

Yes in my set up you would have to walk over to my temp valve. Maybe two will work best in your shower, or put the rain can closer to the controls.

I think my middle temp valve is a temp control plus pressure balanced as well. It is most likely called a pressure balance valve vs a thermostatic valve sorry I think I mixed the terms up earlier. That means the water temp is always consistent to the setting. My water reaches the desired tempature within seconds of me turning my shower on in the morning and stays consistent if someone flushes or uses another water source else where in the house. Only negative is I can not have a shower colder than 70 degrees though...

the three volume controls only control water volume not temp. My plumber advised me to buy one pressure balanced temp control and than the three separate volume controls. Most brands have matching lines for this set up.

Here is an article that might explain it better. https://www.plumbingsupply.com/pressure-balance-vs-thermostatic-valves.html

Thanks for your response. I'm still confused, but that's certainly not your fault! Thanks for the article. I will continue reading. I just want to take a shower and be able to use all these fixtures separately (usually) or together (occasionally).