How can I add a shower to an existing clawfoot bathtub without using a faucet diverter?

My husband and I are diy renovating the bathroom in our 1920′s house. Right now, we have the typical bathtub/shower wall setup. We want to restore the bathroom to an original 1920′s style with geometric white tiles, white pedestal sink, and by putting in a clawfoot tub. But, we also want to use the tub as a shower. (There’s no space to have a separate shower stall.) We’ve seen clawfoot hardware shower diverters which would work, but are quite expensive. Is there a cheaper way to add a shower and work with the existing wall setup? Can you please tell us where to begin and refer us to companies that might make the hardware we’re looking for? Thanks!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010 at 9:32 pm and is filed under Bathroom products. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “How can I add a shower to an existing clawfoot bathtub without using a faucet diverter?”

iuud2noitall on March 23rd, 2010 at 9:35 pm

Adding a shower to a 1920′s clawfoot bathtub – an idea ahead of it’s time – the simplest and least expensive way to accomplish this is to purchase dual water outlets and replace the current single ones where the water shut off valves are. Then you connect the tub with flex hoses and buy longer ones that can connect to a water pipe you’ll need to install running either up the wall and out to the tub or one that is free standing. To connect the hoses to the pipe you’ll simply need to connect a dual receptical at the bottom end to connect your nobs and water hoses to. You will need nobs to adjust the temp and water flow. Better yet, take a tour of a few of the older hotels in town and see how they added showers. Granted, most replaced the faucets but there are a few good ideas there. Try the Kenmore on Sutter St ust outside of Japan Town or the Monroe between Van Ness and Franklin. It’s not as complicated as it sounds and there are no special hardware or tools to purchase. Take what I’ve said and try to picture it in your mind. It’ll come to you. Good luck.

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