Who's got a rain shower/shower and hand shower combo setup they adore?

2 years ago

Currently prepping and beginning to order fixtures for a full bath remodel. It's the main bathroom in our 110-year-old house; will have a fully tiled walk-in shower. The rest of the bath fixtures (5'8" standing drain Standard J-tub, huge oval pedestal sink) are vintage restored chrome. We have fairly strong city water pressure with excellent soft water (Portland, Maine).

I'm a regular bather and my non-negotiable was keeping the bathtub. Here's the reason for this post: husband's sole request is a rain shower like the one he loves at the gym. If we do this, I'd want a hand-shower for rinsing feet, cleaning etc and I'd get one on a rail for those times I don't want to wash my hair. We had a poor experience in a previous house with a railed Moen handshower that continually drooped so we couldn't use it as a regular showerhead; presumably the design of these has gotten better in the intervening years. Should I consider three fixtures -- handshower, rain head and fixed wall head? My searches show that handheld rails with a fixed top showerhead are also available.

Our plumber will work with any brand but has mildly advised against Delta/Brizo and Pfister. He's a miracle worker who brought our old Crane sink and Case kidney toilet downstairs back to fully functional life, and I'd trust him with any installation. I see many positive reviews of the Grohe rainshower systems but my only concern is that their ultra-modern style won't jibe with our vintage vibe. Aesthetically, we are not huge fans of the sensor button/LED/motion-detecting type of setup -- very basic manual Chicago Faucet type or even commercial styling is fine. Brands like Signature Hardware and Kingston Brass offer more vintage styles but I don't know anything about their quality and durability.

So have at it: what combination rain shower/hand shower do you folks have, and what fixture set-ups and/or brands do you either love or strongly advise against? Thank you!

Comments (5)

L A
2 years ago
Mine combination came from RH and I love the set up.
Circus Peanut thanked L A
roarah
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I have grohe fixtures. I have a large rain can on the ceiling and a fixed hand held on the wall that i use for feet and rinsing the shower but use as a wall fixed head for rinsing my thick long hair. I dislike the bars mainly because they always drooped after a few years. My hand held can rotate left, right and up and down easily. My husband loves the rain can, me not so much. We did jets so the area is a bit busy but Grohe has vintage options too.
Circus Peanut thanked roarah
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The spec sheets are vague and lacking information on the diverter operation. You can contact the company direct with your questions. See link. Also the Rain type shower heads are designed for gentle rain shower, but the handheld will feel more powerful and apparently has three settings. Hope That helps, Dan Martyn Here is a link that might be useful: Hansgrohe Technical Assistance
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I hate the feel of hair on my body -- gives me duck bumps! -- so I wash my hair in my extra large MBR sink. I *could* easily wash it using the hand-held Grohe that can be positioned 'wherever' on its vertical pole. There's *plenty* of water pressure through this. The house is 14 now; no slipping, sliding, or other problems with the hand-held. (We had an old Speakman head in our condo until recent remodeling. Minimal difference.) OT: One of my favorite things in this house is the recirculator on the hot water line. This provides hot water in seconds at every hot water tap in the house. Now that I think of it, even with that fast delivery, I push the hand-held shower spray away from me for those few seconds and flip it back when the water is hot. We should start a thread on how long you spend IN the shower, after all the debate about the water delivery system!
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Thanks much and beautiful showers! I am confused about the thermostatic valve. Is this something that I can buy separate and have it installed in the wall so that anytime I change out the shower handle/trim/valve it will automatically be there and still be accessible if it breaks and I need to change it? I hate to have more moving parts and things to break inside the walls. LIke this (although it looks like part of this would stick out of the wall?-another hole?: https://www.amazon.com/Rozin-Thermostatic-Mixing-Temperature-Control/dp/B01FAGWKTC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542006430&sr=8-3&keywords=thermostatic+control+valve#customerReviews Or does do certain valves come with it like this?: https://www.amazon.com/Hansgrohe-04231000-Thermostatic-Control-Diverter/dp/B07FDFK5SM/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1542006430&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=thermostatic+control+valve&psc=1 I was wondering, also, it sets the temp but the initial issue of being cold while the water warms up since it has to run through the pipes would still be there, right? Problem is, I have chosen champagne bronze and if I need to get the thermostatic control valve built in I think that will be hard. I'm already having a hard time finding a handheld and shower head built into the same. I might have to get a separate handheld to divert water or I'm back to the initial question of do I just push the shower head over to shoot towards the wall before I turn on the H20 or go back to the idea of moving the control valve? Here's one of the options I was looking at for a showerhead before this discuss that I might need to adjust: https://www.amazon.com/58471-CZ-PK-H2Okinetic-4-Setting-Handshower-Showerhead/dp/B009MLXJN8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1542006748&sr=8-2&keywords=shower+head+combo+with+handheld+champagne+bronze
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Circus Peanut
Original Author
2 years ago
Roarah, I love those handles and didn't know Grohe made anything but the super modern style, that's great! So the handheld comes off that chrome attachment? (I like that a lot better than the rail idea, since nobody in our house ever moves it up or down, just on or off.)
roarah
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Yes the hand held can point more up or down or rotate left or right and can be removed from the holder to extend the length of the cord. The chrome attatchment is grohe too but I see them at homedepot too. My controls are from the geneva collection. I found so many options at a proper bath show room.

I used Plimpton and hills. https://www.waterwareshowrooms.com/
MongoCT
2 years ago
Not that we adore them, but we really have no complaints.

We have a Grohe Relexa Top 4 Plus handheld on a vertical sliding bar. You can use fixed wall brackets (or just one bracket) if you prefer. Ours does get moved, I'm 6'4" and my wife is 5'1". Really no complaints, it's been a good shower head. It's our primary. Been in the shower for close to 20 years and we've never had a problem with it.

I do need to replace the 8' long hose that connects it to the wall outlet.

We have a 12" round rain head from Aquabrass that is plumbed out of the ceiling. It provides a nice gentle "rain", it can certainly douse you. But it does not have a forceful spray. It's a true rain head. Water droplets simply 'fall' out of it. Again, no issues with it. It's a nice rain head experience when we want that rain head experience in the shower.

Neither were expensive. the Top 4 was maybe $75 and the AquaBrass about $150.

If either of these needed replacement, I'd have no worries replacing them with the same.

Who's got a rain shower/shower and hand shower combo setup they adore?

Comments (5)

L A

roarah

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Who's got a rain shower/shower and hand shower combo setup they adore?

Comments (5)

L A

roarah

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Circus PeanutOriginal Author

roarah

MongoCT

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Circus Peanut
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