I know it’s been a few weeks - but let’s pick back up on plumbing! As I shared previously, the rough-in stage is key to ensure that your plumbing valves, shower heads and faucets are perfectly placed to ensure for smooth sailing come dry wall. While the rough-in stage can be extensive and is impossible to summarize in a blog post, I thought I would pass along at least a few tips I found useful during the process.

Before plumbing rough-ins begin it’s helpful to have your cabinet plans and design laid out so you know where everything is going within each room. This is not as important for small bathrooms but is key for the kitchen and any large bathrooms with double vanities, a lot of counter space, etc.

Have a console sink going in somewhere? You’ll want to nail down the size and placement as this plumbing is exposed and visually the pipes should be centered under the vanity.

Master Bathroom

Starting with our master bathroom, we decided on a ‘wet room’ for our space, inspired by the image below. In this glass enclosed area we will have a rain shower centered overhead, two shower heads and a pedestal tub. With this much plumbing and wanting this design element to make a statement, it was essential all the fittings and valves were symmetrical.

TIPS:

Place shower heads roughly 80” off the finished floor. Of course there is a little wiggle room here depending on one’s height and personal preference.
Temperature controls and valves should be placed at at least 48” off the finished floor.
Try to keep everything in line as best as possible to avoid a shower area with valves scattered throughout.

Kitchen

Our kitchen sink is centered on the island so overall the plumbing placement was pretty straight forward.

We added a pot filler - one of my favorite details in a kitchen - and it was important to thoughtfully place this as it’s part of the focal point in the kitchen. There is no set rule on pot filler placement but thinking about how you live and use your kitchen is helpful. Rather than placing the pot filler centered over the 48” range, we chose to place ours to the right - centered over the majority of the burners. Visually I prefer having it off to the side and out of the way rather than dead center over the cooking surface. (As shown in the image below.) I do think this particular decision depends on your kitchen design and what other design elements are in view.

TIPS:

Place pot filler 12” - 18” above the top of the cooking surface.
Keep in mind your range or cook top will go on top of your finished floor so make sure to account for flooring when measuring off the sub floor.

Kids’ Bathroom

Our future children’s bathroom is like many, a standing tub & shower combo. But knowing how many bath times our in our future I added a hand shower in addition to the tub fill and shower head. This will make it easier to hose down and get little ones squeaky clean.

TIPS:

Hand showers are not only nice for a shower seat but they also make cleaning shower areas a little easier.
Consider adding them in areas where you plan to have kids or even pets as it makes it easier for small and squirmy ones to shower and bathe.
Hand shower height is a personal preference - in areas where it’s only a standing shower it is recommended to place at least 72” from the finished floor. Keep in mind the mounting bars offer flexibility to move them up or down. In tub & shower combo spaces where hand showers might be primarily used at bath time, place them on the lower side, closer to 48” from the floor for easy accessibility when using the bathtub.

Deck vs. Wall Mount Faucets

As we started the design of project Cliffwood, I was initially very excited about adding a wall mount faucet somewhere. Overall, I love the look and something about it feels special and a little fancy. I started in our powder room but soon realized it was not going to be ideal for us. Wall mount faucets require extra height above the vanity for the faucet to be mounted which in turn moves up mirrors and lighting in the space. With ceilings a little over 8’ high, visually our finished space would have felt off balance with the top of the mirror nearly touching the ceiling and the faucet mounted half way up the wall. For fear of drawing attention to lower ceilings and adding further complications when it came to accessory selections, I made the decision to go back to basics and eliminate the wall mount faucets.

TIPS:

Ask questions when shopping for plumbing fixtures - the experts know best. While wall mount faucets are aesthetically pleasing, they can be a challenge for plumbers come install. Don’t be afraid to keep it simple.
A wall mount faucet should be mounted at least 6”+ from the top of the vanity surface or sink. If you have little ones, consider vanity mirror height when making plumbing decisions.
When placing rough-ins, try to imagine how you want to see all spaces finished. This includes mirrors, back splashes, accessories, etc.

And that’s my recap when it comes to plumbing rough-ins… well at least a few highlights!

Interested in reading about a particular design or reno topic on the blog? Send your questions and suggestions my way to molly@mollybasileinteriors.com.

xx, Molly

Plumbing Tips... Part II