83” Shower Wall With Linear Shower Drain - One or Two Outlets?

last month

GC will be building an 83” x 48” curbless shower with linear drain along the 83” wide back floor. Two shower heads - one on each 48” wall. We’re in. California so our fixtures are limited to 1.75gpm. At most we would have both showerheads running simultaneously.

I’d like to get your recommendations on the width of a linear drain for the 83” back wall span.

Also, it seems that Infinity Drain offers a 72” stainless channel but it has no slope - challenge bottom is flat. I’ve received a recommendation to gave two channel outlets instead of one but I fail to understand how two outlets in a flat-bottom channel would be better than a single outlet in a sloped channel.

My biggest concern is that there would be that without a sloped channel, there would be lots of water sitting in the channel that would not drain out.

I would really welcome you sharing your experiences with non-sloping linear channels - especially for an 83” long linear drain.

Featured Answer

chispa

last month

last modified: last month

You can't run 2 fixtures in a shower in CA, you will need a diverter to run one or the other. Most people do a wall mounted showerhead and a separate handheld on an adjustable bar. Run one or the other.

Experience: remodeling 5 bathrooms and building 1 new one in Los Angeles.

Of course, some figure out ways to change things once inspection is passed.

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Comments (14)

PRO
Minardi
last month
No point in a shower that size, as you can only use one fixture, or the other. Not both. You need to go back and redesign the whole.
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Sorry to tag on to the end of this thread, it's already a bit messy to say the least. I have spent countless hours researching linear drains and am at my wits end! Bathroom floor is dropped by 1-5/8" from floorboards (2-7/8" below wood floor in adjacent room) in a 56-1/4" x 90" area ready for this project. I need to place the drain as a barrier by the entry way spanning the entire 90". Cannot go against back wall easily because of joist limitation.Tile will be sloped in from 14" outside of the shower including capilliary break then up to the back wall, drawing NOT to scale! I will have wedge wire grate and two 2" ABS outlets in to a 3" ABS drain, so not overly concerned about flooding the bathroom. I am aware of the 3" drop and wet room requirements. My main dilemma is how to terminate the linear at each side wall. I saw photos in another forum where the wall tile 'tabs' in to the drain channel, drain channel extends under wall tile at each end. In order to do this could the entire floor and drain be finished first with channel extended about 3/4" past the intended plane of the finished wall? Silicone caulk the drain at each end. Then the walls could be floated in and the tab cut on the bottom of the two opposite tiles that would sit in the channel. Floor will be hot mopped (I'm in California), walls lath and mortar, and the floor also floated outside of shower area. I'm on a wooden sub floor obviously. Finally, I have narrowed my options down to site sizable QM Delmar or the DERA-Line. Both have pros and cons, does anyone have any advice as in 'stay away from' or any pointers re these two drains? I realise the DERA is cheaper, 304 S/S as opposed to 316. The DERA is custom made to exact length rather than site sizable as in the QM or I may not even be asking the question about the walls. I'm leaning in the DERA direction because price is getting high and the wife is pushing to avoid linear, which would pain me after getting this close. The Dera is coming in around $1100 vs $1500. I thoroughly appreciate any advice or guidance anyone can give. Btw, i am not doing the job personally, just due diligence to be 100% certain nothing is compromised or overlooked. Thanks very much in advance.
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zaluskym
Original Author
last month
Sorry for the confusion. It’s a 2-person shower. Each of us will have a shower head and a separate slider bar with a hand-held shower spray. We each have diverters so we each can use ours shower head or our hand-held spray but not both simultaneously. I only mentioned this because even though the shower space is large, the largest flow of water to run into the linear drain at any given time would be 3.4 gpm.
zaluskym
Original Author
last month
Thanks for the comments. We’ve decided to get a stainless steel 72” Infinity Drain linear drain with two outlets with the channel fabricated to slope into each outlet. Bonus is their 72” linear drains comes with two grates instead of one long one.
PRO
Zumi
last month
That will not fly with the inspectors. You can not have that setup in CA.
zaluskym
Original Author
last month
Our permits have been approved.
zaluskym
Original Author
last month
last modified: last month
Our shower has two valves - one for each showerhead. Here is what the California code says:

Can you have two shower heads in California?When a shower is served by more than one showerhead, the combined flow rate of all showerheads and/or other shower outlets controlled by a single valve shall not exceed 1.8 gallons(6.81 L) per minute at 80 psi, or the shower shall be designed to allow only one shower outlet to be in operation at a time in compliance ...
PRO
Zumi
last month
last modified: last month
You still are not understanding. Your setup does not comply and will be red tagged. You can not have 2 simultaneously operating transfer valves in 1 shower. You can only have a 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐯𝐞 controlling one shower. That transfer valve controlling 1 of the 4 outlets can only be used, for a single element at any time. Her shower, her handheld, his showerhead or his handheld. Or her body spray, his body spray, or her rainhead or his rain head. No matter what you cram in the shower, only 1 of them can operate at any 1 time.

You CAN turn that into 2 separate showers, with a wall between, that serve 2 different people, and can be operated simultaneously.
zaluskym
Original Author
last month
We have approved permits and c

the project will begin tomorrow. i will comment again once my bathroom remodel is completed and has its final inspections approved.
Monique
last month
last modified: last month
If this was drawn as 2 separate wall free showers, with 2 separate drains, that is the ONLY way plans could have been approved by the AHJ. However, that is unlikely to be approved at plumbing rough in, by the actual boots on the ground inspector, as it is not to the spirit or letter of the water saving intent of the rules. The inspector on the ground is who has the final say. Miles of pipe and wires have been yanked out from ”permit approved” installations, simply because a plan stamped by a clerk didn’t catch what an inspector caught.
chispa
last month
Unless you only have one water source/pipe that then splits to the two main valves ... that is going to be one miserable under powered showerhead and even worse when you try to run both of them! I hope you don't have thick long hair.
zaluskym
Original Author
last month
We currently have one water source and have two shower heads that are 1.75 gpm and the water flow when both are running simultaneously is just fine.

There doesn't seem to be any newer California Plumbing

From the California Plumbing Code 2022 CPC (there doesn't seem to be any updates to these codes, to date):

On page 62 section 408.2.2 - "Multiple Showerheads Serving One Shower" - it states: "When a shower is served by more than one showerhead, the combined flow rate of all showerheads and/or other shower outlets controlled BY A SINGLE VALVE shal not exceed 1.8 gallons (6.81 L) per minute at 80 psi, OR the shower shall be designed to allow only one shower outlet to be in operation at a time in Compliance with Chapter 5, Division 5.3 of the California Green Building Standards Code (CALGreen).

Also, in the same 2022 California codes on page 490 - L 402.6.1 "Multiple Showerheads Serving One Shower Compartment", you will see information about allowing multiple valves separated by 1800 square inches of floor area.

We have two separate and distinct valves and both of them are more than 1800 square inches apart. As I stated before, our plans have been reviewed and approved by our city building department and the plan is in compliance with both these codes.

Thank you everyone for your input and opinions. Here, I've produced specific California plumbing codes. If you are seeing specific California plumbing codes that contradict the ones I've added to this comment thread please share.
chispa
last month
When I remodeled in CA (LA area) the code only specified one fixture at a time and you needed a diverter. The flow rate was closer to 2.5 per fixture. Looks like they tightened the noose on CA residents even further!
ker9
last month
No help, but I’m so glad I don’t live in CA and hope those rules don’t migrate.

83” Shower Wall With Linear Shower Drain - One or Two Outlets?

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