Even if you don’t own a beach or lake house, an outdoor shower in the city or suburbs can evoke a vacationlike setting at home throughout the year.
Some homeowners use an outdoor shower to rinse off after swimming in the pool or after running, cycling or other workouts. Others simply want to bathe in nature.
For a quick rinse, the setup can be as basic as a garden hose hung over a fence or a portable shower hooked up to a hose, said landscape architect Donald Hooten, owner of Decatur-based Hooten Land Design.
Portable, freestanding shower units range from $50 to more than $1,000, depending on the factors such as the materials (stainless steel is pricier) and type of shower head. Portable units are sold by retailers such as Orvis and Sam’s Club.
Other homeowners desire to experience the open air and the sunlight or the stars, depending on the time of day, while bathing. Some homeowners think it’s refreshing to be au naturel outside, Hooten said.
“It’s sort of another version of skinny dipping,” he said.
Outdoor showers can be do-it-yourself projects or incorporate high-end features that you would find inside upscale bathrooms indoors.
Inman Park homeowner Kevin Green built his nearly 7-by-6-foot outdoor shower out of cedar fencing and decking, which is treated lumber. The shower head is attached to a dogwood tree rising up through the middle of the shower. A canopy of trees extends over the top, creating the open-air feel with some protection. Green and his daughters used black caulk and translucent paint to make two faux stained-glass windows, which open to view the backyard while showering.
“Few things are more refreshing than showering in open air,” said Green, president and CEO of the Midtown Alliance and former executive director of the Clean Air Campaign, a Georgia nonprofit.
Proximity to the house can be important when installing an outdoor shower. People tend to have an outdoor shower located off the wall of a home or pool house, to access hot and cold water, Hooten said. The drainage also can be tied into the home’s drainage system, or into a cistern.
For Green’s shower, he dug a trench to install about 20 feet of water lines from the shower to the home’s hot water heater, to access both hot and cold water.
Another thing to consider is the type of materials used for the shower walls and floor. Hooten said sometimes showers at the beach can end up seeming dark, slimy and wet, which homeowners can avoid by choosing stone or tile floors that will dry faster than wood floors. If not tied into the home’s drainage system, depending on the amount of runoff and how often the shower is used, gravel or a French drain may need to be added underneath the shower.
A rain-head shower head is a good choice because it provides a gentle cascade of water, Hooten said. Kohler, for example, offers rain-head shower heads and body sprays that can be used outdoors. Luxury extras include Kohler’s DTV (digital thermostatic valve) showering system, where custom settings can be programmed for the body sprays and shower head.
Another manufacturer, Outdoor Shower Co. (Ferguson is a local distributor), has stainless steel showers such as a wall-mounted system that Roswell-based Innovative Construction installed outside a Peachtree Corners home.
Hooten recommends that the shower head be mounted to a tile or masonry wall that can resist dampness, which can lead to rot. The surrounding walls, which might not get as wet, could be made of wood or even latticework, which could allow airflow with a modest amount of privacy.
