38 
HO USE & GARDEN 
THE MECHANICS OF THE MORNING BRACER 
Improvements in the Design and Construction of Shower Baths That Make Them Indispensable to 
the Old House and the New 
EDWARD C. CUTHBERT 
J. A. DemwolJ, architect 
A DOZEN years ago, shower 
baths were seldom consid¬ 
ered in planning a new 
bathroom. To-day, the morning 
shower means as much in the daily 
routine of the average man as break¬ 
fast or the morning paper. 
The merits of the shower hath 
itself have been the largest factors 
in popularizing this welcome addi¬ 
tion to the bathroom. It is ever 
ready—merely the turning of a valve 
—time-saving and, as some aptly ex¬ 
press it, “a bracer” of the most 
wholesome kind. 
Another contributing element to 
the increasing use of the shower bath 
is the infinite variety of designs that 
are obtainable. No longer is it neces¬ 
sary to allot a section of the bath¬ 
room for the installation of a shower 
bath. When pocket-books or dimen¬ 
sions of bathrooms do not permit a 
separate fixture, showers of many 
desirable patterns can be selected to 
fit over the bathtub. Even for a few 
dollars, shower attachments for bath¬ 
tubs may be purchased that will an¬ 
swer when a shower bath of a per¬ 
manent variety cannot be installed. 
The Inclosed Shower 
When it is desired to install a 
shower in a room already equipped 
with the regular plumbing fixtures, 
the most ordinary type is suitable. 
This presupposes that the bathtub is 
of the regular pattern, standing free of 
the walls on all sides. It is necessary, in 
this case, to have the shower curtain ar¬ 
ranged to enclose the bather on all sides, so 
that water will not be splashed over the rim 
of the tub. 
This form of shower is called a rain 
shower, as the water falls in broken streams 
very much like a shower of rain drops. 
baths are roomy and keep the flying spray 
within the tub 
Figure 1-The principles of the built-in 
shower shown below-tile walls on three 
sides and glass door-have been applied 
successfully in this bathroom 
Figure II—In addition to the tile walls and 
glass door is the porcelain receptor set 
into the tile flooring 
Rain shower baths are considered, from a 
hygienic standpoint, to be much superior to 
tub baths. The running water touches the 
body but once, which is not the case in using 
an ordinary bathtub. As the water from a 
rain shower strikes the body with more or 
less force, it more readily loosens and re¬ 
moves the dead cuticle, and the stimulating 
effect is refreshing and beneficial. 
If your bath is of the new built-in style, 
so much the better. Built-in baths are set 
into the tiled walls, sometimes at the back 
and one end, and when placed in a recess 
are tiled all around except at the 
front. This arrangement forms part 
of the enclosure, which is always 
essential for a shower bath to keep 
water from splashing on the bath¬ 
room floor. It is necessary to pro¬ 
vide a curtain at the front and also 
at one end, if the tub fits into a 
corner. 
Built-in Bath 
A built-in corner bath with shower 
and curtain is shown in Figure III. 
Any water splashed against the walls 
merely trickles into the bathtub. 
When the curtain is closed, water 
is prevented from splashing the bath¬ 
room floor. It will be noticed that 
the entire inside of the tub is utilized 
as bathing space, giving much free¬ 
dom for the bathing operation. In 
the illustration, the valve handles are 
placed on the rear walls, the valves 
and piping being concealed within 
the wall. 
Some people dislike using the or¬ 
dinary rain shower, as the down¬ 
fall of water strikes directly on the 
head. Ladies, especially, are re¬ 
luctant to use a shower for this rea¬ 
son. To obviate this direct down¬ 
fall the shower can be fitted with 
a ball joint, which permits it to be 
set at various angles, according to 
the height of the person using the 
shower. The water can be made to 
strike not above the shoulders, so 
that the head and hair remain dry. 
In this case also, the piping and valves 
are placed in the wall, the handles of the 
valves only extending into the bathroom. 
By this, there is a minimum of nickel to 
polish, and the objectionable appearance of 
pipes in the bathroom is avoided. 
Figure IV—The various appliances in a 
bath of this type make possible all forms 
of shower bathing 
