Bathroom Plumbing 101

With so many bathroom/shower project these past months, I thought it would be helpful too share the basic components of a shower. Here's what goes on behind those walls of tile!

THE PAN WITH DRAIN
The shower will have a prefabricated floor or pan, made from a formed plastic or solid surface material. Alternatively, the pan may be constructed out of ceramic tile. The pan has a threshold at the entrance and the floor, then slants to the drain.

THE VALVE
Manual Mixing Valves
Basic mixing valve options for the shower are similar to those previously discussed for the lavatory: two-handle faucets and single-control faucets are available.

Electronic Mixing Valves
The valve acts as an electronic thermostatic valve because it maintains the temperature that has been programmed in by the user. When turned on, the unit always resets and delivers at an initial 98F. depressing either the "up" or "down" button shifts the readout display to the "set point mode", causing the numbers to change in the direction of warmer or cooler until released. Once that button is released, the readout reverts to the actual temperature mode so the water temperature begins to move towards the selected setting and stops when it gets there. There is a hot limit device built into valve, as well as an integral pressure balancing mode.

THE SHOWER HEAD
Flow Rating The flow rate of a shower head is measured in gallons per minute (gpm). Currently, some states are in the process of limiting shower heads to 2.5 to 3gpm. Some manufacturers also offer flow restriction mechanisms that reduce the flow even lower to 1.7 gpm. Most shower heads on the market fall within the first limit and have a 2.5 gpm flow rating.

Types of Shower heads
There are numerous shower heads available today. Generally, there are five broad categories of showering options: personal hand-held shower, wall-mounted shower, overhead shower, body spray shower and body mist shower.

Personal Hand-held Shower.
The personal hand-held shower is ideal in showers that will be used by people of varying heights, as well as near a bench in the shower that is out of the stream of water.
 Hand-held showers are also a great addition to a shower that will be used by an elderly person who may need assistance while bathing. Shower cleaning is also much easier with a hand-held shower.

Wall-mounted Shower
The wall mounted shower is the most typical installation.

Overhead Shower
The overhead shower is placed on the ceiling. It may require a great deal of water to operate- check the manufacturer's specifications.

Body Spray Shower
A body spray is a group of individual shower heads, installed in a series of two or three along opposite walls.

Body Mist Shower
A body mist shower is a series of jets of water in a single bar designed to gently wash the body. When mounted at the right height, both body sprays and body mists are designed to allow a person to take a shower without getting his/her face and/or hair wet.

Water Patterns
When considering any shower head, some key functions to discuss with your designer are:

Adjustment- The basic spray adjusts from fine to course: people prefer placing the control on the side of the shower head as opposed to in the center which forces the user to reach into the stream of water.

Spray Pattern- A full spray pattern is more desirable than one that only delivers water around the perimeter of the head leaving a hollow in the center.

Water Action- Shower heads can offer a soft, gentle action or a pulsating, invigorating massage.