Bathtub with two shower heads?

10 years ago

DH and I have a regular bathtub with regular shower head. We have on it a simple plumbing-supply type shower head extender so we have two simple nozzle heads, somewhat adjustable, allowing the "back person" to still get a good shower. Each can be turned off with a little mechanical button on the head. On the wall pipe (before the heads) is another aftermarket white plastic handheld sprayer for the kids and dog.

We're going to redo our master bath and are looking for a way to recreate the functionality we have while leaving the PTFE tape and aftermarket parts behind! The design showrooms we've been in have never heard of this, yet have loads of standing showers with multiple shower heads, bars, tiles, etc. I don't get the rain head as it exclusively showers only the main person. Do people just not shower together in a tub shower?

Anyway, we're envisioning a mounted sprayer shower head on the current shower wall, above the drain. I thought we'd mount a second sprayer head holster down lower for kids to shower with a fixed head. I don't see the purpose of a shower bar, other than for modern sleek aesthetics. I guess I don't see a time where we'd want to adjust it between us height and kid height.

On the foot of the tub, we plan a matching fixed shower head. There is a Moen diverter that would mount at the drain end whose valve can handle water to A - main shower only, B - Main and back shower, or C - tub spout.

Gardenweb/Houzz friends, is there some functionality option I'm missing? Other ideas? I can find no photos of this on google, Pinterest, etc and would love some! Thanks for the thoughts.

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Comments (5)

kats737
10 years ago
You probably don't see it a lot because I think that is a lot of fixtures in a relatively narrow space. I also think that there's a growing trend of shower-only masters, and that seems to be where people are putting their design dollars.

As for the slide bar, your kids are going to grow, right? While my boys are smaller than me now, I'm guessing they will be taller than me in the future! That is why the adjustable slide bar is nice. What about a slide bar main shower mounted above the tub filler (to adjust between kid and adult height) and then the fixed matching showerhead at the back of the tub.
Hunzi
10 years ago
Can't help with the 3 shower heads in a tub (to me it seems a bit excessive - but I have a fixed plus handshower plus tub spout. Mine is tub or shower A/B. I used a Hansgrohe tub/shower thermostatic/diverter and used a Kohler Hydrorail to mount the shower heads and supply the diverter between them. If we both wanted to shower at the same time, I would have used a Hansgrohe diverter that could do A/B/AB instead and one would use the handshower.

Like Kats737 mentioned, kids grow - so having an adjustable handshower on a bar is nice to have.

You can see my set up here (scroll towards the bottom - I just did my "reveal". http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2285308/starting-from-dirt-literally-a-basement-bath-diy-adventure-pt2?n=151
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lithigin
Original Author
10 years ago
Yes, I admire the lovely standing showers that many people can do, but this is the one and only tub in our ranch and it seems like a big mistake to get rid of it for us and future people

Hunzi, we're thinking of just 2 showerheads - B fixed at the foot of the tub, and the main shower A would be a sprayer head mounted at the head (or a shower bar with removable sprayer). I saw your pic, and I see a showerhead plus a shower bar with detachable sprayer. The Moen diverter does A or A/B or Tub (does that make it a triverter?), not B only, which is completely fine. If one adult is showering, then they use A or A/B.

BTW, I think I recall you from my GardenWeb days in Kitchen Reno House #1, circa 2004-2005, and possibly in Kitchen Reno House #2, 2009. Your From Dirt bathroom reno looks like just what you envisioned. Lovely hex floor, and very cool upcycled sink. DH is a big fan. :)
Hunzi
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I didn't want to put in second Ibox for a diverter (since my goal was to keep it looking pretty timeless/traditional 1930s/40s - it actually turned out fairly modern, so this wasn't exactly what I was after, but I like it.) So what I have is the thermostatic valve, plus a diverter that switches between the shower & tub spout. Then I have the Hydrorail which has a diverter on the bottom - so I can switch between the fixed and hand showers. In fact, I sort of wish I had bought the longer hydrorail - so we could lower the hand shower more if we had little people who were big enough to shower on their own.

I think you would need two diverters or one that will do A/B/C/AB - I'm not sure if there is one like that - but I'd research that. (A=fixed, B=hand, C=tub, AB=both showers at once)

Thanks!! It was three years of on and off DIY and side projects, but it did turn out exactly as I hoped!

And yes, people do shower together in a tub shower, but it is a tad cozy. ;-)
ricksrb4
6 years ago
I am curious about the end result. I, too, am looking at redoing our hallway (3rd) bathroom that is for guests, kids, teens and want to move the main plumbing (drain, tub spout, handheld on bar) to the opposite end from where it is next to to the toilet (a pet peeve of mine for giving kids baths) but have a mounted fixture on existing wall by toilet. A/B/AB/C so kids can shower together. I have yet to see photos of this setup. Photos? Happy? what would you change? I also plan on using a high curtain. I decided that kids, teens, guests wouldn't wipe off glass (necessary here). Doors just make the space tighter. Had a slider and hated it.