I'm relooking at our master bathroom plan as well be moving onto that bathroom soon. Originally we were just going to go with a simple large showerhead in our new shower but now we want to add a handshower too. The bathroom will have a separate tub and shower with a frameless glass shower surround so a handshower should make cleaning it a lot easier. We're going for a traditional style (three hole faucets with a traditional look, I'm making stained glass panels for some of the cabinet doors, traditional style RH scones, stained cherry cabinets, etc.).
Looking at the shower fixtures I had originally picked out we would need to add a lot more parts (divertor, divertor trim, handshower, hose, wall outlet, and holder). The cost increased of course but also visually/spacial there is a lot more stuff in the shower that you will be able to see from anywhere in the room with the glass surround. This is all the stuff we would see in the shower:
But then I came across this beauty which is from the same collection called a showerpipe:
Very traditional looking, all-in-one and really makes a statement. It is surprisingly slightly cheaper than or original route now that we need to add all of the handshower pieces. I've seen this style used in a lot of design magazines/blogs but I wonder if they are going to be considered trendy. Or maybe with the vintage exposed pipe look it would still look OK in 20 years? It will be a little harder to clean around. But at least we no longer have horribly hard water so cleaning the shower should be easier...and we'll have a handshower to use. : )
What do you think? What would you put in your shower?
Re: WDYT of Exposed Shower Valves? PIP
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We looked into the one you posted, but ultimately couldn't find one that fit the style we wanted.
We have a overhead and handheld, but they have the same temp gauge and just 2 on/off knobs.
ETA: Upon further research this isn't our exact one, ours is discontinued, but this is the closest match.
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Well this is our forever home so I'm not too worried about resale. And DH did make a good point when he saw it that with everything exposed out of the wall it's actually much easier to replace with something else (they have a many different styles if we ever wanted to go more sleek and modern look...but then again our whole house will be craftsman style so it would be hard to change out everything).
Hansgrohe carries a lifetime warranty on it and stocks replacement parts for life.
Thanks for the suggestion SSM. But we really want to stick with either Grohe or Hansgrohe fixtures. We were extremely impressed with the quality of our main bath fixtures so we're going to use them again. Plus I am crazy and want polished nickel which limits what brands I can even look at. What can I say I like shinny things. ; )
I think you'd have more showering options if you put the handheld on a sliding bar. That way two people could shower at once, or you could just have one spray at a lower level. It's been a long time so I can't remember what it was called that you need to get in addition to the diverter to have both heads in use at the same time.
I think the all in one fixture has lots of modern elements, so it might be dated in a little while.
But I'd be happy with any of those options over the brass and glass master bath I'm moving into!
I love it and think it would look great and not be trendy at all. It looks like a beautiful, classic design to me! Can't wait to see the finished room!
This is what I was thinking. I wish ours was exposed instead of hiding where it is impossible to replace/repair anything. It is a pita, and we have to remove the tub enclosure or come through a second story, exterior wall to get to ours.
I totally agree! But I calculated how many minutes we would have of flow with both the overhead and hand shower on and we would run out of hot water in only 8 minutes.
2.6gpm each with only 40gal of hot water. Plus it's an electric hot water heater (we don't have access to gas) so it's slow to reheat. Yes could install an instant hot water heaters but electric ones cost a fortune to run and waste a lot of energy.
Besides I think the massive 10" showerhead (the original plan had a 7" but the showerpipe comes with a 10") will be more than enough water LOL. So no matter which way we go we were going to have a one or the other divertor (a 3 way divertor). A 4 way would allow for both to be on. And actually the Hansgrohe model (first option) is a 3 or 4 way but you would have to tear into the drywall from the other side to repipe it.
As much as we wanted a big shower it didn't fit in the space. The two exterior walls really limited where we could put the shower and it was hard to fit in everything else when it was bigger. It's still going to be a decent size at 4'x5' but when you take into account the 1' deep bench and the wide half wall with the niche hidden into it the actual standing space is only 4' x 3.5'. So it's not really a two person shower anyway.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! I'm really starting to like this new plan.
I'm glad you approve of the style. : )
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I think that it is a really great idea. In the original plus hand-held the wall will look busy with all of those things on it. The new one, they are at least one, unified element.
The style is a little craftsman for me
(says the owner of a 1922 house), but I'm with you on the polished nickel. Love that finish!
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Ha ha is that if you squint and look sideways at it? It's a German company so most of their showerpipes are very modern, some curvy transitional style, and then two with a traditional style. The other traditional one looks very similar with the same showerhead and curved arm but the handheld and the control knobs are almost cartoon like (the one knob looks more like a flower with flairs on the end of the handles). This one was much straighter so I guess that goes with the craftsman feel. Plus when I downloaded both CAD files (yes dork here) I saw the Carlton was shorter and I am sooo looking forward to a tall showerhead. The showerhead of every place I've lived in for the last 9 years has been eye level with me so taking a shower is a bit of a bending act. Oh and the Carlton didn't come in polished nickel. PN costs more than chrome but I think it's going to look stunning in the warm colored space plus it's what would have been used if my house actually was craftsman.
Thanks again everyone! It's so nice to have this board to bounce ideas off of. It's going to be a while before we have finished master bath pics but I'll make sure to post them when I'm done.