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Shower Panel or Head

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  • Aug 28th, 2015 9:45 pm
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Sr. Member
Aug 23, 2005
966 posts
92 upvotes

Shower Panel or Head

I am renovating the washroom and wanted to get feedback on whether to install a shower Panel or head. Read good reviews about the Shower Panels so wanted to see if someone installed it and what their feedback

Shower Panel

Shower Head
10 replies
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
10527 upvotes
From a purely visual point of view, shower panels look like add-on's. Something that you did to an existing bathroom rather than installing the jets/valves/etc. in the wall yourself. That said, shower panels can often be MUCH cheaper to buy and install (overall) than an equivalent system inside the wall.

Personally, I think it depends on your renovation and what you are looking to achieve. If you are renovating a condo that rents for $1000/month, then the panel seems like a great system. If you have a $800,000 house, then perhaps a panel will deter buyers (in comparison to an in-wall system) as it looks much cheaper and unplanned.
Deal Addict
Oct 20, 2011
1164 posts
442 upvotes
Mississauga
I never liked the look of shower panels, maybe as TrevorK has stated, they look like an add on. They're more difficult to clean and tend to have the look of lower quality.

That's obviously my opinion but it also doesn't give the look of a custom bathroom.
Sr. Member
Aug 23, 2005
966 posts
92 upvotes
TrevorK wrote: From a purely visual point of view, shower panels look like add-on's. Something that you did to an existing bathroom rather than installing the jets/valves/etc. in the wall yourself. That said, shower panels can often be MUCH cheaper to buy and install (overall) than an equivalent system inside the wall.

Personally, I think it depends on your renovation and what you are looking to achieve. If you are renovating a condo that rents for $1000/month, then the panel seems like a great system. If you have a $800,000 house, then perhaps a panel will deter buyers (in comparison to an in-wall system) as it looks much cheaper and unplanned.
Thanks a lot, good point, I think built in Shower system is the way to go for a remodeled bathroom
any tips on where to get a good system?
Found this Shower System from my first google search, any other recommendation?
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
10527 upvotes
Akronica wrote: Thanks a lot, good point, I think built in Shower system is the way to go for a remodeled bathroom
any tips on where to get a good system?
Found this Shower System from my first google search, any other recommendation?
I would go to a nice kitchen/bath store and check out what they have. If you hit up a large one there will be many, many different brands and styles. Once you find what you are looking for (squared edges? round handles? etc.) you can then narrow down to the brand.

Personally, we went with Hansgrohe stuff. Some of their higher end products can be insanely priced, but I think they have quite a few different lines. We found their items felt much, much higher quality than other brands (Riobel, Aquabrass, etc.) in terms of construction and touch.

I found the important thing is figuring out the look you want - then you can narrow to what brands are acceptable.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Dec 11, 2004
11150 posts
3859 upvotes
Montreal, QC
Are there any rainfall type shower "head" with lower water consumption? 1.5GPM for example vs 2.5GPM
Sr. Member
Aug 23, 2005
966 posts
92 upvotes
TrevorK wrote: I would go to a nice kitchen/bath store and check out what they have. If you hit up a large one there will be many, many different brands and styles. Once you find what you are looking for (squared edges? round handles? etc.) you can then narrow down to the brand.

Personally, we went with Hansgrohe stuff. Some of their higher end products can be insanely priced, but I think they have quite a few different lines. We found their items felt much, much higher quality than other brands (Riobel, Aquabrass, etc.) in terms of construction and touch.

I found the important thing is figuring out the look you want - then you can narrow to what brands are acceptable.
Thanks again, I kind of prefer the square edges. You are right, its better to go visit a store and see the different styles and go from there. I kind of like www.grohe.com, they seem to have good looking heads.
I think the store would help identify all the parts needed for the system as I am clueless to what is needed in terms of parts, valves, water pressure, etc.

any recommendation for stores on the west end? Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
10527 upvotes
Akronica wrote: Thanks again, I kind of prefer the square edges. You are right, its better to go visit a store and see the different styles and go from there. I kind of like www.grohe.com, they seem to have good looking heads.
I think the store would help identify all the parts needed for the system as I am clueless to what is needed in terms of parts, valves, water pressure, etc.

any recommendation for stores on the west end? Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington
We liked the square too - here are some ones that we found while picking out the Hansgrohe Axor that might help you out:
Riobel Zendo: http://www.riobel.ca/produits/collection/ZO
Toto Aimes: http://www.totousa.com/products/showers ... family=141

When it came to shower heads we found that the traditional square ones were kind of ugly, so that's why we went with the Raindance one from Hansgrohe. There did not seem to be much competition in the market of these higher-end shower heads.
Sr. Member
Aug 23, 2005
966 posts
92 upvotes
TrevorK wrote: We liked the square too - here are some ones that we found while picking out the Hansgrohe Axor that might help you out:
Riobel Zendo: http://www.riobel.ca/produits/collection/ZO
Toto Aimes: http://www.totousa.com/products/showers ... family=141

When it came to shower heads we found that the traditional square ones were kind of ugly, so that's why we went with the Raindance one from Hansgrohe. There did not seem to be much competition in the market of these higher-end shower heads.
thanks, looks like you did your homework. I will need to visit couple of stores to have a look at the different options. Did you buy from a store or online?
any stores you recommend?
Thx again
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2001
18946 posts
10527 upvotes
Akronica wrote: thanks, looks like you did your homework. I will need to visit couple of stores to have a look at the different options. Did you buy from a store or online?
any stores you recommend?
Thx again
We bought from a store - it's a Western Canadian chain called Bartle & Gibson. For the products we were buying (Hansgrohe) it was cheaper there than every other local authorized dealer and all the internet retailers (including the US ones - we were just going to get it shipped to our hotel to bring back).

I would definitely recommend visiting stores. You will get an idea for the options you have available in terms of function and looks, then it's a lot easier to narrow down.

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