Custom Shower Design
How Many Shower Outlets?
Just add them all up. The sum total flow rate of all shower outlets (showerheads, hand showers, and/or body sprays combined cannot exceed the maximum flow rate of the shower valve at a given water pressure. Exceeding the capacity of the valve will lower the overall performance of the custom shower system (especially when everything is on at once).
The Valve
It is best to use a thermostatic temperature control valve – preferably 3/4". A high output thermostatic valve will not only give the needed flow, but more importantly - it will control and maintain the temperature.
Volume Controls
Custom showers are generally designed with separate on/off (volume) controls.
For example:
(1) for the shower head,
(1) for every three body sprays,
(1) for the hand shower.
These volume controls have their own flow rate; 3/4" valves are recommended. Remember 3/4" will give you up to 16gpm (at 45psi), 1/2" will give you up to 8gpm (at 45psi) If the sum of the outlets is greater than the volume control, you will loose performance (pressure).
Body Sprays
Any time two or more body sprays are used, they need to be installed in a "pressure balancing" loop. This ensures that all sprays have the same flow, pressure & temperature.
Hand Showers
These are important for 3 main reasons:
- Personal hygiene
- Alternate shower head height for other family members (children etc.)
- Ease of cleaning the shower area
Shower Heads
- They can be mounted on the wall
- They can have long or short shower arms
- They can be mounted to the ceiling
- Lots of shapes, sizes, spray patterns and features
The Drain
Yes the drain is important. Large systems using (2) high flow valves can produce up to 36gpm of water. That means in a 5 minute shower you could have 180 gallons of water looking to drain somewhere. While a standard shower system requires a single 2" drain, larger systems should use (2) 2" drains or (1) 3" drain. If the drain is not sized right, you will be standing in a pool of water until the drain catches up with the water flow which might not be until the shower is over.
Hot Water
The more shower outlets, the more hot water you will need. A 50 gallon gas water heater will supply a (4) outlet shower for about 8 minutes. For best performance it is suggested that the customer have a 75-100 gallon water heater or separate storage tank.
