Need help with layout/shower head (x2) placement for double shower

2 years ago

Hello,

I am currently having a home built and getting builder to upgrade the shower to a double shower in the master. Our current plans are for his/her heads and a rainfall head from above.

I have attached a current tentative blueprint layout for the master bathroom, which includes the shower. For reference, the mud pan will be roughly 60” x 70” and an 18in deep bench will also be built into the the enclosing masonry. The shower should be frameless as well. My question regards placement of the faucets, with the idea being that 2 people can shower in harmony lol.

In the current diagram the heads are 90 deg from each other and the rainfall head is centered over the shower. Any recommendations on optimal shower head placement? Many thanks in advance.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

Chris S
Original Author
2 years ago
Adding clip of current blueprint draft of shower
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago
It looks like the person occupying the space to take a shower at one shower head will collide with the person occupying the space to take a shower at the other shower head. Perhaps a single shower head with a tag team technique in taking a shower, or mounting them on the same wall 3'-0" apart.
Related Discussions
Shower head location help!
Q
Comments (6)
I would want to put it on the alternative location, especially if anyone using it will be tall (5'10" or more). If that's the case, you'll need to angle the shower head up more and will need more space. But the problem (a major one) with using the alternate wall is that you cannot reach the valves to turn on the shower without getting wet (which you could do if you use the stairway wall). Complicating matters more, I would have the shower door hinged the other way. I went through the same sort of decision (hinged left or right) with my remodel, and the glass company insisted that I do it the way I've described, contrary to what I thought I wanted. They claimed that I would feel like I was reaching across my body to hinge it along the knee wall and that the double hinge wouldn't work (meaning that I couldn't open the door toward the inside of the shower to get out of the shower because it would strike the shower head. And on top of all of that, it was more expensive to have the hinges on the knee wall side because of the hinge and support hardware you need, and often less structurally sound (they said). If they had wanted me to spend more money, they wouldn't have talked me out of my decision. Now, I couldn't be happier. I've posted my pictures below to show you how the door works in my application (60" x 36" shower), and how yours would look with the controls on the stairway wall and the door hinges on the stairway wall.
...See More
Need help for design! shower door layout & installation
Q
Comments (7)
I need help to understand what I'm looking at. I am an engineer and used to reading drawings with certain symbols. You have used different symbols than I've seen, so can you please explain what yours mean? Normally I would make some guesses at what the symbols mean but I see enough inconsistency that I hesitate to guess. I think I recognize the toilet and doors, and possibly the sink, but what do the sunspots and various colored ovals mean? And why is the floor partially shown with "tiles" and part of the floor is not? Is the space outlined in blue "walls" a separate room? If so can't the door open inward to that room? Otherwise you have a door in your back at the sink or a door blocking the heater. What is the meaning of the color of the walls? You have skinny thin black walls, blue, aqua, and pink/flesh colored walls. By using your own symbol for a toilet, you may not be representing the actual size. The front of a toilet is usually 30 inches from the wall. If your floor markings are 1-foot squares, then you might have problems. For another example, a 36 inch wide entry door is very large, and your drawing shows the door through to the wet room being more like 29 inches. One of the reasons for making drawings before hand is to fit everything in. If your drawings are not accurate to at least the 1/4 inch, it could very easily double your costs when the plumbers and carpenters cannot make everything fit in the room. How do you put a 62.00 inch long tub into a 60-inch long room? Where does your waste basket go? Where does your toilet paper holder go? Where do the towel racks/hangers go? What is the prominent pink arrow? What are the blue and white dots in the wall by the heater in Plan A? Why is the wet room in Plan B larger than Plan A? Plan A has a black area in the upper left corner of the wet room. What is that? And is that a tub to the right? I don't get that room at all. Do you have ventilation in the wet room? What is the symbol in the middle of the right hand wall (I assume the pinkish thing outlined in dashed lines is a wall), back of the toilet, and back of the sink? If your shower is really six feet long, you can easily keep the towels inside the room with you and they should not get wet. My parents used to have a 5-foot long shower and much of it stayed very dry. And if that is your shower and some of those ovals are faucet handles, that means you have to walk all the way in to the shower, right under the shower head, to turn on the water to heat it up. If you put the faucet handles near the door and the shower head on the far wall, then you can reach in, turn on the water, and not get wet. Is your wet room completely sealed by the door?
...See More
Valve placement in shower- need to minimize elbows or not?
Q
Comments (2)
Not to worry, the increased friction loss caused by two additional elbows would be so slight that it would require a laboratory grade pressure gauge to detect it. When designing a piping layout we consult friction loss tables. In the friction loss tables the the "fitting insertion loss" is expressed as an equivalent length of straight pipe. For 1/2" type L copper the fitting insertion loss for a 90deg elbow is 1ft, a 45deg elbow is 0.5ft and the side outlet of a tee is 2ft while the straight thru flow in a tee is zero. Therefore if you install two additional 90deg elbows it would have the same effect as installing an additional 2ft of pipe on a straight run. To compute total friction loss we begin by measuring the actual length of the pipe, then add in the fitting insertion loss for each fitting to determine the TDL (Total Developed Length). The actual friction loss in the pipe increases exponentially as the volume of flow in the pipe increases. By example, the friction head loss in 1/2" type L copper with a flow rate of 3gpm equals 0.051psi/ft of pipe but if the flow increases to 5gpm the friction head loss is then 0.130psi/ft. Based upon your drawing, even though you would be installing two additional 90deg elbows, each is on a separate line and assuming that you are using code approved shower heads (2.5gpm) even though the combined flow would be 5gpm, none the less, the flow through either elbow would be under 3gpm therefore your combined fitting insertion loss would be under 0.051psi x 2 = 0.102psi. Bottom line, installing two more elbows would result in less than a 1/10psi loss in pressure, or as i stated from the beginning, so insignificant as to go undetected unless you have a laboratory grade device to measure it.
...See More
Rain head placement in tub/shower
Q
Comments (6)
I have a rainhead coming from the ceiling like this. too. I would say that it has to be far enough from the wet wall that you can stand directly under the shower head with your elbows fully extended to the side and not hit the wall. After all, the point of having a bathtub-length shower is that you have room to extend your arms if you stand sideways in it. Choosing to have a shortened glass enclosure is losing that functionality, in my eyes. At the very least, you HAVE to be able to raise your hands to your head and not hit the wall. Otherwise, why do the extra plumbing? Just use one of those rain heads that come out of the wet wall. I really enjoy my rainhead that is smack in the middle of the 5 ft length of the shower.
...See More
chispa
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Hopefully you don't live in CA, because code will only allow you to run one fixture at a time in the shower using a diverter.

If not in CA, I like to install individual lines to each fixture with their own thermostatic valve and volume control.

Make sure you have good water pressure and water heater capacity!
Chris S
Original Author
2 years ago
Awesome thanks for the comments, and yes that was my concern with how the shower heads are arranged. I was thinking having them apart on the widest wall. I will talk plumbing with them and yes the plan was to have them each with their own valve/circuit. The water pressure is great but the house will come with a tankless heater…
suero
2 years ago
In my shower, I have the shower heads on opposite walls. The shower is 64" wide, and two people can shower comfortably at one time. If you put the shower heads on the side with the bench, the water will be directed towards the door from one of the shower heads, which could be a problem. In any case, put the controls on the wall where they can easily be accessed from outside the shower.
just_janni
2 years ago
2 options - opposite walls(east and west) and slightly offset (I have this config today in existing shower.) You have plenyy of depth, and you could leave the seat where it is.

second option - side by side (I would recommend this) and move the seat to the west wall with the showerheads on the east wall.

Agree what you have shown there isn't a good idea.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
This is a bit off topic but the space between the vanity and the shower looks tight along the path to the walk-in closet. The gas chamber looks confining (think public toilet stall), especially with a tall ceiling. Because of that and the shower head arrangement, it leads me to believe there are other areas in the house that could use some adjustment. Has the construction started on the house? If not you may want to post the floor plans and exterior elevations and site plan to get some review. But as always . . .

WARNING: Posting your entire floor plan opens you up to facts you may not want to know, but should. Be prepared for suggestions that will make for a better design. Keep a thick skin, open mind, sense of humor, and a glass of wine within arms reach. You may not enjoy it, but everyone else will and you will be better off in the long run if you heed well the advice.
HU-231653159
2 years ago
I would have the toilet door swing opposite of the plan.

We changed ours and I am really glad. My husband is 6'7" the area was too small to begin with.

Need help with layout/shower head (x2) placement for double shower

Comments (8)

Chris S
Original Author

Mark Bischak, Architect

Related Discussions

chispa

Chris S
Original Author

suero

just_janni

Mark Bischak, Architect

HU-231653159

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Need help with layout/shower head (x2) placement for double shower

Comments (8)

Chris SOriginal Author

Mark Bischak, Architect

Related Discussions

chispa

Chris SOriginal Author

suero

just_janni

Mark Bischak, Architect

HU-231653159

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Chris S
Original Author

Chris S
Original Author