How to Install a Handheld Shower Head

Handheld showerheads also called moveable shower heads in the faucet industry are quite popular among consumers. One great convenience of these shower heads is you can spray a stream of hot water directly on your sore joints. There are many models of handheld showerheads available in the market. You can attach any of the design with your existing shower arm. A shower arm is a short bent pipe that comes out of the wall. The showerhead is attached to this short bent pipe.
Showerheads can also be attached to a tub faucet.

Materials required to install a shower a head

• Adjustable wrench
• Plumbers’ tape
• Handheld showerhead
• Tub spout with diverter
• Hex key
• A piece of leather or heavy cloth 

Separate the old shower head
Separate the old showerhead using a wrench or pliers. The old showerhead has nuts. Loosen these nuts by turning them counterclockwise. This turning process will also loosen the showerhead. Remove it from the shower arm but do not discard it since you can use it elsewhere. Wrap it with a piece of cloth or leather and keep it in your storeroom.

Get ready the existing shower arm
Clean the shower arm to get it free from plumber’s tape and mineral deposits. Wrap the shower arm with plumber’s tape. This tape will ensure that the new showerhead will fit securely with the shower arm and will prevent leaking from the connection.

Attach the new handheld showerhead with the shower arm and tighten it.
Turn on the water supply of the handheld shower and make sure that no leaking is taking place at the connecting area where the showerhead is attached with the shower arm.

Installing a diverter
Installing a diverter will help you using both a handheld showerhead unit and your old showerhead. The diverter comes with two outlets- one for fitting for your existing showerhead and another for fitting a new unit of a handheld showerhead.
Fix the cross T diverter with the shower arm and tighten it.
Attach your existing showerhead with one end of the T-diverter and tighten it.
Attach one model of a handheld showerhead unit with the other end of the T-diverter and fasten it.
Turn on the water supply and make sure that no leaking is taking place. If you see leaking at any of joining a place like the showerhead and the cross T diverter, fasten the connection with a wrench or pliers

Installing tub spout diverter valve
Installing a tub spout diverter valve becomes essential when you want to add a showering facility with your tub but there is no showerhead there. Basically, this requires replacing your old tub spout with a new unit that is equipped with a hand shower diverter.

• Detach the existing tub spout with an allen wrench.
• Purchase a new unit of diverter style tub spout.
• Wrap the diverter with plumber's tap. Then, attach the shower hose to the tub spout and tighten the connection
• Turn on the water and check the showerhead unit for leaks

Turn on the water supply and examine the handheld showerhead for any leak. Like before if the hose, showerhead, or diverter are leaking, tighten the connection with a wrench or pliers.

Hiring a professional plumber
While replacing or adding a handheld showerhead is a simple task, hiring a professional plumber is not a bad idea either. It is because as a DIYers and due to lack of experience you may mistake in this project which may ruin your shower stall. To avert any untoward incident and get the job done quickly, hiring a professional will not be so inexpensive.

How to replace a fixed model with a handheld showerhead
If your old showerhead becomes leaky and outworn, replacing it with a handheld showerhead will dramatically improve the appearance of your shower stall. Follow the below steps to replace your existing problematic fixed showerhead:

• Turn off the water supply
  There are two types of water supply shut off during a plumbing work-local and mainline shut off. Sometimes local shutoff does not work. So, you need to resort to the main water supply. The likely place of your main water line supply switch will be in your basement or in your garage.
• Separate and disassemble the old piece
  Take a wrench and turn the old piece clockwise to loosen the connection and then remove it from the shower arm.
• Add a mounting bracket
• Connect the hose
• Connect the world
• Make sure that the new handheld showerhead is not leaking water

Conclusion
If you are making a new bathroom or remodeling your existing one, replacing your old showerhead with a new handheld showerhead will give you new showering experience. Your shower will be more efficient and comfortable.

How to Install a Shower Pan Liner

Introduction

Shower pan liner is under the hood accessory and a complex component of the entire bathroom system. It is something that remains below the tiles and the mortar that forms the floor of the shower pan.

It is useful to waterproof the bathroom floor that prevents leakage and seeping of the floor.

Remember one of the must-have modern bathroom components is shower pan liner.

You have to pay dollars to any professional if you do not know how to install a shower pan liner. Read the whole article carefully to make it yourself.

How to install a shower pan liner?

A smart ability to do-it-yourself can help you installing a flexible shower pan liner and a few guidelines can help ease the procedure.

Installing a flexible shower pan liner is not beyond the ability of a smart do-it-yourselfer, but there are a few guidelines to help ease the procedure.

This article will assume the subfloor of the shower is constructed of plywood, although the same principles apply to concrete flooring where the sloped mortar bed is applied beneath the pan liner.

The installation method is the same for CPE and PVC liners, with the exception of the bonding adhesive used for seaming.

Determine how much liner you need

Determining the liner is little tricky but it is pretty straight forward if you don’t have a bench. You need to add just about 1 foot to the width and the length of your shower pan. It means if your pan is 4’*4’, buy a 5’*5’ liner. If you have a bench, go up and over it and up the wall again about 6 inches.

I bought a 5’*7’ liner for my shower pan that is about 4’*4’ and 18” high. And it worked well.

Gather your supplies

Some people advice to use an adhesive under the liner. I didn’t end up using a tub and bath adhesive that I had on hand. You are recommended to figure a plastic liner sandwiched under mortar, tile, and the cement shower pan and over another layer of cement might just stay in place. You may need:

·         Pvc liner

·         Utility knife

·         Hammer

·         Roofing nails or another galvanized nail with a large head or a stapler

·         Pvc liner adhesive

You are advised not to wear shoes when you do the step.

Line it Yourself

Cut a 4.5” diameter hole in the center of the shower floor for typical wood subfloor so that the shower drain can normally be positioned. The tile shower drain should be disassembled.

The tile shower drain base should be laid in the opening so the flange of the drain base rests on top of the subfloor.

Use appropriate solvent cement to weld the drain base to the drain pipe.

Use duct tape when covering the drain base opening to keep debris from entering the drain. Start by applying a mixture of Portland sand and cement mortar bed ¼ “  per foot slope from the wall over the subfloor.

Than flush the slopped mortar bed with the top surface of the drain base.

After curing the sloped mortar bed, determine the pan liner dimensions and should be sufficient to completely cover the floor.

Remember- seaming can be required in large showers.

Remove the tape from the drain base before installing the pan liner. Now apply a ¼”-3/8” bead containing 100% silicone caulk around the upper surface 1” from the outside edge.

Use a dam corner to cut the pan liner to cover the cut area for outside corners or curbs. Use x-15 for PVC liner installations to bond the dam corners. You can also use oateyweld for CPE liner installations.

Find the location of drain hole in the base and cut the liner material to the dimension of the drain hole. Place the clamping ring over bolts. Now slide the ring counterclockwise.

Put some pea gravel over the weep holes before the final mortar so the mortar doesn’t completely cover them.

(Describe the process of installing shower pan liner step by step)

Tips

·         Make sure that you slope the floor to the drain outlet, if not, there can be water on the floor and wont drain away on its own.

·         If you do not follow any of the simple steps when installing a shower pan liner to the  point, the outcome may can be quite disastrous .

·         It is familiar that the avoidance of leakage and seeping problems are associated with incorrect installation of shower pan liners.

·         Ignorance to proper design and using the incorrect tools and machineries can lead to extreme costs. You may have to pay dollars when the damage starts and dirt and grit form on the floor or below the tiles.

Conclusion

Hopefully you’ve learned the process of installing a shower pan liner.

If you still feel hesitated, feel free to call a professional.

Suggested Sources

• https://extremehowto.com/installing-a-shower-pan-liner/
• https://images.homedepot-static.com/catalog/pdfImages/ba/ba955bba-60b7-4755-88e4-2eeefae70e20.pdf
• https://www.sunrisespecialty.com/shower-pan-liner
• https://thespacebetweenblog.net/installing-a-pvc-shower-liner/