Installing a Shower to your Bathtub

If you want to create a new look to your bathroom, you can simply add a new modern look shower onto your bathtub by just using simple household tools, wall materials as well as ready-made conversion fixture that you can purchase from your local hardware store. For example, you can use a simple new shower diverter and showerhead wand as well as applying various styles of curtains for the shower or curtain rings. Apart from that, you can also choose a permanent exterior pipe that can be easily mounted enabling it to be connected to a shower head without the need of using the impermanent feel of a hand-held shower head. You will also find it inexpensive whenever you decide to install a simple new shower diverter and showerhead wand to your existing bathtub.

To install a shower to your bathtub, you need:

• Measuring tape
  
• Plumber’s pliers
  
• Plumber’s tape
  
• Shower diverter spigot
  
• Power drill
  
• Drill bits (possibly for porcelain tile)
  
• Shower curtain ring or rod
  
• Shower curtain
  

Install Shower to Bathtub

Installing a Shower to your Bathtub

• First thing that you need to do is to decide on the location for installing your new showerhead wand.
  
  • You can do this by standing inside the bathtub and choose on a comfortable height and mark it with a pencil.
    
  • Make sure that you choose a suitable height so that the water coming from the shower will not steam straight into your eyes.
    
  • After that, you need to measure the distance from the marked area down to the location of your tub’s faucet. This is to get the suitable length to be use for your shower wand’s hose.
    

Whenever you are modifying or installing a shower for your bathtub, make sure to turn off your main water supply to your house.

• You also have to purchase a new faucet spigot that come with a built in shower diverter along with a threaded connection that you will be using for the showerhead supply hose.
  
  • Another item that you need to have is a showerhead kit.
    
  • Make sure that it fits into your spigot connector which is also long enough and able to reach the showerhead that you will be mounted onto the wall bracket.
    
  • If you do not have a shower curtain ring or curtain rod, you need to purchase one which has the same size of your bathtub or its opening.
    
• The showerhead wand should be placed in the wall bracket supplied by the manufacturer without attaching the hose.
  
  • Then, you need to mark the location for installing your wall bracket in order for the showerhead to be positioned in the correct area.
    
  • The wall bracket can be easily installed by using the screws and wall anchors supplied by the manufacturer.
    
  • For those of you, who are using a drill especially into porcelain tile, make sure that you use a special tile drill bit. Always do the drilling in a slow manner to avoid cracking the surrounding tile.
    
• Remember to always turn off both the hot and cold water supply that comes to your bathtub faucets.
  
  • Next, you need to unscrew the faucet spigot from the bathtub spigot pipe.
    
  • Never use too much force during the screwing task and also do not strip your faucet pipe’s threads.
    
  • After that, you need to clean the threaded pipe which is exposed before applying two or three layers of the plumber’s tape surrounding the stem’s threaded section.
    
• Then, you have to screw the new faucet spigot along with the diverter onto the pipe stem.
  
  • You must place the faucet ends up in the correct position in order to fill the bathtub.
    
  • Next, the showerhead hose should be connected to the connector. You also need to use plumber’s tape on the threaded nipple.
    
  • Now you can test your new showerhead by turning on the cold water. Make sure that you check whether there are any leaks or water drippings from any connections.
    
  • If there are still any leaks, you need to turn off the cold water supply you should seal the leaks by using more plumber’s tape in order to tighten up the threading if and when necessary.
    
• If the walls surrounding your bathtub are not covered using waterproof tiles or plastic panels, you have to install a shower curtain rod along with a three- or four-sided “ring”.
  
  • The ring need to be installed around your bathtub’s perimeter and it is normally suspended from your bathroom ceiling. Its location must be directly on top the inner edge of your bathtub.
    
  • For those of you who already have three waterproof walls, you can just make use of an ordinary shower curtain rod that can be held using tension springs.
    
• Finally, you can test the shower and curtain system by turning on the hot and cold water supply.
  
  • For a more comfortable positioning of the water flow, you can simply adjust the showerhead wand handle either up or down in the wall bracket. This should be done if and when necessary.
    

  Always remember that whenever you want to install a shower to your bathtub
  

  • You must always ensure to change the handle for your tap. Place the handle for hot water onto the left of the spigot and as for the handle for the cold water need to be place onto the right so that you would be able to avoid accidental scalding.
    
  • Whenever you are looking for a new ready-made conversion kit, you must ensure that you know the model of your existing bathtub. For example, if you have a claw foot bathtub, it needs only a conversion kit which is slightly different than the one used by a whirlpool or pedestal bathtub.
    

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