We don't pretend to be the "experts" of the shower industry, but we have been around for quite a while and have our opinions. Opinions are always based on experience and we have worked with a lot of different products, manufacturers, contractors and other people in the building industry over the years and gained a lot of experience. We also have a bath showroom and like to keep up with the latest developments. We would like to share what we have learned in the following sections and try to keep you from making the same mistakes we may have made.
So as you read down through the following sections keep in mind that others may have different opinions!
Here is a simplified drawing of a typical "mud" base. The membrane is layed over the floor and carefully folded in the corners and wrapped up the walls and over the curb. Some professionals even slope the floor before they put the membrane down. Seams are avoided where possible, and special cement "glue" is used on the membrane when a seam cannot be avoided.
A special three part drain is always used. The bottom two parts of the drain are clamped to the membrane so that water that has made its way down through (or around) the tile and grout at the top of base can be safely drained away. A height adjustable screw down top completes the drain. Most professionals use a cast iron drain like a Zurn, but cheaper plastic drains are available.
There is a liquid rubber polymer on the market that takes the place of the membrane. It is troweled on under and over the mortar bed and has gained popularity over the past ten years or so, but we are not the experts on this. If you are within driving distance of Bangor, stop in at Keniston Tile and ask Bob Goulet about it. I know he has used it for about ten years on his custom bases.
These systems have been used sucessfully for many years, but if not done correctly, can fail and cause severe damage to your house and will need to be torn out. They cannot be permanently repaired. Short term fixes like siliconing around the tile joints where the walls meet the base sometimes work for a while, but eventually they too fail.
Mud bases are best left to the professionals.
Cement Board:Wall tile in a shower is always placed on cement board. This board is made of cement and fiberglass, is unaffected by moisture, comes in 3' x 5' sheets and is 1/2" thick. The joints need to be taped with a special tape. This cement board is unaffected by moisture and need be installed only where water will be running down the walls. Usually five feet up is satisfactory. Cement board comes in several brands; Durock and Wonderboard are two of the most common.
If you have ever seen tile falling off the walls in an older shower you can bet it was put over sheet rock or some other substrate that was susceptible to moisture retention. Small cracks in the grout have allowed water to get behind the tiles and rot the sheetrock causing the tiles to fall off. With the advent of cement board this problem is no longer a concern.
Tile: Tile is made for various purposes and is beyond the scope of this web site except to say some tile is more suitable for walls and some is more suited for floors and some is suited for showers. You should talk to a professional about this.
We do know that we are seeing more "porcelain" tile in showers. This is an extremely hard tile which absorbs very little water and presents some problems drilling holes for shower door fasteners. Hammer drills with good quality masonry bits like Bosch are best for drilling these tiles. The only tile we have broken in the past few years are porcelain and set with mastic rather than with thin set. More about this in the next section.
Thin Set or Mastic? All of the professional tile setters we know in this area use thin set exclusively. If they use mastic at all, it is used only for backsplashes.
Mastic takes a long time to dry and if it gets wet later on (like in a shower) it will re-emulsify and turn to mush. We were recently on a shower door installation in Brewer and broke a tile. It was a porcelain tile which requires a fair amount of pressure with a hammer drill to drill, and the tile (unbeknownst to us) was set with mastic. Because mastic takes so long to set, and remains soft so long, the tile broke very easily. I could pick the tile right off the wall. Thinset is a cement product and sets up very quickly giving a very hard base. We have never broken a tile set with thinset.
I called four tile shops in the area and they said they would only use mastic for kithen backsplashes and never in a wet area. The particular flooring outfit responsible for the Brewer shower were new to the area, subbed out all their work, and the woman who answered the phone said she'd worked at six different flooring places and with twenty different crews and they all used mastic.
Try Googling "thin set or mastic" and you'll be surprised how much conflict there is. But I think the overwhelming opinion is that thinset is the way to go, especially in wet areas.
Epoxy Grout or Regular Grout: Epoxy grout is a two part grouting system that will not mildew or stain, does not absorb water and is easy to clean. On the other hand it is somewhat harder to apply and clean up. Regular grout is a portland cement product that needs to be sealed, and even then has a tendency to absorb water, stain and mildew.
One of the best tile shops in our area is Bob Goulet's Keniston Tile in Bangor. They have been using it for years and stock about thirty different colors. They use tons of it on their jobs and the installers trained by Bob use it all the time.
Bob gave a short training session to one of our men who was doing a really nice bath room remodel and after he did the floor, tub deck and shower said he didn't mind working with it at all. In fact he liked it and the job turned out great. He said the clean up, which must be done thoroughly before the epoxy dries,(woe to those who wait till the next day) was easy because he could use plenty of water. Too much water is a problem with regular sand grout but not with epoxy grout.
Many installers don't like it for all kinds of reasons, but if you want a shower that is very easy to take care of insist that your installer use epoxy grout. Even if you have to pay a little extra. Don't let them talk you out of it; some will try.
If you are in the Camden, Rockport area and need a good installer who uses epoxy grout, try calling Mark Mentz in Brooks. He is another great tile installer that uses it all the time. Yesterday, 4-11-2008, I was measuring for a shower door on a job in Rockport and Tony, from Sukeforth Builders was using Epoxy Grout and said that was all he would use.
If you want to read some more about Epoxy Grout, Google "epoxy grout or regular grout" Most of the really bad comments about epoxy grout are from five to ten years ago. I think it has become more widely acceptable by the trade and is demanded by more and more consumers. We all hate change don't we?
Pre-made Bases and Walls: All premade bases should be set in a little mortar or sand mix and leveled, especially in older homes where the floors may not be level. It is a rather simple process, but some contractors don't take the time. Mix one 50# bag of mortar (or less) to a fairly stiff consistancy and place about four to six piles where the base will sit. Gently place the base over the piles and with a good level in hand, tap the base down until it is as level as you can get it. After the mortar sets up, you can continue to screw the tile flange to the wall. This process gives a rock hard feel to the base when you step in it and will prevent any movement which loosens drains and cracks bases. Many manufacturer's warrantees will not cover their product if it is not set in mortar or thinset. Sheetrock compound is not acceptable (it won't dry for months) and neither is spray foam.
Acrylic: There are many shower bases and walls on the market today. The best are made out of Acrylic, backed with fiberglass. An Acrylic sheet is heated and vacuumed into a mold, taken out of the mold and the back is sprayed with resin and fiberglass.
Acrylic is a very smooth, shiny material that is non-porous and cleans very easily. You can write on it with a permanent magic marker and remove these supposedly permanent stains easily with a spritz of alcohol or many other cleaners. Try that with the other premade units. Acrylic bases and walls are repairable if damaged during construction. Although they are the most expensive of all the pre-made units, a good acrylic unit should last the life of your house.
Gelcoat over Fiberglass: Gelcoat is a fairly hard chemical that is sprayed onto a mold. When dry, fiberglass and resin is sprayed over that and when that is dry, the whole piece is taken off the mold. Boats are sprayed with gelcoat so it is a pretty tough substance. Showers and shower bases have made of this material for a long time. These bases are less expensive than Acrylic but do not clean as easily and fails the permanent magic marker test. It can be repaired if it is damaged during construction.
Vikrell: Vikrell is a polyester and fiberglass resin that is stamp molded with heat and pressure into a shower base (or tubs or shower walls). Sterling (a Kohler Company) makes these. They don't clean particularly well, and can't be repaired, but are very inexpensive. Unfortunately these walls and bases look inexpensive too. They are very light weight, and definitely need to be set in mortar.
Veritek: The Swan corporation makes this product and it is another polyester and fiberglass heat and pressure molded product like Vikrell.
Swanstone: This is the Swan Corporations premier line of polyester and fiberglass molded line of products. It comes in many "granite" colors and seems to be the best of its type of product. Swan makes vanity tops and kitchen sinks this way too.
Cultured Marble: Cultured marble is an engineered marble made of ground up marble or limestone and resins. The surface is then coated with a clear gelcoat. The bases are very thick and heavy. We don't sell many bases, but use quite a bit of this on shower walls. It is good looking, comes in many colors, cleans really well and you can get vanity tops to match.
Corian and other Solid Surfaces: There are many solid surfaces on the market today. Most are made with a mixture of Acrylic polymers and other chemicals including polyester. Corian is the best known of the solid surfaces, and comes with the best warrantee. Corian sells some standard size 1/4" thick kits in limited colors for shower walls, but no bases. If you want a certain color for your shower walls not available in a kit, a professional installer can do that for you but it will be expensive. Corian cleans well and you can get vanity tops in the same color.
Styrene and Polystyrene: The use of this material for bases and wall is relatively new and most of these products are made by a American Shower & Bath Corp. It is sold by LOWE'S and other big box stores and aimed at the "do-it-youself" market. Most of the bases made of this have foam on the back to support the surface. The surface is very thin and if cracked or chipped, cannot be repaired. Clean with soap and water only and do not use any chemicals as they can ruin the finish.
ABS: ABS plastic is another product of American Shower & Bath Corp for use in shower bases and tubs and some of their wall systems.The bases made of this are supported by foam. It has been around for many years and first showed up in the mobile home industry who was looking for a cheaper alternative to the more traditional and expenseve fiberglass units. As the owner of a bath showroom, I have talked to many mobile home owners over the years who were looking for replacement tubs and showers because theirs had cracked and couldn't be repaired. It does not clean very well and if cracked or chipped, cannot be repaired. Clean with soap and water only and do not use any chemicals as they can ruin the finish.
Our Advice: A bathroom remodel or the addition of a bathroom is one of the most satisfactory and valuable improvements you can make to your home. Everyone loves a beautiful, functional bathroom. Other than your kitchen, it is the most expensive room to remodel in your house. It takes careful planning, attention to detail, and a lot of hard work for someone: maybe a contractor, maybe you.
The tub and or shower you choose is sheetrocked or tiled in and very difficult and expensive to replace if it fails, or the finish starts to look bad. We highly recommend Acrylic units for tubs and showers and shower bases. Although the most expensive of the modular units mentioned above, it has proven to be the longest lasting and most durable.
Shower Valves: All valves in showers and tub/showers are required by code to be "Anti-Scald" This means that if you are taking a shower and have the temperature adjusted the way you want it, the temperature shouldn't change much if someone flushes a toilet or turns on the dishwasher or uses water anywhere in the house. This was a common problem in older houses. "Shut off that water!" was the refrain heard from the shower for many years across the US.
There are two types of valves that will correct this problem. A pressure balanced valve and a thermostatic valve.
A pressure balncing valve uses chambers, inlets and outlets and a diaphragm to separate the hot from the cold water. There is usually a spool or a piston with holes drilled in it that moves with a change of pressure. So when the valve senses a drop off in say the cold water pressure, the spool or piston moves and cuts down the hot water pressure to match. If you are in the shower, you would notice a drop off in volume, but not much in the temperature. There are several of these types of valves and all are contained in cartridges which can be changed fairly easily by taking off the valve handle, various escutchions if the internal workings ever go bad.
The second type of "antiscald valve" is the thermostatically controlled. A cartridge filled with parrifin which melts at a particular temperature operates a piston which opens and closes a bypass thereby controlling the water temperature. The high limit needs to be set on these types of valves because they are somewhat slower acting than the pressure balancing type. They do have the added advantage of keeping the temperature the same even if you are starting to run out of hot water. The pressure balanced valve can't do this. This mechanism is contained in a cartridge and can be changed if it ever goes bad.
The last part of the valve, which has nothing to do with "anti-scald" is the mechanism that opens and closes to let the water flow through the "anti-scald" mechanism.
The latest and perhaps best of these mechanisms is the ceramic disk. Two highly honed, super hard ceramic disks which have holes cut into them rotate against each other. When the holes are aligned, water passes and when rotated by the valve handle so the holes are not aligned, water does not pass. These ceramic disks, while very reliable, are very brittle and do not like debris in the water. If they are going to break, they usually break when the water is first turned on because of construction debris etc. in the pipes. Usually they are extremely reliable and last for many years.
Symmons is a company which still uses this type of mechanism in their shower valves. In fact, their valves uses two seats and two washers, a hot and a cold. In spite of this, their valves remain popular, especially with plumbers and hotel chains because the basic models are so inexpensive. When a plumber bids a house, he will normally bid the cheapest fixtures he can get his hands on and the Symmons is certainly that. It is not the plumbers fault: he is bidding against other plumbers and must keep his price down or he won't get any work. The handle and large round escutcheon are both plastic and if you have an old valve that needs repaired, a handle puller is a must. Otherwise you will be adding a handle to your parts list.
In spite of the old technology, it has proven fairly reliable over the years. It is not one of our favorites because the piston which does the pressure balancing sometimes sticks, especially in summer homes or in spare bathrooms where they are not used for long periods of time. When this happens, you will probably need to call a plumber to replace the valve stem cartridge unless you are handy and can locate a cartridge. If the brass seats are bad, you would need a special tool to change them.
Delta Faucet, another company which has resisted updating to ceramic disks, uses a stainless steel plate, with holes drilled in it, which rotates over two small, spring loaded, neoprene seats to shut off the water in their shower valves.
A stainless steel ball wich rotates over these same spring loaded neoprene seats is used on their single handle kitchen and lav faucets. Delta has been using this system for many years and it has proven fairly reliable except if you live in the country and your water has a lot of minerals in it or is slightly acidic. An old plumber once told me he liked Delta because he could pick up a repair kit at any hardware store. I asked him why Delta repair kits were so readily available?
Delta has recently come out with a line of thermostically controlled shower faucets, but I don't know if they have ceramic disks in them.
Moen is another company which elected to keep their old style technology. Their valves continue to use a plastic cartridge with a series of "O" rings on it or neoprene gaskets and holes drilled in it to shut off the water. Variations of this cartridge is used on all their single handle kitchen and lav faucets. This cartridge has proven fairly reliable, so Moen has elected to keep it rather than spend millions on redesigning all their valve bodies to accept ceramic disks.
I remember the first time I was called to replace a cartridge on an old leaky Moen kitchen faucet. In spite of using all my strength ( I was younger then and had a fair amount) I couldn't pull it out. After a quick call to a more experienced plumber, I found that I needed a "stem puller" specific to Moen faucets. After a trip to my local plumbing wholesaler to find this stem puller, the cartridge came out.
I used to get quite a few customers hunting for the plastic handles for their Moentrol shower faucets, because as their valve aged, they had to pull and push harder and harder on the handle until it broke off. This valve is still in use today.
Moen has come out with an "Exact Temp" thermostatically contolled shower valve and it may be equipped with ceramic disks, but I haven't seen a cartridge yet.
Kohler's kitchen and lav faucets are all ceramic disk, but their latest shower faucets use an older technology. The water is shut off with Delta style springs and neoprene seats pressing against a stainless steel plate.
Kohler's problem is that they keep changing everything. For instance if you are hunting for parts for a particular valve, you may need to know if it was made between Aug. of 2001 to Sept. of 2004 or earlier or later. I know they are trying to improve things, but it sure is confusing at times. Luckily, they have a pretty good customer service department and if you can get through about five menus, you can usually talk to someone knowledgeable. Their toll free number is 800-456-4537 and they will sell you parts or send them free if your valve is still under warrantee. Of course it is a lot easier if you have a model number. You may have to do a little detective work on their website to identify the faucet before calling them. Don't try ordering a part from your plumber, unless you want to wait a long time. Your plumber uusually will order the part from his wholesaler, and if the wholesaler has to order it directly from Kohler, it could take a while. I used to tell people on special order Kohler products "Four to six weeks, maybe never". I think they are a little better now, but you would be better off ordering directly from Kohler and when the part comes in, call the plumber.
Kohler makes a whole line of thermostic valves now. I'm not sure if they actually manufacture their own or buy them from another manufacturer.
Newport Brass is all ceramic disk as is California Faucets.
I think Price Pfister has switched to ceramic disks. Price Pfister may be better than they used to be, but most plumbers, myself included, continue to dislike them for various reasons.
Most European valves are all ceramic disk as is Toto and many of the Chinese made faucets like Danze.
The list of manufacturers is much too long to offer a complete summary here.
Our Favorite Shower Valves: And the winner is....Hansgrohe! Hands Down.
Hansgrohe (which has a large plant outside Atlanta, another plus in my book!) makes a line of thermobalanced valves which have ceramic disks and an integral diverter which we love. The integral diverter is a great innovation that no one else has.
The Hansgrohe basics: Temperature is controlled by a knob on the front of the valve, and on/off and volume is controlled by a lever. The lever also controls the integral diverter. So when you walk up to the shower, you reach in and turn the lever. The shower comes on at exactly the same temperature as when it was used before. Brilliant! You can turn this valve off and on all day long and it will always be the same temperature! (Of course if you want the water a little hotter or colder you can rotate the knob on the front of the valve)
That's really cool, but now for the really neat part: the integral diverter. Let's say you want a regular shower head and a separate hand held on a bar in your shower. You would buy a Thermobalance II (two outlets) If you turn the lever one way it controls the shower head and if you turn it the other way it controls the hand held, all while maintaining the same temperature. Another Brilliant! If you have this valve in a tub/shower, the first lever position would control the shower head and the second position, the spout. No more lifting the lever on the spout to divert to the shower head.
Let's take it one step further. You have the same showerhead and hand held in your new shower and you buy a Thermobalance III (three outlets). Your plumber ties the third outlet back into the shower head line (yes, your plumber will have to be able to read, or at least interpret simple drawings) and presto, the first lever position turns on the shower head, the second position turns on the hand shower and the third position turns on both! A third Brilliant!
The Thermobalance III can also be used for controlling three separate outlets. Say you want a shower head, a handheld and a couple of body sprays. The first position operates only one outlet (your choice), say the handheld. The second position operates the showerhead and the third position operates the body sprays. But as the lever transitions between the second and third positions it will operate both the showerhead and the body sprays. A fourth Brilliant!
Hansgrohe also makes a whirlpool/soking tub filler with hand spray using the Thermobalance II. Turn the handle one way and your tub fills with the appropriate temperature water. No fooling around with two handles trying to get the right mix. Turn the handle the other way and the hand held comes on at the same temperature.
We like the entire line of Hansgrohe. Get them out of the box and look them over. Even the parts that don't show are finely machined and finished. Their customer service and technical departments are good too: very helpful and knowledgeable and willing to send parts for free when needed (or lost on the job site).
Limitations: The thermobalace II will pass eight gallons a minute at 50 PSI and the III will pass six. So if you are looking for a "car wash" with six body sprays, a couple of shower heads and a bunch of other things all going at the same time, and the whole family in the shower, then we'd probably recommend Hansgrohe's Axor line or one of Grohe's valve lines. A Grohe 1/2" port thermostatic valve will pass 12 GPM and their 3/4" port valve 18 GPM. The plumbing starts to get a little complicated though. The main Thermostatic valve is always "on" and uses an on/off volume control valve at each outlet. The options are endless, but plan ahead and note how much hot water your system can produce. You might end up taking one fantastic shower that lasts for about three minutes!
Below- Hansgrohe's traditional series Thermobalance II Traditional Series
Delta 17 and 17T Series (A distant second place): Delta's 1700 series has a separate lever for on off and another lever for temperature. In that respect it is like the Hansgrohe. Walk up to your shower and flip the lever on and wait till the hot water shows up. Step in and it's perfect. Of course you can turn the temperature up or down with the smaller lever. The 17 is pressure balanced and the 17T is thermobalanced. Not all Delta faucets have this feature so make sure it's a 1700 series.
These models use Delta's springs and neoprene seats to shut off the water. If they used ceramic disks, this valve could give the Hansgrohe Thermobalanced I a run for their money. If the Delta is installed in a tub/shower, you still have to lift up on the spout lever to divert to the shower head.
This valve lacks Hansgrohe's integral diverter, so if you wanted to add a hand held shower or body sprays you would have to buy a diverter and diverter trim and have your plumber install those on the valve's exit port. By the time you pay that extra amount, you might as well have bought a Hansgrohe Thermobalanced II or III.
All the rest: With few exceptions the rest of valves on the market are pressure balanced and have a handle that is turned from right to left (counter-clockwise) and rotates through cold to hot with no separate adjustment for volume. So if you walk up to you shower you would turn the handle to what you think is the correct temperature, wait until the hot water shows up and fine tune the temperature before stepping in. If the valve is used for a tub/shower, the water first comes out the spout, and a lever on the spout must be lifted, or possibly a button pushed, to divert the water to the shower head.
Most major companies like Moen and Kohler offer thermostatic valves too. These are the type described earlier where the main valve only controls the temperature and each outlet needs a separate on/off volume control. We still prefer the German valves like Hansgrohe and Grohe. They were the companies that originally invented the thermostatic valve and in our estimation are still the best.
If you are one of those people who absolutely needs every faucet in the bathroom to match and you like the looks of a particular lav faucet made by Kohler, then you are going to have to get all Kohler. But most of our customers don't mind mixing brands. They might put a Hansgrohe in the shower because they like the features and if they don't like the looks of the Hansgrohe's matching lav faucets, they will pick a Newport Brass or some other brand.
Shower Heads: There are thousands of shower heads on the market today and all are restricted by the Federal government to pass only 2.5 GPM at 80 PSI. You can try to take the flow restrictor out of the head for more water, but most people feel the flow is adequate. Many heads have a ring or lever you can turn for spray options like "massage", etc. Most manufacturers have switched to the little rubber tips to direct each water jet. The advantage of these tips is the ability to give them a quick rub to clear the scale that sometimes developes in shower heads.
Over head showers have become popular in the last few years, although many people have complained about the lack of "force" coming down. This doesn't have to be the case. Hansgrohe has come out with a series of shower heads using their "air induction technology" where air is injected into the water flow breaking the water into large drops. It feels like you're getting 5 GPM when you are still only getting 2.5.
