We know that you may have questions about the steps required when installing a home steam shower. The prospect may seem daunting. But it certainly doesn’t have to be – as long as you follow the steps needed to do so efficiently and easily. To make that even easier for you, we’re outlining them in this blog post.
We highly recommend working with professionals throughout the entire process – designers, contractors, plumbers, electricians, and others - who have worked with steam before. This way, you’re assured that you won’t be making any of the Common Mistakes to Look Out for When Installing a Home Steam Shower.
Want some advice on how to select the right professionals? See our blog post, How to Hire a Contractor to Install Your Steam Shower, which not only talks about contractors, but also the appropriate plumbers and electricians to hire – outlining precisely when you’ll need to engage their services.
Measure the shower stall. You want to capture the space’s length, width, and height accurately. This will allow you to plug these measurements into MrSteam’s VirtualSpa, which will help you decide on the appropriate sized generator.
Decide which materials you’ll use in your steam shower. Your designer can guide you in selecting material that suits your space and fits your personal aesthetic as well . Again, this has bearing on the generator size you are going to select. These materials break down into three categories:
Natural Stone
Ceramic, Porcelain, Glass Tile
Acrylic, Fiberglass, Composite
The reason this is important is because certain physical properties require more or less power to keep the generator at the right temperature to disperse the steam properly. Materials that are porous, such as marble, shale, granite, glass block, or concrete, dissipate heat more rapidly. If your design includes the natural beauty of marble or stone in your steam shower, you’ll need to select a more powerful generator to compensate for that quicker heat loss. But if you choose nonporous materials like ceramic, porcelain or acrylic, these will retain heat in the shower, and a smaller generator will be adequate.
Use the Virtual Spa function on MrSteam’s website to select the right generator, based on your stall’s measurements as well as the materials you’ll use within the shower. As you go through Step Four, you can also use Virtual Spa to select these items, which will also give you a suggested retail price so there are no surprises on the back end!
Make additional selections to complete your steam shower. These include:
Control Unit. Use our blog post, Which MrSteam SteamShower Control Is Right for You?, which includes some useful comparison charts to decide which of the control units best suits your personality. You’ll also want to consider the appropriate control color or finishes to suit tastes and the overall design of the bathroom.
Steamhead. Again, you’ll need to consider color and finishes. MrSteam includes three types of steam heads:
o Aroma Glass Steamhead, including a well for aromatherapy
o Aroma Designer Finish Steamhead, made in solid brass with an elegant metal finish
o Linear Steamhead, a revolutionary new design that is whisper quiet
Steam Therapies. These turn your steam shower into a true spa experience. Consider if the following are right for your new, remodeled bath:
Accessories. These include such items as wall-mounted seats and recessed lighting. It is most efficient to integrate these now rather than waiting for later, when installing them would cause disruption. This can also include installing a home automation system, such as HomeWizard or SteamLinx.
Now that you’ve considered the individual options, you may want to opt for a Steam Shower Package, which has all of the must haves in one, convenient bundle. This makes designing your home steam shower as easy as clicking a single selection that provides everything you need. There are five available residential Steam Shower Packages and you can explore them all on our website:
Once you’ve made these choices, it’s time to collaborate with your designer and/or contractor to consider the layout and flow of the bathroom, and to create a blueprint for where all the components will be housed. This will include the important decision of where the generator will be located. A MrSteam generator can be installed anywhere within 60 feet of your steam room—in a heated attic or basement, closet, vanity, or similar spot. We recommend leaving 12 inches of excess space on the top and sides for servicing and to ensure adequate ventilation.
Do not install the steam generator inside the actual shower enclosure or in an unheated location where the water supply piping might freeze. It’s important to store the generator in a spot where it can be accessed and parts removed easily to facilitate maintenance. It is also important that the plumbing connection to the generator can be easily turned off if needed.
Other important bathroom flow decisions you’ll want to make will include where the steamhead and control unit will be located, and where you’ll want to include accessories such as a wall-mounted seat.
Let the professionals do their work. Now is the time to rely on the workers you or your designer/contractor have hired. You can consult our How to Hire a Contractor to Install Your Steam Shower blog post to make sure everything is proceeding according to plan in the proper order.
The interior designer and/or contractor should work with you throughout, consulting your lifestyle needs and making certain the team’s efforts are coordinated appropriately.
Lastly, you will want to make sure that your designer/contractor nails the details, for example, matching the finishes of the shower fixtures to the control and steamhead for a luxurious, cohesive look.These seven steps should guide you through a seamless process as you install a home steam shower. If you want even more insight into the technical guidelines of what your installation team is doing, you can consult the brochure, General Guidelines for Installing MrSteam Steam Bath Systems, available on the website. And any time you have specific questions, you can reach out to our specialists via our Contact Us page.