How high should a shower head be installed?

14 years ago

Our plumber just did the rough in for our shower and put the head at 7 feet. Is that normal? It looks so high. I am putting niches in between the shower head and the controls, kind of like staceyneil did(although hers were off to the side). So I'm sure he did it to give me the maximum amount of space.

Just worried it is so high that it won't function like it should. Not sure I can do anything about it now, since the just put the walls up.

Featured Answer

lazypup

14 years ago

As was mentioned above, when the shower arm is attached to the roughin at the wall the arm extends out 6" then turns downward at about a 40deg angle and drops down 2" to 3".

The shower head is then installed on the end of the shower arm and depending upon the design it may extend downwards from 2" to 8".

As a plumber, when I was working on a custom home I would ask the height of the tallest person that would normally be using that shower, then place the roughin accordingly so that the finished shower head would be about 6" above the users head.

As you can see, if the ppl using your shower are 5'6" to 6' a roughin at 7' would be fine.

On the other hand, my nephew is 7'1" tall so we had to set his roughin at 8', and I once worked on a house that was customed sized for a dwarf who was only 4'5" so we set her shower at 6'.

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Comments (7)

mydreamhome
14 years ago
7' is fine--it's a typical height. Once the shower head is installed it will look more "normal" to you as it will hang lower by virtue of it's design and the angled shower arm. People taller than 6' usually prefer it to be a little higher.
User
14 years ago
Is that the head height or just where the rough in is located the wall? Remember that you will have a shower arm coming out of the wall and the head will be attached to that. Shower arms come in different lengths, so it will be customizable to a certain degree.
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pricklypearcactus
14 years ago
That's how high we installed our shower head because my significant other is 6'3" and the original lower height of 6' meant he had to bend over to shower completely. As mydreamhome said the angled shower arm will mean the actual shower head itself hangs lower than 7'. We have a standard shower head and a hand held that diverts off of the shower arm. For me the diverter is reachable, but for someone more petite, it might be tricky. I'm not an expert on plumbing parts, but if you find the shower head too high, I wonder if you could use a longer shower arm or an extension on the original shower arm.
MongoCT
14 years ago
I believe plumbing code still stipulates a minimum of 72" for residential. Even though that was the minimum, it became the standard for years and years, especially in tract residential.

Today's residential? I always discuss it with the homeowners. Most prefer the fixed shower head outlet at 80" to 84" above the finished floor surface. The added height won't adversely affect the way the head works, but if you had a short bather they might not be able to reach and adjust the multi-function controls on the head if the head were set too high.

If the walls are in place but the joints not taped and thinsetted, now is the time to make changes if you really think it's too high for you. If the joints are taped and mudded, it's a little more work. But still doable. Once the tile goes up...
positano
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks everyone! I am 5'6" and DH is 5'11" so we should be good with that height.
The shower head in the basement seems so much lower since the ceiling is lower, just wanted to double check that was good.
dd_sylvian
5 years ago
If it's a rain shower head, you would want it 84" between the bottom of the head to the bathtub floor. No less. If it's a regular head, you can lower it to 80". This is the preferred heights today. You must measure from the floor of the tub (or the shower stall) not the actual floor of the bathroom, to the opening of the head, not the spout outlet height on the wall. Very important.