My demolition in this complete-gut remodel is beginning to affect my daily life. Part of the plan is to expand the bath, and bring the water heater from the carport, into a new laundry room.
Moving walls and completely replacing all the plumbing … what shall I doin the meantime?
Well, step#1 is a temporary shower – located in the place where the laundry equipment will go, and with a ‘temporary’ water heater placed where the permanent water heater will later go.
The temporary shower, including water heater, set me back about $800. Here it is (click on pic for abetter view, use back arrow to return):
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Back in the day, in south eastern Kentucky, I took baths in a claw foot tub, with water heated on a coal fired cook stove. Or just sponged off with a washpan of cold water.
Cooked
You could have just built the fire under the tub.
Well, this was an inside tub. But, if it was outside, I suppose you could have had a nice hot tub with a little coal fire under it!
I'm glad the 'roughing it' crowd has chimed in :D
Fact is, I had been taking 'sponge baths' for some time, or using the shower at work.
For the 'sponge baths,' I added a heater to a cheap automotive parts washer. I also improved the drain arrangement and attached a fresh water feed. Now that I have the shower, the parts washer will revert to my original use: cleaning my cordless paint sprayer.
Still, summer is approaching - and around here heat and humidity combine to make the air so thick the locals say it's like "breathing jello." That means I will want to PROMPTLY change clothes, rinse off the slime, and cool down after a work session.
Thus, the shower.
Ironically, I have built a better 'temporary' shower than any of the permanent ones I suffered with over decades of renting. I really enjoy not banging my elbows every time I turn around - let alone accidentally bumping into one of the faucet handles!
Something I mean to do, but never have, is to build an outside shower. Maybe this year...
I'm not one that wants to strut my stuff, so it will be some sort of enclosed area, but no roof.
Am I mistaken or do you have to step outside the shower to adjust the temperature?
You see correctly - I need to reach outside the shower to adjust the water.
I have since moved the valve,and the shower head, to the forward corner, so it's less of a reach.
It was a deliberate design choice - one less place to leak. Since the valve is self-temperature regulating, I rarely have to adjust it once I'm in the shower.
I've been using this temporary shower for a year now - with other matters to tend to, the full bath rebuild probably won't be completed for another two years - and it's been a most educational experience! You can be sure these lessons will be applied to my permanant shower design.
One thing I got right was the size of the shower. With the pan measuring (wetted area) about 30" x 46", there's plenty of room- and never too much! I neither bang my elbows no feel cold drafts while using it. The shower head sits "perfect" with the face of the head at about 70 from the floor of the pan.
I've had a devil of a time with a leak in the drain line; it seems the PVC union at the trap just doesn't want to seal. Or, perhaps, there's a hairline crack in the pan that just won't reveal itself. Whatever the cause, I've had to place a drip pan under the shower- and wish I'd made the shower with more clearance under it. I can't simply re-assemble mine, as I used glue to attach the 'walls' to the frame. I thought I was cleverly reducing the need for screws to pierce the FRP. Oops.
The real question this poses me is: How many "real" shower installs are this leaky? It makes you wonder.
I've felt a need to add several grab handles, mainly at the entry. I've also found a real need for a coat hook, a towel bar and 'necessities' tray on the outside of the shower. While some of this needis the result of the shower being on a raised platform, it has also made me recognize other 'needs.' Specifically, you have certain activities you do just outside the shower - towel off, dry and brush your hair, dress and undress - just outside the shower. If you don't have a counter right next to the shower, your design will have to accomodate these needs. FWIW, a length of rain gutter works real well as the "shelf."
The shower curtain rod - simple 3/4" PVC pipe - has proven too flimsy. I've stiffened it with a length of rebar inside.
Ventilation and light within the shower are really important - if you're not careful, your shower experience will be a lot less pleasant than it can be. Mold / algae just wants to form! This summer, I have added a dehumidifier to this area of the house, to be run at need. (The dehumidifier suppliments the air conditioning).
The windows I added to the shower, at the end away from the shower head and placed at face level, really add "atmosphere." Simply being able to feel a gentle breeze, and look out at a flowering tree is a very nice experience. The windows do open, and are about a foot square.
For a variety of reasons, I have my lighting outside the shower, able to shine through the curtain. I've learned there is a desire for three types of light: a "dim" light for first use as you awake on those winter mornings, a heat lamp to warm the floor as you shower, and a bright, white light for daytime and cleaning uses. Such lights need to shine directly into the shower, lest the shower walls cause unfortunate shadows.
Inside I've placed a length of rain gutter as a shelf for the shampoo, etc. It works quite well.
I wanted a shelf, or ledge, on which to rest a foot as I cleaned myself. Getting this 'simple' thing right has been more of a challenge than I expected. Height placement is critical, and it seems that you want it just the right width and tilt. Numbers? Start with 10" high (top face), 5" wide, and about a 15 degree slant toward you. A small gap - perhaps 1/2"- between the ledge and the shower wall is a good idea. Indeed, your feet seem to prefer a heavily cross-ribbed surface to a smooth one. I tilted mine to the side slightly - 1/2" over 30" length - to promote drainage. The feet don't mind.
As with every other shower I've had, I find a need for a way to connect a short hose. I find that using a 'shower wand' fitting at the shower head, together with the wand hose, gives me what I need ... be it to fill a pail or cleanse the shower itself.
I had made a short 'wall' across the entrance, to keep the shower curtain inside the enclosure. I have found that if this is taller than 15", your feet will bump into it. Otherwise, it works well at keeping all the water inside the enclosure.
More by accident than anything, I had placed the water heater next to the temporary shower. Having hot water available almost instantly is quite nice. Indeed, if your plumbing system takes a while to supply the tap with hot water, I suggest adding a small 'booster' heater at the shower, to temper that first few gallons of cold water from the 'hot' supply.
I have found I can easily reach outside the shower about a foot without inconvenience, as well as a (narrow) ledge at about 68". This should give you some thoughts for storage areas.
Finally .... I've had to move this 'temporary' shower around several times, to work on the house walls behind it. Finally, I put the thing on wheels. PEX fittings disconnect rather easily, when needed.
Leak Issue
Since the previous post, I've been hunting for the source of a leak that developed. Ultimately, the platform under the shower had to be rebuilt. Despite the wood having been sealed, there was extensive rot and delamination.
I think this "opening" of the wood concealed the leak for some time, allowing the wood to act as a sponge and contain the leak until it became too large.
My hunt for the leak also proved that I should have had much more working clearance under it!
Anyway, with the shower rebuilt and raised, the hunt for the leak resumed. What I found raised a really big 'red flag' for permanent shower construction.
The leak was in the place I had examined, and worked on several times. That is, it was at the connection between the shower drain line and the shower pan.
My design had provided for several inches clearance between any wood and the connection. No matter, the water came out of the joint horizontal, then flowed along the edges of the pan support ribs until they did meet wood. So much for the law of gravity!
Ultimately, the cause of the leak was in the rubber gasket that came with the drain fitting. Simply re-seating or replacing the gasket did not help. Finally, the leak was eliminated when I eliminated the gasket completely, and used a urethane caulk (such as Lexel) in the connection.
With this experience in mind, I have to wonder how many permanent showers are leaking at their drain connection - a leak that is slowly destroying the floor nearby.