Valve Height and Mixing Valve Types
Set the valve height from the finished floor rather than from the deck, or it moves an inch the day the tile goes down. Rough in dimensions listed by walk in shower installation lakewood ca nexusphiladelphia are all measured from finished surfaces, because a Lakewood shower gains height at the pan and depth at the wall before anybody stands in it.
The Numbers
Valve at about forty eight inches, shower head arm at seventy eight, and a hand shower bar starting around forty eight. All from the finished floor. A tall household moves the head up, and a fixed head under a sloped ceiling has to be checked in elevation rather than assumed. Write the agreed heights on the stud before the plumber leaves.
Depth Is the Other Half
The valve body has a stated range for the finished wall thickness, and the trim plate will not seat if the valve sits too deep or stands proud. Board, waterproofing, thinset and tile together are usually around an inch. Give the plumber that figure rather than letting anyone estimate it, since it is the most common trim fitting problem there is.
Pressure Balancing
The standard residential valve. It reacts to a pressure change elsewhere in the house and holds the hot and cold in proportion, which is what stops a scald when a toilet fills. It does not hold a set temperature and it controls one outlet, so temperature drifts a little as the water heater cycles.
Thermostatic
Holds a set temperature regardless of supply changes, and usually comes with separate volume controls so a head and a hand shower can run independently or together. It costs more, needs more space in the wall, and is the correct answer wherever there is more than one outlet or anybody in the house is sensitive to temperature.
Buy It Before Rough In
The valve body is set into the wall weeks before the trim is chosen, and bodies are not interchangeable between makers. Buying the whole set at the start means the plumber installs the exact body that the eventual handle fits. Where money is tight, buy the body now and the finish later, from the same range.