If you’ve never seen a shower tower before, it can be described as a small slice of heaven underwater. A shower panel consists of four or more showerheads that provide varying water blasts, temperature controls and massaging jets. It’s like having your own personal hands-on massage expert in your shower-minus the “R” rating.
What really makes these fantastic bathroom additions really great is that they are easy to install in existing shower stalls. But before you go running out to the local home improvement center to pick one up, consider these important tips before jumping the gun.
· Who’s doing the work? While you might be handy with a wrench, it’s probably a good idea to let a professional plumber do the work. Hooking up new plumbing to old plumbing is always a big hassle and requires a lot of tools, materials and know-how that the average homeowner doesn’t have access to. After all, it’s going to cost you a lot more money to have a plumber put in your shower tower after you’ve got a box of parts for him to put together.
· Support Structure- You may also need to install framing materials to support the weight of a shower panel. If you’re handy with a saw and screw gun, you may be able to build out the framing yourself, but don’t overlook hiring a handyman to help you out. It’s always good to have an extra pair of hands when working in a tight space like a shower stall.
·? You may need to add on a tank-less water heater to the shower enclosure to help keep water as hot as you need it without sucking up the rest of the homes hot water supply.
·. I couldn’t resist the joke, but water pressure is no laughing matter. Shower towers can really put a heavy strain on the water supply causing low-flow water problems throughout the home when the shower panel is running full blast. In some cases, you can combat this trouble by installing a water reducer on your homes main water intake pipe.
· Moisture Issues- There are more issues in this article than newspaper issues in a men’s bathroom. And just like a good outhouse, ventilation is crucial for relief from moist gases (I’m talking about from the shower panel). When you buy your new shower panel, you may want to consider installing a new ventilation fan with superior Cfm’s-that’s circulations per minute for you unknowin’ folks. Better air circulation equals less chance that mold and mildew problems are going to happen from the excessive amounts of steam that are caused by your new shower tower and your soon to be famous disco steam shower parties.
