When choosing the perfect shower faucet, there are several factors to take into consideration including shower valves, the configuration and type, water pressure, and accessories.
When choosing your new shower tap, remember to match it to your bathtub faucet, if you have one, and other bathroom taps. Additionally, consider how the faucet fits in with the rest of your bathroom décor and the finish of your other bathroom fixtures.
For everything else you need to know in order to choose the best faucet for your shower, keep reading.
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1. Choose the Right Shower Valves
First, you’ll want to consider the shower valves, which is the plumbing part that controls the water flow of the shower tap. The shower valve is controlled by a handle and escutcheon or a wall plate, according to Riverbend Home. So, you won’t actually see the valve.
The installation process involves inserting the valve into the wall, then putting the shower stall or shower system into place. Finally, you will need to install the faucet set or trim kit with the handle or control panel covering the valve.
Shower valves come in thermostatic and manual options. Both are relatively similar, although thermostatic shower valves contain a device that turns off the flow of water if it goes above a certain temperature, Do It Yourself says.
With a thermostatic shower valve, worrying about your shower scalding you is a thing of the past. Additionally, these valves solve the problem of a shower losing cold water if a toilet is flushed or that cold water is used elsewhere.
2. Pick the Configuration and Type
When you’re looking for a faucet, you can either choose a solo shower head or an all-in-one combination that offers both the shower tap and the bathtub faucet.
When it comes to types of shower taps, they generally fall into five main categories. These categories include: single-head spray shower heads, rain showers, dual and multiple shower heads, hand-held shower heads, and body sprays.
Single-head spray shower
Single-head spray shower heads have four or more individual nozzles that distribute the water spray in patters. The nozzles on these shower heads are adjustable and adjust with a small lever that changes the flow pattern of the water spray from a wide spray to concentrated streams.
Pictured: American Standard, available at Kitchen & Bath Classics showrooms
Rain showers
Rain showers are large and flat. These shower heads are suspended directly above the user and spray water straight down.
Pictured: Aquabrass rain shower, available at Kitchen & Bath Classics showrooms
Multiple shower heads
Dual and multiple shower heads feature more than one shower head. This option is controlled by a single set of handles or levels and they are usually wall-mounted. In some instances, HGTV says a diverter valve allows the shower user to operate either shower head or both at the same time.
Pictured: GROHE dual shower heads, available at Kitchen & Bath Classics showrooms
Hand-held shower heads
Hand-held shower heads include a single head sprayer that is attached to a flexible hose. These shower heads are good for washing hair and hard-to-reach places. Hand-held shower heads are especially useful for those with limited mobility and/or those who may need to sit in the shower.
Pictured: Riobel shower, available at Kitchen & Bath Classics showrooms
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Body spray shower faucets
Lastly, body spray shower taps have multiple spray heads, which you can integrate into the shower wall. The spray heads are either compact nozzles or flat and nearly flush with the wall surfaces, HGTV says.
3. Check the Water Pressure
According to Angie’s List, the water pressure for most shower heads fluctuates between 40 and 60 pounds per square inch (psi). Most hardware stores sell testers that you can screw onto the shower arm in place of the shower head. This helps you determine your home’s water pressure before you buy a new shower head or faucet.
Keep in mind, leaks, clogs, and old pipes that are wider than half an inch in diameter can all lead to low water pressure.
4. Consider Accessories
When shopping for your shower head or faucet, you’ll have a variety of accessories to choose from including:
Diverters
Diverters shift the flow of water from the spout to the shower head. They are usually located on the spout. To activate the shower head, pull the diverter upward.
Hand showers
You'll need to install and extra hole in your tub or shower wall to install a hand shower, but it will be worth it. Hand showers make rinsing off and bathtub cleaning a much easier task.
Anti-scald valves
An anti-scald valve will help protect you from sudden burst of extreme water temperatures. No more freezing in the shower when someone else in your house flushes a toilet!
Pressure-balancing valves
Pressure-balancing valves will maintain a preset water temperature when hot or cold water pressure drops suddenly.
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5. Find Something in Your Budget
Finding a shower faucet in your budget is especially important if you’re completing a full bathroom renovation. You’ll want to make sure you leave enough funds in the budget for more than just your bathtub and shower faucets.
According to Homewyse, faucets can cost between $147 and $351 on average. Don’t forget to consider labour costs to have your new faucet installed as well.
For accents such as a Moen shower faucet or an Aquabrass shower, head to a Kitchen & Bath Classics showroom. Here, you’ll find Delta bathtubs and all your other faucet and bathroom needs!
Featured Image Credit - BRIZO, available at Kitchen & Bath Classics showrooms
We’re knee deep in planning out our second shower renovation and I wanted to share some of the things we’ve learned along the way, as long as some crowd-sourced features that you shared with me on Instagram last week. As with many home spaces, showers need to strike that perfect balance between incredibly functional to use and aesthetically beautiful.
1. Place your shower head opposite the shower controls
We did this in our primary shower renovation a few years ago and it has greatly improved our daily shower routine. I love being able to reach in to turn on the shower, close the door while the water heats up, all while avoiding getting wet. This design is a must-have for every shower we design going forward.
2. Don’t overlook the handheld shower head
If you have ever tried to clean a shower without a handheld shower head, you will realize just how hard it is to accomplish without one. The flexibility of being able to bring your water source to wherever it’s needed is so critical. We skipped adding one in our guest bathroom and I regret it every time I clean the tub or water plants. The handheld shower can also be great for kids, as you have more flexibility in angling the shower head and it’s typically placed lower on the wall than an overhead shower.
3. Consider your niche placement and size
If you have the option to hide your niche behind a wall you only see from inside the shower, do it! Shampoo and conditioner is not always the most attractive, so stashing those items out of sight is ideal. If you don’t have that option, consider placing the niche where it’s the least visible. Also, don’t forget to take inventory of the products you use in the shower so that your niche is both wide enough to accommodate everything and tall enough for larger bottles.
A few more thoughts on niches: I try to make them as inconspicuous as possible and steer clear of adding accent tile or anything else that draws attention to them. Another good option, if you have the space, is a long ledge, instead of a niche, as you have the ultimate flexibility in what you place on top of it. This can also be a beautiful design feature.
4. Consider adding a shaving shelf
This one was new to me, but adding a shelf or niche for putting your foot when shaving can be a big game changer for the functionality of your shower. If you have the room for a bench in your shower, that can serve the same purpose.
5. Don’t forget about your drain
You have two different options for your drain: a standard drain or a linear drain. If you opt for a linear drain it changes the slope style of your shower floor, so you can use larger tiles. If you opt for a standard drain, your tile size will need to be much smaller in order to slope properly into the drain. Also, don’t forget about ordering a drain that matches the aesthetic of your fixtures, as the standard one plumbers typically add is very generic and can take away from the visuals of the shower.
In our primary shower, we hid a linear drain under the bench and then further camouflaged it by tiling the drain, which is a pretty under the radar look. The linear drain also allowed us to use slightly larger tiles for a herringbone design.
6. Curbless can improve accessibility and visually expand space
Making your shower curbless can improve accessibility for those who are less mobile and can make for a more seamless aesthetic. One thing to keep in mind, since you need to drop the shower below the floor level in the room, going curbless can sometimes be trickier in an existing bathroom space without raising the level of the flooring in the bathroom to accommodate. We wanted to do this in our primary shower, but couldn’t justify losing the ceiling height and a less seamless transition into the space, but we think we may be able to pull it off in the bathroom we’re working on now because of some extra work that already needed to happen to level the floors in the space. One other thing I love about curbless showers is that they can visually expand the footprint of a small bathroom, as there is a less clear division between the bathroom floors and shower floors.
7. Play pretend
Bear with me, but one of the most critical steps we use as a gut check for the placement of all our fixtures is pretending to take a shower when only the framing is up. When you go through the steps, you can sometimes find out that you’ve overlooked something. It helps to think through where you’re going to put your towel when showering, where the shower door needs to be placed, where the ideal placement is for the niche to keep it out of the stream of water and more. Bathrooms are at their core function-driven spaces, so identifying issues early on can both give you the confidence that you haven’t missed something and prevent errors that may drive you crazy later on.
I hope this list can help you to maximize the function in your future shower renovations and to create a space that is a joy to use. Feel free to drop anything I may have overlooked in the comments.
And if you’re looking for help with choosing finishes, my friend Sarah at Room for Tuesday has pulled together 5 classic shower design plans that are all great.
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