Shower plumbing driving me crazy!

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deanbrew

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My wife wants something more than the usual showerhead. I've visited web site after website as well as three local plumbing stores, and I'm still dazed and confused.

Here is my wife's dream system:



But I have several reservations about it. One, I don't want to spend $800 on friggin' shower plumbing. Two, I can just imagine the water meter spinning like an odometer at 100 mph when my wife is taking a shower. And three, the only place I can find a system like this is from showerbuddy.com, made and sold by Zoe Industries. Whoever heard of Zoe Industries?

Now, what I want to do: I'm willing to give my wife two shower heads plus a handheld, but I'd really rather only have one shower head plus a handheld. I like the slide bar idea. I don't need a thermostatic valve, which adds about $100 to the price of the faucet, I believe.

A local plumbing store put together a package of Jaclo brand plumbing: pressure balance valve, two shower heads on a "T" splitter mounted to an arm, diverter, handheld head and shower bar, totaling $500 or so.

It seems to me I can still save quite a bit using "standard" brands like Moen or Delta. Is that a mistake? I want something nice, but not extravagant. Is feeding two shower heads a bad idea?

Does anyone have any suggestions, advice or comments about showers? Which brands of valves are good (Moen, Delta, Grohe, etc.)? Which showerhead do you love or hate?
 
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Jadnashua

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I'm not a pro...I've put in several Grohe faucets and valves and have been happy with them. Some people here have said wait until you need parts. Hopefully that will be long after I move out. In Europe, Grohe is pretty big. KWC is maybe the biggest faucet company in the world. If you ever use a themperature controlled valve, you'll probably want one at home. I really like mine. The first time I ever used one was in a hotel in London, England. It responded quickly when the water pressure changed (which can happen alot in a hotel). All that gets adjusted is the volume control, even if you are near the end of the hot water in the tank. Course, it can't make hot water...but no adjusting to maintain the temperature as it is used up.

Grohe also makes a double showerhead called the Freehander (if I remembercorrectly). You can turn one of the heads off if you wish to save water. With a divertor, you can have any arrangement you want, tub filler, hand shower, wall mounted shower. Keep in mind that if you go over probably 2 shower heads (on at the same time), you may really want to consider 3/4" supply and valve. This can be a major endeavor if it is not there already. Is your water heater big enough to support the volume? An average showerhead is about 2.5 gpm (double-check this figure - my memory may not be correct). The most you'll get out of a "normal" 1/2" supply is probably 6-7 gpm (varies with pressure and distance). Some valves won't flow that much.
 
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