Adding second shower head?

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wesbob

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Purchasing a foreclosure and I would like to add a second shower head on the opposite wall from where the current shower head is. Don't necessarily need a second control. The shower is a rectangle lets say 2'x6' . Will I need to completely tear down the shower (it's a tiled shower) for the plumber to be able to get in and do what needs to be done or can it be done without a total tear down? What would something like this cost?
 

Dj2

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The answer to your question is: depends on what's around the bathroom, and how easy the access is.
The cost? depends on how much work is involved.

So what to do? call at least 3 plumbers for estimates.
 

Jadnashua

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Diamond core bits can drill nice clean holes in any tile. If it tile isn't very hard, less expensive tools can cut it.

Typical showerheads are rated at NGT 2.5gpm. Keep in mind that a typical 1/2" supply valve may barely be able to keep up with two heads, which means the performance may not be ideal when adding a second one. It might, but it might not. THen, consider that you'd be draining the water heater twice as fast, and that could be an issue as well. The line to the second head would mean lots more water to drain out, and you'd have a cold water shot for longer before hot arrived, and longer to achieve any change in temperature for the second head.

If you have access behind the walls, say by cutting a hole from the room next to it, you may not need to mess up any tile work. Otherwise, it could be quite expensive and trying to match existing tile work can be problematic unless you have a bunch of spares from the initial install.

Without knowing the ease of access and what actually would need to be done to run the added line, it is impossible to say what it may cost, then, every location has its own local labor costs - say NYC would be much more expensive then east Podunk out in the middle of nowhere.
 

Sluggo

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First, you will need to be able to access the supply line to the other shower so you can cut it and install a tee. Then you would need to route new piping from this tee over to the other side of the shower, by going up above the shower ceiling or beneath the shower floor or behind the walls, and then bringing it to the location for the second shower head. Where is exits the wall, you will need to have a male fitting soldered on, and the pipe should also be braced inside the wall against the framing. This sounds like a lot of work just to add a second shower head. It might be easier if the second head was a rainshower-type head so that you could just cut out the sheetrock in the ceiling to do the install, but that still leaves the issue of where you tee-in to the supply line. Based on your description, you will be investing a lot of time in installing the second head, and repairing what you needed to remove in order to run the plumbing, for a modest upgrade. This is the kind of change better incorporated into a full bathroom remodel when you have to tear into a lot of stuff anyway. If I'm misunderstanding what your layout is, please add more info..
 
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