HEATHEN NO MORE

We have moved closer to being a civilized couple this past weekend. We now have an indoor shower. I couldn't get the picture without the overhead light being on, so the glare is a little distracting.

The wood is western red cedar installed with a bevel lap. I coated the boards once they were in with two coats of linseed oil. The corners and bottom edge are caulked with a clear silicone.

The shower pan is 4'x3', which is a little less than half the size of the outdoor shower we have used for the past three years.

The outdoor shower was definitely nice on warm or hot days, and we will probably move back out there for the summer months. On days when the temps were below 80 and the wind was blowing, Gracie would get chilled. So she wanted me to get this in NOW!

I spent all day Saturday getting everything installed and running. Here's the part no one will believe. Normally, when I do any plumbing, there are multiple trips to the store to get all the right parts. I installed the shower with ONLY ONE TRIP to the store. And it all works well. No leaks.

The outdoor shower used a 3gpm diaphragm pump. We would normally use about 7 gallons of water for a shower. The new shower uses a 1.6gpm diaphragm pump. The amount of water and pressure seemed the same to me. I can't measure how much we use with the new pump, because I am drawing from the two IBC's with 550 gallons between them. I can't see the drop in the water level and I have no way to measure like I did with the outdoor 55 gallon drum. All things being equal, it would seem that we will use less water per shower than before.

The white box is the heater unit. I used the one pictured here and moved it inside. Making all the necessary connections is relatively easy and straightforward. The wooden floor here would get slick and need an occassional scrubbing. 

Having the sun shine into the stall made it really nice, especially if there was a breeze. Sometimes the sun would be at an angle that warmed the towel before drying off. Really nice.

My next major project is to build a "house" for those two IBC's to protect from freezing. I have already measured for the propane heater which needs to be in there, and I think there will be enough room. Building a door which will meet our needs of access to the containers will be a challenge.

However, the part I have not yet solved is the roof. If you look at the photo of the two containers, you can see the downspout from the gutter which is used to fill the IBCs. Building a roof which will allow for the downspout without leaving a gaping hole will be tough because of its location.

Hopefully, I will be able to show you a completed project next time.

Until then, do your work, play hard and love the ones you're with.