Whether you are upgrading your bathroom or fitting out a new space from scratch, your bathroom shower is a very important plumbing fixture that is central to the quality of your bathing experience. By definition, the shower is a hand-held, ceiling mounted or wall-mounted fixture that allows quick cleansing under a continuous spray of water.
The sheer range of shower fittings, types of showers and enclosures that are available in the market today make your choices quite overwhelming. Read on to know about all your choices, and some key considerations to keep in mind when picking the perfect fittings for your bathroom.
Tub-shower combinations are immensely popular, and can save space in small bathrooms as you do not need to install a separate shower cubicle. Here, the bathtub will have faucets that control the release of water to the tub, as well as the water to the overhead showerhead. A hand shower is also a useful addition. The faucet is usually a mixer-tap that controls both the hot water and cold water inlets, and regulates the final temperature of the water.
The tub area could be free-standing, as above, or separated from the rest of the room by a simple waterproof shower curtain on a rod, as in the image below.
Prefabricated shower cubicles come in several readymade sizes, and are fitted with an acrylic shower tray and moulded glass walls. Some cubicles come complete with plumbing fixtures, wall jet nozzles, a built-in seat and even a sound system that plays music while you bathe! They are often designed with thoughtful details like soap niches and wall ledges to hold bathroom essentials, so that all you need to do is install the whole unit and you can use it immediately.
Corner showers with curved enclosures occupy a very small footprint and are perfect for compact bathrooms. A curved glass door slides outward on a track to provide access to the cubicle. While these showers utilise space in a better way, curved glass is twice the cost of a regular glass partition. Do keep in mind that a curved partition is also more hygienic and easier to clean, as the number of corners where grime can accumulate is reduced.
Custom shower enclosures can be made to suit the exact dimensions of your bathroom, and are a popular option. The shower is built into a niche in the bathroom and is tiled or lined with natural stone.
Having a custom shower built into a section of the bathroom will help to completely demarcate the wet and dry areas, keeping the rest of the bathroom clean and dry always.
A shower with a glass partition is crafted out of ¼ or ½ inch thick tempered glass that is secured with an aluminium frame or can be frameless. A shower enclosure without frames has the glass panels secured with metal clips and seamlessly sealed using silicone at the corners, and makes the bathroom appear more open and spacious.
The shower partition can be fitted with a sliding door or a door that opens either way on hinges. It can also be fitted without a door but having just an opening, to allow easier access especially for those who are wheelchair bound or have movement impediments.
The most popular types of plumbing fixtures are ceiling-mounted rain showers, hand-held showers and wall-mounted overhead showers.
This bathroom features a large square wall-mounted shower with different combinations of water nozzles; the central ones being larger than the ones in the perimeter of the shower head for a varied bathing experience.
The hand shower fitted on the wall can be twisted to open or close different combinations of nozzles, so that the stream of water is sharp or soft in accordance with your preference.
In the image below, this large rain shower mounted in the open is fixed on a floor-mounted pipe and offers an even spray of water that resembles the gentle drizzle of rain, hence the name.
Rain shower heads can be circular or square and range in size from 100 x 100 mm to as large as 500 x 500 mm. The bigger the shower, the more refreshing and rejuvenating is the rain shower experience.
Rain shower heads can even be fitted directly on the ceiling of your shower cubicle, with pipes that are concealed inside the false ceiling panels.
The image below shows a novel water-jet shower experience, with the spray of water coming as a jet from a rectangular opening in the ceiling.
Whatever may be the types of showers that you have in mind, you should keep these considerations in mind for an enjoyable bathing experience:
Need more help with designing the bathroom of your dreams? Do get in touch with the experts at HomeLane. Whether you need advice on the different types of showers in your bathroom, or need to know about the design of shower enclosures, we’ve got your back!
A rain shower that gives a constant and refreshing stream of water though evenly spaced nozzles is perhaps the best of all the types of showers that you could opt for. Whether your shower head is circular or square, the bathing experience will be similar. The larger the diameter of the shower head, the more enjoyable will be your bathing experience.
When it comes to the shape of the shower enclosure, you should design it in accordance with the space available in your bathroom. Ergonomic considerations state that your shower enclosure should be a minimum of 32 inches by 32 inches. An ideal size of at least 36 inches by 60 inches can include a built-in seat on one side as well.
A bathroom with a separate shower and bathtub (or a shower-bathtub combo), a sink and a toilet is called a full bathroom, in real estate terms.
A washroom or a powder room, also called a half bathroom, has just a toilet and a sink and no bathing area. These washrooms are usually not attached to the bedroom and can be used by guests without entering the bedroom.
A three-quarter bathroom is one which has a toilet, sink, and either a separate shower or a separate bathtub. Most apartments do not have the luxury of a bathtub due to space restrictions, and so three-quarter bathrooms are the most popular option.
You can make your choice from among all the types of showers, based on many different considerations:
Based on all these parameters, and taking the help of an interior decorator, you can choose the type of shower that will be ideally suited for your needs.
Shower fittings and fixtures have a lifespan of at least 15 to 20 years, if maintained well. But most professionals would recommend that you update your bathroom every ten years or so, so that you can stay in step with the latest décor trends!
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