Rain head supply question

[Nick_A]

Hello,

We are kicking around the idea of putting a rain head in our shower, in addition to a typical wall mounted showerhead. The bathroom is on the second floor, and with the floorplan, is just about in the center of a 26x52 ft house. Attic is insulated to R-60 and we live in Iowa. We have sweated copper supply lines.

Wondering what is typical for this type of setup for this? Is it acceptable to put the supply lines just above the drywall surrounded by attic insulation? Should we create some type of framed build out in the attic space around the lines? Would the proper way need to be a drop ceiling in the shower? Would we need to install a valve to drain the water back out when the showerhead is turned off?

Just some thoughts and questions. Thanks for your advice.

Nick

 

[Jadnashua]

As to the draining issue, some people put in a tub spout in their shower with a diverter to allow the line to drain, similar to what happens in a tub/shower. You can call it a feature...toe tester. It can also be useful if you ever want to fill a bucket to mop the floor, or wash the car with hot.

If the line is run underneath the insulation, next to the ceiling, it should not freeze up, but the nature of that type of line means that it can hold water a long time, and potentially drip for a long time. Think what happens when you put your finger over the end of a straw...

There will likely be some water left in the pipe, and when you switch, you'll get a cold burst while you first warm up the pipe and flush out the room temperature water left in there...can be a shock! It can help if you put a little slope on the line, especially if you remember to work the diverter to allow air in to let it drain at the end of your shower.

Code limits any type of shower head to a maximum of 2.5gpm, and most will produce less...that's not a huge amount of water. TO make it into a rain shower head, the outlets are not the typical nozzles, so the water is literally falling only by gravity, it is not accelerated through the nozzle like a well-designed head. It's not the volume involved, it's how much acceleration the water generates when going through the nozzles that you feel.

Be careful with your code research. Washington state has a new rule where the total shower nozzles on at any one time is now limited. Not sure how that is going over, but it will make body sprays and other things impossible to pass codes without some very careful selection. Iowa probably hasn't gotten to that (yet).