Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower.... So now that we mount these
in walls, the valves should be mounted higher! Then no need to bend
down to reach the valves.

So I think I will install my new bath/shower valves up higher. Perhaps
as high up as someone could also reach it if taking a bath and wanted
to add more water.

(And of course I will also install the shower head WAY up so it will
be above my head instead of sticking in my nose!)

On 1/30/2011 12:03 PM, Bill wrote:
Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower.... So now that we mount these in
walls, the valves should be mounted higher! Then no need to bend down to
reach the valves.

So I think I will install my new bath/shower valves up higher. Perhaps
as high up as someone could also reach it if taking a bath and wanted to
add more water.

(And of course I will also install the shower head WAY up so it will be
above my head instead of sticking in my nose!)


I'll chime in on your rant- mount the soap dishes up higher as well, and
under the shower head, instead of down low in the middle of the long
wall where they catch the shower spray and the soap melts in a week.

I think you called it on how we got that way- combo tub-shower setups
were not that common until skirted tubs came along, and 'that is the way
we have always done it'. And any dual-use item is a design compromise.
When I hit the lotto and build my dream house, there will be a soaking
tub for once-a-year use and resale value, and a solid-surface walk-in
shower for daily use, with a showerhead tall enough that I don't have to
bend to rinse my hair. And the bathroom will have a floor drain and hose
bib in a discreet location, for easy cleanups. (I'm a guy, living alone,
so it only gets cleaned when it gets disgusting enough to trigger my low
standards.)

--
aem sends...

Bill wrote:
Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower.

Not necessarily; maybe you want some more hot water before you are done, or
perhaps you might get in the tub before it is completely full. There's
also children who may want a shower, and they won't have to reach as high.

In my recent bathroom redo I left the handle where it was (32" from tub
bottom), mainly out of laziness, but I did mount the shower nipple up
higher, pushing it to 82 from the bottom of the tub.

Jon

Jon Danniken wrote:

[snip]


Not necessarily; maybe you want some more hot water before you are done,
or
perhaps you might get in the tub before it is completely full.

When taking a bath, I nearly always get in as soon as it's hot enough.
What's the point in waiting around?

There's
also children who may want a shower, and they won't have to reach as high.

In my recent bathroom redo I left the handle where it was (32" from tub
bottom), mainly out of laziness, but I did mount the shower nipple up
higher, pushing it to 82 from the bottom of the tub.

I know my shower would be easier to use without such a low head.

Jon

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us

"At one point in time, many of us actually had Jesus as our personal
lord and saviour. Unfortunately, we later had to dismiss him for
incompetence, gross negligence, misconduct and consistent failure to
show up for work."

"Bill" wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
@mid.individual.net:

Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?



I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.



--
Tegger

Tegger wrote the following:
"Bill" wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
@mid.individual.net:


Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?




I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.

We need remote controls for this. :-)

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 09:03:45 -0800, "Bill"
wrote:

Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower..

Not me. I turn them on and off while I'm seated in the tub, or lying
back when I use my toes.

About 15 years I asked on this very newsgroup how to make the valves
turn more easily and someone here told me about plumbers grease. I
used that nearly 15 years ago and though it's not as free moving as it
was, I can still do it with one foot, instead of two-feet like
originally.

My favorite bathtub was in a Brooklyn apartment built in 1930 as a
luxury apartment. I lived there starting in 1972 and though they
didn't have the switchboard operator, the doorman/elevator operator,
or the concierge in the basement to accept packages and send them up
the dumb waiter, etc. the plumbing was the same.

It was had a big hall, big living room, dining room, kitchen, 2
bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths**, and a maid's room off the kitchen with
another bathroom. That's where I lived (and I had the dining room
too).

Anyhow the bathtub didnt' have legs, but it had the drain outside the
tub (details on request) and it was so big and when I taped up the
overflow***, so deep I could float with only one square inch of my
butt on the bottom. The HANDLES were on the side so I don't think I
even had to sit up to adjust them. There as also a diverter valve for
the shower, which came out of the wall above the faucet handles.

***I never let it overflow and I untaped it before I moved out.

**One full bath at the end of the hall and one off the main bedroom
with just a shower stall, with a glass door.

.. So now that we mount these
in walls, the valves should be mounted higher! Then no need to bend
down to reach the valves.

So I think I will install my new bath/shower valves up higher. Perhaps
as high up as someone could also reach it if taking a bath and wanted
to add more water.

On the side is really great, but at my house that's a common wall with
my neighbor. I think there would still be room for the pipes but it
woudl take more effort.

(And of course I will also install the shower head WAY up so it will
be above my head instead of sticking in my nose!)

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 16:22:45 -0600, Mark Lloyd wrote:

Jon Danniken wrote:

[snip]


Not necessarily; maybe you want some more hot water before you are done,
or
perhaps you might get in the tub before it is completely full.

When taking a bath, I nearly always get in as soon as it's hot enough.
What's the point in waiting around?

There's
also children who may want a shower, and they won't have to reach as high.

In my recent bathroom redo I left the handle where it was (32" from tub
bottom), mainly out of laziness, but I did mount the shower nipple up
higher, pushing it to 82 from the bottom of the tub.

I know my shower would be easier to use without such a low head.

We have a rain head in the ceiling (9'). The only problem with it is there is
no way to use it to clean the shower stall. There should be a second shower
head and mixing valve.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:37:33 +0000 (UTC), Tegger wrote:

"Bill" wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
:

Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?



I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.

Besides, it's difficult to reach your toes high enough to turn on/off the
water. ;-)

zzzzzzzzzz wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:37:33 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
@mid.individual.net:

Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?



I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.

Besides, it's difficult to reach your toes high enough to turn on/off the
water. ;-)
Hmm,
Is there a water proof remote control for lazy buggers?

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:19:23 -0500, aemeijers
wrote:


I think you called it on how we got that way- combo tub-shower setups
were not that common until skirted tubs came along, and 'that is the way
we have always done it'. And any dual-use item is a design compromise.
When I hit the lotto and build my dream house, there will be a soaking
tub for once-a-year use and resale value,

And one long staircase just going up, and one even longer coming down,
and one more leading nowhere, just for show.

and a solid-surface walk-in
shower for daily use, with a showerhead tall enough that I don't have to
bend to rinse my hair. And the bathroom will have a floor drain and hose
bib in a discreet location, for easy cleanups. (I'm a guy, living alone,
so it only gets cleaned when it gets disgusting enough to trigger my low
standards.)

I can't imagine anyone living like that.

(I can only do so myself.)

--

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:14:22 -0500, willshak
wrote:

Tegger wrote the following:
"Bill" wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
@mid.individual.net:


Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?




I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.

We need remote controls for this. :-)

Yes, that way while you were in the tub someone could adjust the
faucets from the other room.

Better yet, they should be wi-fi enabled, so when you are in London
you can turn them off if you let them running, or turn them on very
slightly if you're worried that the pipes will freeze.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:12:41 -0700, Tony Hwang wrote:



wrote:
On Sun, 30 Jan 2011 22:37:33 +0000 (UTC), wrote:

wrote in news:8qljvvFumpU1
@mid.individual.net:

Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?



I think it has to do with safety when in the bath.

If you had to try and stand or kneel up each time you wanted to use the
taps, there would be an increased risk of falling, plus older people might
find it very difficult to reach once lying down or sitting. But reaching
down when you're already standing isn't very difficult.

Besides, it's difficult to reach your toes high enough to turn on/off the
water. ;-)
Hmm,
Is there a water proof remote control for lazy buggers?

If one is taking a bath, isn't lazy to be assumed? ;-)

"aemeijers" wrote in message news:- I'll chime in on
your rant- mount the soap dishes up higher as well, and
under the shower head, instead of down low in the middle of the long wall
where they catch the shower spray and the soap melts in a week.

I think you called it on how we got that way- combo tub-shower setups were
not that common until skirted tubs came along, and 'that is the way we
have always done it'. And any dual-use item is a design compromise. When I
hit the lotto and build my dream house, there will be a soaking tub for
once-a-year use and resale value, and a solid-surface walk-in shower for
daily use, with a showerhead tall enough that I don't have to bend to
rinse my hair. And the bathroom will have a floor drain and hose bib in a
discreet location, for easy cleanups. (I'm a guy, living alone, so it only
gets cleaned when it gets disgusting enough to trigger my low standards.)

I bought a house several years ago and had one of the two bathrooms
remodled. The main one off the master bedroom has a wakin shower. Made of
3 walls of 'fake marble' and a glass door. The walls are flat from the
bottom to the cealing. The controls are about mid chest and the soap
holder and such is in the corner near the shower head that is about 6 1/2
feet or so off the floor. Tall enough for me to walk under . It does have
a grab bar on the back wall just incase. Also makes a god place to put a
wash cloth if needed in he shower.

The other bath was not remodled and has a fiberglass tub with shower. Good
for my wife to soak in when she wants to. Just the two of us here now.

On 1/30/2011 11:03 AM, Bill wrote:
Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower.... So now that we mount these in
walls, the valves should be mounted higher! Then no need to bend down to
reach the valves.

So I think I will install my new bath/shower valves up higher. Perhaps
as high up as someone could also reach it if taking a bath and wanted to
add more water.

(And of course I will also install the shower head WAY up so it will be
above my head instead of sticking in my nose!)


What if someone's sitting in the tub? It would be nice to be able to
reach them then.

--
Steve Barker
remove the "not" from my address to email

Bill wrote:
Why are bath/shower valves mounted so low?

Perhaps because this was first done with clawfoot bathtubs (no wall to
mount to) and they have done it that way ever since?

Seems to me you are always turning the water on/off from a standing
position for either a bath or a shower.... So now that we mount these
in walls, the valves should be mounted higher! Then no need to bend
down to reach the valves.

So I think I will install my new bath/shower valves up higher. Perhaps
as high up as someone could also reach it if taking a bath and wanted
to add more water.

(And of course I will also install the shower head WAY up so it will
be above my head instead of sticking in my nose!)

You COULD install a second set of faucets...