Swapping your Bath for a Shower - Some Valuable Pointers
There are literally hundreds of great examples of spacious and beautiful bathrooms out there to allure you. You could very easily get distracted and forget that your bathroom actually measures up to half the size of your dream bathroom on that brochure. So if you’re thinking to switch your bath for a gorgeous and classy shower, you need to keep a few things in mind.
The first step of anything you want to do is planning. Before you make a gritty mess of your bathroom or spend a fortune I.... STOP! You need to sit down, grab a paper and note down what you want and whether you can fit it in your bathroom as well as your budget. Then you can start with the measurement and research. Bring home lots of brochures and fixtures. Keep your eyes peeled for discounts and combinations; not that you have to buy everything from the same company. You could blend products from as many places as you want. Look for combos that install little floating shelves to put your shampoo and bodywash.
You have to take exact measurements of your bathroom. If you don’t, you might end up trying to squeeze in an 2000mm-wide shower in place of your 1500mm -wide tub. Make sure you get the depth right. Imagine your shower door where you would place it, and aim for a minimum of 850 mm from the finished tile wall that you drew earlier.
Measure your ceiling height. If it is more than 2000mm you’re good to go. If you’re not familiar with the requirements made by the National Kitchen & Bath Association. They require bathrooms to have a 750mm by 750mmshower, with or without benches. A shower bench is an indulgence rather than a necessity, but hey! After a long, tiring day, you should get to indulge yourself a bit. Just make sure you don’t crowd the area.
There are literally hundreds of great examples of spacious and beautiful bathrooms out there to allure you. You could very easily get distracted and forget that your bathroom actually measures up to half the size of your dream bathroom on that brochure. So if you’re thinking to switch your bath for a gorgeous and classy shower, you need to keep a few things in mind.
The first step of anything you want to do is planning. Before you make a gritty mess of your bathroom or spend a fortune I.... STOP! You need to sit down, grab a paper and note down what you want and whether you can fit it in your bathroom as well as your budget. Then you can start with the measurement and research. Bring home lots of brochures and fixtures. Keep your eyes peeled for discounts and combinations; not that you have to buy everything from the same company. You could blend products from as many places as you want. Look for combos that install little floating shelves to put your shampoo and bodywash.
You have to take exact measurements of your bathroom. If you don’t, you might end up trying to squeeze in an 2000mm-wide shower in place of your 1500mm -wide tub. Make sure you get the depth right. Imagine your shower door where you would place it, and aim for a minimum of 850 mm from the finished tile wall that you drew earlier.
Measure your ceiling height. If it is more than 2000mm you’re good to go. If you’re not familiar with the requirements made by the National Kitchen & Bath Association. They require bathrooms to have a 750mm by 750mmshower, with or without benches. A shower bench is an indulgence rather than a necessity, but hey! After a long, tiring day, you should get to indulge yourself a bit. Just make sure you don’t crowd the area.
When you go through the switching process, if at any point the bathroom starts to feel cramped to you, it probably is. It’s better that you stop and rearrange the whole thing. Try to keep enough distance between the things in there. You don’t want your toilet too close to the shower. Place the glass door as far away from the center of it as you possibly can. That should give the door enough room to swing and not crash into the toilet, or the vanity for that matter. Keep that swing thing in mind. You might also want to check whether there are any local codes for minimum distances in the bathroom. With a code in place for everything, there just might be one for this too.
Now, if the shower door is causing you a headache, minus it. It’s not worth that much attention. Besides, you can enjoy a perfectly relaxing shower without a door. In that case, you want to place heated floors. It keeps your bathroom floor dry as well as warm.
Now, if the shower door is causing you a headache, minus it. It’s not worth that much attention. Besides, you can enjoy a perfectly relaxing shower without a door. In that case, you want to place heated floors. It keeps your bathroom floor dry as well as warm.
Let’s look at the fixture now. It comes in two parts: the fitting and tile trim. The brass fitting is connected to the plumbing; it makes up the water flow parts of your shower. You should make your plumber nail the trim before you decide on the width and trim it accordingly. That way you’ll be able to see the finish. Keep in mind that some knobs or levers like to venture too far into your shower, so you might want to try a test drive.
Find out as much as you can about the shower controls before you decide on one. Controls that get out of your control might put you in potential danger. By controls, we mean water temperature and flow. There are three basic setups that control these-
- Simple levers or knobs to control both water flow and temperature
- Combination temperature controls, which can have two or even three additional fixtures
- Two separate valves; a thermostatic control valve for temperature and a flow valve for volume only
While you are out shopping for fixtures, don’t just ignore the tub package. They include tub filler, a showerhead and most importantly, a compatible control. These tub packages tend to be more economic than the single shower fixtures. You could save a lot of money by picking the right package. If you have kids, keep your eyes peeled for adjustable flow rates on whatever fixture you choose. It will help you clean your shower much more easily too.
While you’re at it, make sure your showerhead has a good arm, preferably a chrome-plated brass arm. That particular one is heavy enough to last a long time and looks good too. They’re better than the chrome-plated plastic, which wither away too soon for anyone’s liking. Now, pay attention to whether you need a handheld sprayer with the sliding bar. If the people taking daily shower differ in height, you definitely need one, or at least a flexible shower arm.
Say you want to upgrade your shower to a steam shower but you can’t, because you didn’t plan it beforehand. That would be such a shame. So make up your mind if you want that upgrade. If you do, you want a fixture that has steam vapor flashings with the rough-in. you might have to look around a bit before you find one. Plus, you would need a steam generator. Installing it can be a little complicated. Just put it where it is safest and easily accessible.
You could though if a steam room was one of your key requirements look at a self contained steam shower. These are becoming more and more popular these days, basically an out the box flat pack solution in various shapes and sizes from such as a 1500mm x 900mm, features galore including overhead shower, massage jets and mood lighting.
"You could though if a steam room was one of your key requirements look at a self contained steam shower"
Include various adjustment levels to enhance your shower experience, particularly the steam shower. Imagine a chilling sprout of icy water while you’re taking a hot, steamy bath.
Have you decided where to put the hose for your handheld shower? Try putting it on the wall and see where it looks best. Mind you, you want to do that before you place the supply line. Try it with 8-10 inches of spacing- they look naturally bent and not angled awkwardly.
Have you decided where to put the hose for your handheld shower? Try putting it on the wall and see where it looks best. Mind you, you want to do that before you place the supply line. Try it with 8-10 inches of spacing- they look naturally bent and not angled awkwardly.