Currently my shower has a single shower head coming out of the wall. I am adding 2 10" chrome Kingston Brass rain heads to the ceiling, and I want to replace my current single shower head with a wall mounted hand-held shower head bar. What is the best solution for what I am looking for? I want to use the same location of the existing shower head as the water source for the hand-held and I don't want to spend a fortune.

My contract with my GC provides that I supply the fixtures and obviously the rough stuff as well since it has to work with the fixtures. However, at some point someone who understands technical plumbing issues should be doing the purchasing or telling you exactly what to purchase. When I was selecting my shower fixtures, my designer obviously helped me with the look of the fixtures but she also explained the difference in shower valve temperature regulations - thermostatic versus pressure balance and then I decided which kind I wanted. The shower fixtures you select would then determine what rough you needed and she was responsible for ordering those. In other words I selected the style and how I wanted the end use experience to be like but she was responsible for making sure that everything necessary was provided to the GC so his plumbers could install what I wanted. So although I was providing the fixtures to the GC, someone with technical expertise was guiding me in the purchase.

My designer was here today helping me with some staging and I asked about my Speakman shower heads. She said that Speakman manufactured shower heads for some brands but they weren't advertised as such but just sold as part of the brand. For example, my shower fixtures are by Phylrich which uses the Speakman shower head under its brand. Evidently Speakman has particular design/construction elements which are recognizable that a professional recognizes a "Speakman" shower head even when it is not branded specifically but is being sold as part of the plumbing "package" by other brands.

Hi dmosunich, I personally use this Waterpik hand-held shower head when the old shower head stopped functioning. It works for my needs. Not fancy by any means but definitely am happy with the multi-spray options that the old fixed shower head could not provide. The criteria for me was that the shower head had to be bigger and wider, and have the ability to detach and have a long enough hose to move freely. This Waterpik fit all of that plus it had multiple spray patterns which was definitely a plus. Can't speak for its durability as it is made of plastic with an exterior metal-like shell (most likely a type of acrylic that looks like metal) but I've had it for about 2 months now and so far so good. Hope this helps. Very Best, Tai Truong Elements of Design 3400 Medford Street Los Angeles, CA 90063 tai@lusivedecor.com www.elementsofdesign.com