Plumbing fixtures?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

We have decided it's time to retile a shower in our basement. Any recommendations on valves and shower heads? We are thinking rain shower and handheld.

I'm sure the quality has changed since I remodeled this shower over 20 years ago. It has a Price-Pfister valve in it now but I suspect it would be wise to change it. This shower is the heaviest used shower in our home by both guests and the two of us.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Jim Koepke]

It has a Price-Pfister valve in it now but I suspect it would be wise to change it.

What is the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

If the inards can be accessed for part replacement my choice would be to stay with the dependable valve.

jtk

[Tom M King]

If you're opening up the wall anyway, I'd update the valve. The last one I installed was a Kohler, and I'm sticking with that when I do the next one. They have cartridges that are replaceble easily. Others do to, these days, but I liked this one a lot. I did buy a spare cartridge to keep in that bathroom drawer.

[Stan Calow]

Good idea to put the handheld in now.

[Gary Ragatz]

We have Kohler fixtures in both our showers (~ 5 years old) and we're happy with them. Personally, I'm not a fan of the rain shower head - the spray doesn't have enough force to suit me.

I'd suggest adding a couple of grab-bars in each unit - or, at a minimum, put in blocking between the studs to allow them to be added easily later on.

[Jim Becker]

I"m partial to Kohler, myself. And yea, I'd update everything while doing this kind of project. I suggest you consider having the hand-held separately controlled from the showerhead. We had that arrangement in our previous property and it was great. The mixing valve in the wall served the same temperature for both, but each could be turned on and off independently. I hope to duplicate that here in the new place at some point...we are making do with a showerhead solution for the moment and while either can be turned on and off, it's a lot more cumbersome than wall mounted controls..

Honestly, I wouldn't do tile, either...there are modern materials that are easier to clean and maintain with a minimum of seams/penetrations to seal.

[Tom M King]

In our personal shower, I built a seat, with a completely separate control valve for a handheld shower. I don't use that one, but my Wife enjoys it.

I don't know what brand handheld she bought, and she doesn't remember either, but we put the same one in the rental house. It has a magnet that holds the handpiece up. We like those, too.

[Walter Mooney]

Make sure it’s a “pressure-balancing” valve. They compensate for water pressure (i.e. volume) such that they maintain the water temperature that’s been set even if someone somewhere else in the house flushes a toilet or otherwise runs or uses water. They’re great!

[Bill Dufour]

I would put in 2x6 blocking all around at garb bar height for "future proofing" . Also consider garb bars as towel bars for now, outside the stall.
Bill D

[Brian Holcombe]

Hans Grohe (not to be confused with Grohe from the Depot). Excellent, High quality stuff that I installed now years ago. Still shines.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Honestly, I wouldn't do tile, either...there are modern materials that are easier to clean and maintain with a minimum of seams/penetrations to seal.

What are some examples? (I have 2 showers to remodel.)

[Jim Becker]

What are some examples? (I have 2 showers to remodel.)

The choices range from one-piece molded to systems that are sheet based. Some of them remarkably look identical to stone, glass tile, etc., if you want that visual without the piece by piece installation and maintenance. I used a four piece setup for a bathroom renovation in our old property a few years ago and it was surprisingly easy and fast to install, even though I had no previous experience with it.

[Jerome Stanek]

I think you may want to stick with Price Pfister they do have a life time warranty. Like it was said if it ain't broke why fix it.

[Dan Friedrichs]

The pessimist in me says those $300 Delta/Moen faucets are sold at the BORGs next to the $79.99 "easy replace" cartridges because they intend for you to buy a new one every 3 years and feel good about how much money you saved "doing it yourself"... Given that the cost-per-use ends up being so trivial, I'd take Brian's advice and find a premium brand not sold at home centers...

Jim's suggestion of non-tile materials is also good. At one point, ceramic tile kitchen countertops were considered reasonable, but I bet most people hear that today and say, "Ewww". Well, all the new solid surface materials used in kitchen countertops are also being used in shower enclosures, for the same reasons - no grout joints to dirty, actual waterproofness (grout - like any cementitious product - is water permeable), easy to clean, non-mildewing, etc.

[dennis thompson]

Our house was built in 2007. We just had our Moen kitchen faucet repaired and the parts were all guaranteed and free. In addition the service was excellent with next day delivery available ( for a reasonable fee)

[George Yetka]

Whatever you end up with ESPECIALLY plumbing items burried in the wall, buy it from a local plumbing supply. The stuff you buy in Homedepot/lowes/amazon are an inferior product made cheaper by request of the big box stores.

[Brian Elfert]

I highly doubt the same exact model/part number of faucet sold at a big box store and a plumbing supply house are going to be any different. Now, faucet companies make some models specifically for big box stores. I wanted a specific Moen faucet for my bathroom and the plumber said the plumbing supply house told him that model was only sold at Home Depot and other big box stores.

[Curt Harms]

I would put in 2x6 blocking all around at garb bar height for "future proofing" . Also consider garb bars as towel bars for now, outside the stall.
Bill D

That's sort of what we did. We wanted the grab bar ends to be about 32" apart so as to screw into studs. We couldn't find 32" grab bars but as good luck would have it the grab bar end fittings were exactly the right diameter to fit 3/4" copper tubing and we could certainly get the right length copper tubing to fit between studs.

[George Yetka]

I highly doubt the same exact model/part number of faucet sold at a big box store and a plumbing supply house are going to be any different. Now, faucet companies make some models specifically for big box stores. I wanted a specific Moen faucet for my bathroom and the plumber said the plumbing supply house told him that model was only sold at Home Depot and other big box stores.

There is usually a difference in the model number but most shop by the name of the fixture/faucet. There may be dozens of sub models of the same name 1 or 2 usually are made with less expensive parts. The average person doesnt want to spend 300 on a bathroom faucet but 99 sounds appealing.

[Brian Elfert]

There is usually a difference in the model number but most shop by the name of the fixture/faucet. There may be dozens of sub models of the same name 1 or 2 usually are made with less expensive parts. The average person doesnt want to spend 300 on a bathroom faucet but 99 sounds appealing.

I would pay extra for a faucet if the manufacturer could detail exactly what is different between a model sold at Home Depot and the one sold at a plumbing supply house. However, the biggest issue with supply houses is they most often won't sell to DIY folks. You have to have a plumber involved usually.

[Lisa Starr]

We installed Swanstone sheets in our shower when we remodeled the house 5 years ago. Despite it being made to look like Beadboard, it is the easiest shower to clean. Compared to both Tile and Molded 1 piece units, this product is much more resistant to discoloration, mold and soap scum.

[Brian Elfert]

I am planning to redo my tiled bath tub with Swanstone. The cost is hard to swallow, but it should clean up a lot easier.

[Tom Bender]

Our Kohler fiberglass one piece shower stall is 35 years old and still looks almost new. Used daily.

I am 66" tall and wife is 64", bottom of shower head is 78" - where we can both reach it but don't have to stoop to get under it. Grab a tape measure and spouse and work out what you'd like.

I'm disappointed with Delta faucets.

[Tom M King]

When I built the last addition on our house, we did a big shower with 12" square Marble tiles, including on the ceiling. I put a fan to circulate air, on a timer in that bathroom. While that shower does have grout joints, much like regular ceramic tile, the circulating air from the fan, I guess, makes mold, and mildew a non-issue. We really enjoy that shower, but I don't think we would like it nearly as much if it was some synthetic. We do have a Quartz seat in it, and Corian shelves.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, I absolutely agree that stone is a step above when it comes to this kind of thing...I miss the Vermont green slate we had at the old property. The cost factor comes into play, however...that's also a step above!

[Curt Harms]

The pessimist in me says those $300 Delta/Moen faucets are sold at the BORGs next to the $79.99 "easy replace" cartridges because they intend for you to buy a new one every 3 years and feel good about how much money you saved "doing it yourself"... Given that the cost-per-use ends up being so trivial, I'd take Brian's advice and find a premium brand not sold at home centers...

Jim's suggestion of non-tile materials is also good. At one point, ceramic tile kitchen countertops were considered reasonable, but I bet most people hear that today and say, "Ewww". Well, all the new solid surface materials used in kitchen countertops are also being used in shower enclosures, for the same reasons - no grout joints to dirty, actual waterproofness (grout - like any cementitious product - is water permeable), easy to clean, non-mildewing, etc.

Solid surface material is very easy to work with and as you say, no visible joints. I'm not sure where one would find a color matched solid surface shower pan though. Use another material for the shower pan and solid surface for the rest of the enclosure? Anyone can buy solid surface material and supplies from solidsurface. com. I think they recommend 1/4" thick instead of 1/2" thick for vertical surfaces though I'm not certain about that.

Edit: I just noticed that the solid surface web site also has shower kits.

[Brad Chenoweth]

Based on nearly 40 years of manufacturing faucets parts, there's Moen and Delta, and then everyone else. Buy at a plumbing supply house, not a big box store. Just my .02

[Rich Engelhardt]

I'm on the fifth (and last according to Moen support) "lifetime warranty" replacement cartridge for my 13 year old Moen valve.
Moen told me they would no longer ship replacement parts to my address.
Needless to say, I'm not a fan of Moen.

I'll have to rip the wall apart one day to tear out the Moen piece of garbage some day. I would have done it before but - it means ripping out the old valve by tearing out the tiled wall. There is no access from the rear.

[Tom Bender]

"I'll have to rip the wall apart one day to tear out the Moen piece of garbage some day. I would have done it before but - it means ripping out the old valve by tearing out the tiled wall. There is no access from the rear."

You mean to say that the access from the rear is even more difficult than tearing out the tile.

My disappointment with Delta is their lack of modulation. The shower valves (one for hot, one for cold) can only be configured with cartridges that go from off to full in 90 degrees which is hard to adjust. In the kitchen the single lever faucet has only cold and hot, difficult to find any middle ground. Resetting the water heater to 'just right' is even worse.

[Ole Anderson]

Make sure it’s a “pressure-balancing” valve. They compensate for water pressure (i.e. volume) such that they maintain the water temperature that’s been set even if someone somewhere else in the house flushes a toilet or otherwise runs or uses water. They’re great! I would go a step further and recommend a thermostatic mixing valve. You set it for a specific temperature and every time you step in, it is at your perfect temperature. Advantage is that it doesn't waste water to get up to your temperature, it runs hot water only until it needs to start mixing in cold. I have the American Standard Elite thermostatic valve installed nearly 20 years ago and still going strong. Not available now, but they have plenty of others to choose from. https://www.build.com/product/summary/721556?uid=1340764&jmtest=gg-gbav2_1340764&inv2=1&&source=gg-gba-pla_1340764!c1709211100!a66212958389!dc!ng&gclid=CjwKCAjw7fuJBhBdEiwA2lLMYVzzp8ElitzZ89EqT98j q5e10B0vy7SDKBDuQg02bWwl7RcxF0k8GRoCyaEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Rich Engelhardt]

You mean to say that the access from the rear is even more difficult than tearing out the tile.
Yes.
The other side of the tub/shower is in the attic area of the main level of the house right where the hip joint of the roofline is - we live in a split level & the section of wall in the kitchen where the top row of cabinets is located.

Far better to remove some of the tile & backer, replace the valve & shower head - then repair that area.