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Most of us spend a lot of time in the shower, when you add up all the showers you take all year. Just think - - all of that time looking at and using a wonderful, dream-come-true shower head, or a crummy one.
Anyway, that's my rationale. I think you two should buy the nicest shower head you can find. If/when you move, you can remove it and take it with you. A few hundred bucks is not going to break the bank if you can afford to build a new bathroom as you are doing. Go for it.
Thanks for the excellent post. I agree completely.
Before we moved into our house, the plumber installed a high-end shower head in our bathroom. It had a rain-shower head and a hand-held head that we refer to as a "telephone" because that is what it looks like. We both agree that we hate the rain-shower. Not enough pressure for us and it made the water cold. The hand-held "telephone" is great-lots of pressure but you can't put it down when you soap up otherwise the water pressure will cause the shower head to go everywhere so we had to turn on the rain-shower which was cold, etc. etc.
Shortly after moving in, we had a mishaps in our bathroom that preventing us from using that tub for a while so we have been showering in the downstairs bathroom instead. Even though the problem has been fixed, we still use the downstairs bathroom because neither one of us likes that shower. Last year, I bought a new shower head for the downstairs bathroom. I was reading reviews and I knew whatever I choice would be a gamble so I opted for the low-end model. It was less then $20 and I figured if it didn't work, I wasn't out too much.
The big problem with it was the fixed head wouldn't stay put and just drooped. But, the hand-held one, worked great.
Then we redid the downstairs bathroom so again, I was in the market for a shower head. This one is a little more expensive then the other but still not too bad.
In one bathroom, we put in a 12" rain shower head (sunflower head) with a nice hand held. The shower is all tile floor to ceiling and includes a tiled bench you can sit on with the hand held spraying on you. It was a splurge. the fixtures cost about $1000 alone.
IN the basement bathroom we bought a cheap (but still pretty pricey) variation of those fancy corner unit tubs. I has a 6 or 8" main head, a hand held with an amazing needle spray setting that is like using a power washer, six jets that can shoot out horizontally at your back when you sit on the bench and a foot washer. It also has a jacuzzi tub, steam shower, radio lights, telephone. . . It is nice because it has curved rolling glass doors that lock together magnetically and is otherwise sealed top to bottom so not leaks.
Because it is cheap, the jacuzzi pump steam generator, foot washer, radio, lights, and steam generator broke almost right away (foot washer lasted a few years). The other compnents have worked very well for 10 years so far. (These usually cost about $5000 - $10,000. We got ours on E-bay for $1200 - it came from China. There is not way to get replacement parts, so when something critical breaks we will have to replace it or just shut it down.)
Then we have two normal bathrooms.
The normal bathrooms have only been used by guests, or when the two awesome showers are non-functioning. Our kids would wait an hour or more, or just take a shower at night or mid day rather than use on of the lesser showers. When you have bronchitis or other illness, nothing feels better than sitting on a bench with the shower running over you and basically napping in the shower for an hour or two.
In ten years with seven people (usually plus several guests most of the years) one of the normal showers ahs been used maybe five times. the other probably about three or four hundred times but that is only because we had to tear out the tile in the nicer bathroom and it has been out of commission for nearly a year. The nice showers have been used thousands of times (maybe tens of thousands?).
Oh BTW we used only thermostatic shower valves so there is never a problem of sudden hot or cold water, and a tankless water heater, so there is no running out of hot water.
To me that tells me it was worthwhile to splurge on the showers. It makes me happy every single day to start the day with an awesome shower. Even on crappy days, the shower provides a little ray of happiness or at least comfort. Well worth it IMO.
Personally, I hate, hate, hate the rainshower heads. You can't take a shower without your head getting soaked. If you wash your hair every day, fine, but if you want to take a shower without getting your hair wet, forget the rainshower heads.
I prefer these. Only cost about $5 and they only use 1 gpm (gallons per minute) They provide a strong high powered mist like flow and wash soap off very fast. Since they barely use any water, your utility bill will go down dramatically. Been using this style for decades. Love them.
Oh and the flow restrictions can be removed. It is not always easy, sometimes you have to use a screwdriver and a hammer and basically break them into pieces.
I have this one and love it. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...d_i=6810212011
I didn't think I would use the hand held that much, but find it great for washing down the shower walls. Love the massage feature too.
This happens to be the top pick at thewirecutter.com.
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