Stupid Shower Question

Doing a remodel and ripped out the tub/shower and now I'm putting in a shower unit. Is there a standard height for the valve and shower head from the bottom of the shower unit?

TIA
Jerry

There is nothing cast in concrete. Someone who is 4' tall might like the valve and shower head at a different height than someon 7' tall. My feeling is reach out and put the valve at a height comfortable to you. Mark it, and then do the same with the others that may use it, then compromise somewhere in-between. You want to be able to reach the showerhead, but I like to be able to stand under it and rinse my hair without having to bend way over, but you still need to be able to reach it if you want to move it a bit. And, you need to be able to screw the shower arm in, so there's a limit on how high it can go unless you run it out of the ceiling - you need enough room to rotate the bend without hitting the ceiling while screwing it in.

I've done about 25 bathroom remodles in rentals so slowly developed standards for my use, as I was never able to find hard numbers any where.

I generally put the shower valve at 42" from the floor, and the fitting for the shower arm at 80"
This has worked well for me.

Mind you this is for a shower not a bathtub shower arangement.
On bathtub showers put the handles a little lower, can't find my reference at the moment.

But I still put the fixture higher than traditional on the assumption that most people take showers and not baths.

Michael

Jim has some great points above about being able to reach the shower head easily as if you are streching and perhaps pulling on the unit to adjust the spray head you can do harm to a lesser quality shower arm. Many shower arms are made from chrome plated plastic and will not hold up well to this kind of abuse.

I would take it one step further and incorporate the tile layout into the design and see where the shower arm fits nicley in your layout. It is a chore for some to cut a hole in a tile and others (like me) are perfectionists and want to insure everything lines up where it should...

Good luck!

JW

Thanks for the replies. The dimensions that are recommended are in the line of what I was thinking.

One more quick question. What's recommended for the area above the shower, painted drywall or tiling? I've never tiled before so it would be an adventure

Jerry

johnfrwhipple said:

I would take it one step further and incorporate the tile layout into the design and see where the shower arm fits nicley in your layout.

Click to expand...

Ja, I always story-board the tile layout and plan the rough-in, wall union, cubby holes, grab bars, hand showers, etc. Below is a pic of my latest job.

My old molded shower panels had a specific flat area for the valve.

Most of it is your preference...you should have it waterproof at least to the level of the showerhead...above that, your choice. Assuming you don't have a steam shower, the wall above that and the ceiling can be painted, if you use a good paint and have decent ventillation. You can tile the wall all the way up and the ceiling, if you want, but again, unless a steam shower, not a requiremnt.

If you have not done tile before then the plastic 3 piece shower liners made of fiberglass are a good solution.
Michael