Exposed vs concealed shower valves/pipework

[Adsibob]

I'm trying to decide whether to go for exposed or concealed shower valves and associated pipework. I've tried to list the pros and cons of each below. Welcome any thoughts/corrections:

 

Concealed Pros

More spacious showering area as pipes and valves within the wall

Cleaner finish / more visual emphasis on the tiles

Eliminate chance of burning yourself on hot pipe

 

Concealed Cons

If shower or parts need replacing/servicing, more work is required. At worst, might damage the tiling.

Slightly tricker to fit?

 

Exposed Pros

Easier to fit

Visually gives more emphasis to the shower (could be a con, depending on visual appearance of shower).

Easier to replace/service

 

Exposed cons

Takes up space in showering area

Could burn yourself on pipe

 

[PeterW]

I think you missed a con on exposed valves 

- look crap ..!! Even chrome pipe work looks bad. 

[Adsibob]

4 hours ago, PeterW said:

I think you missed a con on exposed valves 

- look crap ..!! Even chrome pipe work looks bad. 

Well I’m minded to agree with you @PeterW, but there’s always the possibility somebody forks out for a Samuel Heath shower which would look stunning in any finish. Made in England, family company. But about £5k for a shower and all the parts!

Edited March 25, 2021 by Adsibob

[Gav_P]

You also missed cleaning... especially important if you live in a hard water area. Exposed showers can look skanky pretty quickly. 

[tonyshouse]

When it goes wrong you want exposed, ideally with all gubbins freely accessible including brain and joints, pump etc

[Adsibob]

I was just thinking about this further. My other half insist we get a shower with a rail (that can be varied in height) in addition to the rainwater shower head that comes out of the wall. But in that case, doesn’t it make sense to go exposed as that way the pipe for the rain shower can double up as a rail, a bit like this:

https://www.lussostone.com/showers-c6/shower-sets-c24/elegance-brushed-gold-exposed-thermostatic-bar-shower-with-riser-p1857
 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Adsibob

[Alexphd1]

Sorry Adsibob I don't agree. I prefer concealed valves with as many outlets as you want fixed heads/riser/ jets etc . But it is a personal choice. 

[Onoff]

I have concealed with a riser rail/handset hose and then a rainfall head.

 

I'm not looking forward to it going wrong. At best it's prise off the cover plate that's been "lightly" siliconed (in a horseshoe):

 

 

I've made provision that I can get tools (box spanners and large sockets in there).

 

 

 

 

At worst it's tile off, cut through the board to get to the compression fittings on the mixer valve. I've no pipe joints in the wall "other than" at the mixer and outlet (soldered), it's all bent copper:

 

 

(Testing ?):

 

 

 

Then there's the loft plumbing. I'm OK for access at the moment:

 

 

Imho concealed looks better (from a distance ?):

 

 

If I'd have fitted the water softener by now it would have likely held off "problem" day which with the hard water here I'm fully expecting. 

[Gav_P]

9 hours ago, Adsibob said:

I was just thinking about this further. My other half insist we get a shower with a rail (that can be varied in height) in addition to the rainwater shower head that comes out of the wall. But in that case, doesn’t it make sense to go exposed as that way the pipe for the rain shower can double up as a rail, a bit like this:

https://www.lussostone.com/showers-c6/shower-sets-c24/elegance-brushed-gold-exposed-thermostatic-bar-shower-with-riser-p1857
 

I have something very similar.

 

The water fall but was a lovely idea but hardly gets used now. The rest of it is just another fiddly thing to clean and get limescaled up. 
 

When I replace the shower, or move house, I will go for concealed again (like @Onoff - as it looks so much better). I would also make sure the the wall the valve is on is against a built-in cupboard/wardrobe, so a service hatch can be installed out of sight - for the just in case scenario).

[joe90]

I went fir exposed, bar mixer and rain head or hand held. Very cheap compared to some “posh” stuff but dead easy to mend or replace.

[Mr Punter]

10 hours ago, Adsibob said:

I was just thinking about this further. My other half insist we get a shower with a rail (that can be varied in height) in addition to the rainwater shower head that comes out of the wall. But in that case, doesn’t it make sense to go exposed as that way the pipe for the rain shower can double up as a rail, a bit like this:

https://www.lussostone.com/showers-c6/shower-sets-c24/elegance-brushed-gold-exposed-thermostatic-bar-shower-with-riser-p1857
 

 

We got ones similar to these, but in chrome.  I would certainly recommend them.

 

Aesthetically I think they look very similar to the concealed - you have a handset, riser rail, flexi hose, rainfall shower.

 

The actual valve is minimal in size.  If anything goes wrong it is simple to replace part or all.

[SimonD]

4 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

 

Thank you so much! You have just shown me why I don't want a wet room with 2 young boys in the house! They're bad enough in a shower enclosure. The decision has been bugging me for months ?

Edited March 30, 2021 by SimonD

[Onoff]

13 minutes ago, SimonD said:

 

Thank you so much! You have just shown me why I don't want a wet room with 2 young boys in the house! They're bad enough in a shower enclosure. The decision has been bugging me for months ?

 

Think about it, when you're old, the carer / those same two youngsters will be able to sit you in a garden chair and hose you down!

 

Tbh the nominal fall area is 4x4 tiles so circa 1320x1320mm. The reality is the splash zone IF careful is one tile beyond. However...No1 son uses the rainfall exclusively so it's a bit more. No.2 daughter uses the handset and somehow manages to get the bog roll wet on occasion!

 

We put up with it as it's so easy tbh. Use a small sqeegee on the floor afterwards then kick your towel around. 

 

There's strong points in the wall where the vertical mosaics are should we ever decide to fit doors or folding screens. 

[Adsibob]

4 hours ago, Onoff said:

I have concealed with a riser rail/handset hose and then a rainfall head.

 

I'm not looking forward to it going wrong. At best it's prise off the cover plate that's been "lightly" siliconed (in a horseshoe):

 

 

I've made provision that I can get tools (box spanners and large sockets in there).

 

 

 

 

At worst it's tile off, cut through the board to get to the compression fittings on the mixer valve. I've no pipe joints in the wall "other than" at the mixer and outlet (soldered), it's all bent copper:

 

 

(Testing ??

 

 

 

Then there's the loft plumbing. I'm OK for access at the moment:

 

 

Imho concealed looks better (from a distance ??

 

 

 

@Onoff thanks for sharing these photos. I like the little "niches" (if that's the right word) you've built for holding bottles of shampoo etc. Is there any special technique in the execution of these to stop them accumulating water and growing mould? I had this done at our last place and the tiler warned me that it would create a breeding ground for mould and he was partially right. I say partially because it took quite a while for this to happen and we were able to get it off easily with an anti-mould cleaning product, so just learnt to do this once a month.

[Onoff]

23 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

@Onoff thanks for sharing these photos. I like the little "niches" (if that's the right word) you've built for holding bottles of shampoo etc. Is there any special technique in the execution of these to stop them accumulating water and growing mould? I had this done at our last place and the tiler warned me that it would create a breeding ground for mould and he was partially right. I say partially because it took quite a while for this to happen and we were able to get it off easily with an anti-mould cleaning product, so just learnt to do this once a month.

 

I sloped the bottom shelf of the niches a few degrees. The silicone is Forever White. It's stayed white as far as I'm aware. The magic fairy occasionally cleans the bathroom afaik. We do have some limescale issues on the wall tiles in the wet room corner. My crap tiling probably didn't help. Idiot that I am, having never really tiled before, I started with that angled wall. 

 

The niches are constructed in Aqua Panel then tanked and tiled. 

 

Good ventilation helps guard against mould of course. 

[Temp]

With care you can test for leaks before tiling or even boarding the wall..

[joe90]

1 hour ago, Temp said:

With care you can test for leaks before tiling or even boarding the wall..

i got called out to a friend who’s copper pipe sprang a leak 10 years after it was fitted, very small pinhole and no obvious sign of how it happened. Luckily it was under a floorboard, if it was concealed behind tiles, boarding etc it would have been so much more work!!!!

[SimonD]

2 hours ago, Onoff said:

 

Think about it, when you're old, the carer / those same two youngsters will be able to sit you in a garden chair and hose you down!

 

I think I'll be needing that by the time I get this build completed!

 

2 hours ago, Onoff said:

 However...No1 son uses the rainfall exclusively so it's a bit more. No.2 daughter uses the handset and somehow manages to get the bog roll wet on occasion!

 

We put up with it as it's so easy tbh. Use a small sqeegee on the floor afterwards then kick your towel around. 

 

There's strong points in the wall where the vertical mosaics are should we ever decide to fit doors or folding screens. 

 

Two boys, 9 and 12. Somehow they manage to flood a bathroom with a fully enclosed shower. It's chaos. I might put a drain in the floor for squeegeeing away the floods mind you.