Dual shower heads in a small shower - Will this work?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

Hello, we are designing a new shower, and we have a 4x8 space. We were hoping to have both a dry area and a shower area. If we do this, the actual shower will be 4X5. Would it be strange to have 2 shower heads on opposite walls, on the 5 foot walls. This would only provide 4 feet to space between the shower heads. We also considered putting the shower heads in the corners to give a little more distance for spray. Here are some pictures of what we had considered. Any ideas are greatly appreciated.

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Mrs Pete

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

I'm assuming the point is that you want two people to be able to shower at once -- consider the following, which gives you flexibility:

- I'd place two shower heads as shown below; the two red triangles are shower heads. The two shower heads would be controlled by separate controllers, indicated by the two red Xs to the right of the shower door.

- When only one person is showering, which would probably be most of the time, that person would use the shower head on the far right ... not much of the shower water would splash to the end by the door, so that area would remain "dry" /be available for stepping over and drying off.

- When two people shower, you use both shower heads, and you lose the "dry area".

Questions and concerns about this layout:

- You have a major pinch point by the entrance ... I've noted it with a double-ended red arrow. I think this is less than the width of your toilet space. Even if you think this won't bother you in everyday life (and it will), consider that someday you're going to need to switch out the tub or the toilet, and it's not going to fit through that narrow space. I would combat this problem by narrowing the vanity ... and if you need more storage, bring in a small freestanding piece of furniture, which could be moved when necessary, to place to the left of the door.

- Where do you see towels hanging?

- Where's your trash can? hamper?

- Consider that the window is dead-ahead of the toilet ... what kind of window treatment do you plan to use?

- You have only one small window for a large bathroom ... could you double that window /add more light by the tub area?

- Where's your tub faucet? Are you planning some sort of stool or shelf to set things -- a book, a candle, a glass -- while you bathe?

A slightly different layout to consider:

- Move the toilet away from the door /over to the corner ... this does shorten your vanity by a bit, but it places your toilet in a far superior position /away from the door /behind a small pony wall.

- This allows you to have a linen closet dead-ahead of the door ... or it could be a waist-high cabinet that could provide storage underneath and a place for setting towels, etc. Or it could be a make-up vanity. Or it could be a free-standing piece of furniture for storage.

- This removes the above-mentioned pinch point /gives you about 3 1/2 feet of space to enter the room.

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Comments (14)

remodeling1840
2 years ago
I don’t understand the reason for the “dry space”. The whole room is a bathroom with tile floor. I wouldn’t give up shower size for a place to wrap myself in a towel.
Casey Weber thanked remodeling1840
Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
We thought a long time about the dry space. We want it to be a walk in shower, with no doors, so we thought the dry space would be a good buffer there. That said, with or without the dry space, is there enough room to put shower heads on opposite walls with only a 4 foot distance, or will it feel like the shower heads are on top of you?
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Is the showerhead 1 that can be moved up,down, sideways? Then you can move it over to wall when "warming up the shower, push it over to where you want it while in the shower. It's a head with swivel & may have only about 1 in. width at bottom- look cheap but do the job. Our L.A.W.D.P. hands them out from time to time & I can also turn it off by pushing button to other side of it like a lamp switch. They sell for around $5. here at hardware store. Might have some fancy ones I don't know. I took a nice 1 off as it couldn't be moved & wasn't in right spot for me. If it has the button switch you can turn it off when it's warm & step in & turn it back on without moving the water around. Hope this helps!
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If the shower heads were on the long wall, you'd end up with the potential for overspray and/or rebound water to leave the shower through the shower door. I'd recommend as you wrote, having the shower heads on the two ends walls with the door opening centered on the long wall. If you put your two shower supply valves on the door wall, one on each side of the opening, it makes things a bit nicer. If you do that, your added wet wall against the SIP panel can be 2x4s on the flat. The 1-1/2" deep stud bay you'd get with the studs on the flat is more than sufficient for the plumbing run to the shower head. You'll lose two inches less floor space than with a conventionally framed wall. By centering the shower entry on the long wall, it adds usable space on the bathroom/bedroom wall just outside the shower for a storage cabinet. A cuple fo comments from the Department of Unsolicited Advice: Unless they are something you REALLY want, rethink the double doors into the bathroom. Architects and designers love them for the dramatic look. But double doors can be rather impractical for passage ways that get frequent use. Impractical to me at least. SIPs? Nice choice. You'll love living in a foam insulated house. However, if you haven't already done so, spend a few minutes carefully going over the floor plan. Figure out what you want for electrical outlets, RG-XX, CAT-XX, entertainment, home security, etc, in your exterior walls. You can modify later, but it can be messy and a bit of a pain. If uncertain regarding low voltage stuff, you can always run conduit now to a "home run closet", leave the conduit empty, and pull the wire later if needed. Much less expensive to add conduit now than trying to modify any of the wiring later. Good luck with the build.
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i truly dont get the dual shower heads, someone explain advantages please. In our 28 years of marriage, only time we were in shower together is when we got frisky ;-)) If we both needed to take a shower, i being the man would just go to our other bath, take my shower and go....
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Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
Any other thoughts are greatly appreciated. We need to tell our designer which way to go on Monday.
Jean
2 years ago
I like the top version the best, with the opposing heads. Not the corner version. You might consider putting both heads on sliding bar units, then they can act as high shower heads or positional body sprays.
Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
Thanks, Jean. Do you think there is enough room with 4' to have shower heads on opposite walls?
Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
@Mrs Pete that is a great layout. I think that's a winner if it can be done without too much trouble. The toilet as shown in my drawings is where the existing toilet drain is. How big of a deal would that be to chip out concrete to move the toilet all the way across the room? Thank you for such a detailed and well-thought-out answer. You have truly made this bathroom significantly better if we can move the toilet.
Chris
2 years ago
Our last two homes had two shower heads… and the second we designed ourselves…ended up using only one in the end… but it’s good to have options…
Mrs Pete
2 years ago
The good news is that you absolutely CAN move the toilet in an existing house. The bad news is that it will cost real money -- check with your builder to see just how bad the damage would be.
just_janni
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I have almost the exact same shower / dimensions but I have a seat in the southeast corner. No door, little dry off / towel hanging area, etc.

It's a little tight - don't have the showerheads back to back - but offset them some. If I didn't have the seat, I'd probably put them side by side on the longest wall.

2 folks use this shower aout 80% of the time - it's fine.

VERY fast sketch. :-)
Forum pics · More Info
Casey Weber thanked just_janni
Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
I can't thank you enough for the suggestions. After seeing these and getting back with our designer, we realized that we can actually open this shower up to 5'X5' with a small diagonal wall. We will put a moveable hutch on the wall right when you enter the bathroom, and we would still have 8' of vanity with 2 sinks. With a 15" deep hutch, we would still have 3.5' of clearance for walking between the vanity and the hutch. If we ever needed to move it, it is moveable.

I think this is the perfect solution. We talked to our contractor. Moving the toilet isn't easy, but we are moving drains and chipping concrete anyway, so it's not going to be a significant cost.

Do y'all have any further thoughts on this?
williann
2 years ago
Why the need for 2 shower heads?

We had a walk in shower, no door and 2 shower heads, side by side. It was cold taking a shower unless you turned in the other shower head. Probably because of no door and the size of the shower. But, we thought it was a cool concept at the time.

3 home builds later, we never considered it again. And, It’s just a waste of water.
Casey Weber thanked williann
Casey Weber
Original Author
2 years ago
@williann we have 2 shower heads right now, and we love it. You sort of get engulfed in water, which is a nice feeling. We have a water well and tankless water heaters, so there is not much cost associated with using water at our place.
Chris
2 years ago
Looking good! A couple of things we found handy on a practical note…. Is making one of the shower heads a handheld… to make rinsing after cleaning much easier. And if your designer hasn’t already suggested it…get kitchen height cabinets for your vanity. Good luck with your renovation!
Casey Weber thanked Chris

Dual shower heads in a small shower - Will this work?

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