You're kidding, right?

I can tell you what the proposal was for 2013, because for whatever reason I was sent a copy. But I can't tell you if the proposed changes are now implemented into their regulations.

1) Shower head flow restricted to a max of 2 GPM at 80psi.
2) Showers can only have one shower head per shower, unless they are large enough for two. To have more than one head, the shower must be large enough so that the heads can be no closer than 4 feet from one another.
3) If a shower does have more than one head, the total flow of the combined heads can not be more than 2 GPM.
4) If a shower has more than one head, each head must be supplied by its own valve.
5) Supply tubing feeding the valve from the water heater can be no larger than 1/2".

That's the basic part of it.

The problem? Or ONE of the problems? Valves today (pressure-balanced and Thermostatic) are temperature compensating valves. They rely on having a certain amount of water flow through the valve to compensate for fluctuations in the hot and cold water supply into the valve.

Choking down the flow through the shower head to 2 GPM obviously chokes down the flow through the valve to 2 GPM.

While all anti-scald supply valves sold today meet the temperature correction standards when 2.5GPM of water are flowing through the valve, at 2GPM only about 75% of pressure balanced valves and 30% of Thermostatic valves were able to still meet the scald standards.

So by mandating new shower head standards, your essentially mandating new valve standards as well.

Replacing a shower head is easy. Replacing a shower valve? Not so easy.

EDIT: Added "feet" to proposal 2) so it reads "4 feet".

This post was edited by mongoct on Sat, Jun 8, 13 at 9:58

I just checked my city's current code, and they are posting the 2010 rules, so that 2013 proposal hasn't been enacted yet. I know we are dealing with water shortages, but reducing the showers to trickles that don't get the soap off your bod is NOT the way to go. We'll see what eventually gets passed. After all, we are in the land of fruits and nuts here in Silicon Valley.

-Babka

Thank you very much for this. It is now 2016. What does the design need to be in California for a master bath shower with dual heads in order to comply with the current building code? We are in the middle of a renovation and can't seem to connect the dots.

The question is: what does the contractor need to build for the new master bath if the shower has two heads?

Thanks in advance.

A licensed contractor should know what the requirements are. If not, check with your city or county. Those are the people who will come after you if you don't do it right, so they should know. Most of that stuff in posted on the internet. Check to see if your city/county codes are online.

-Babka

A lot of this is covered by CALGreen

http://hcd.ca.gov/codes/state-housing-law/calgreen_guide_rev_12-13.pdf

but every locality has the option to add requirements (and mine does ...) That can make it more challenging for contractors to keep up on in an area where they work in many cities and possibly not that frequently in any one.

I found the local plumbing design places to be pretty up on the requirements, including my locality.

You need to have shower head and hand held shower separately. I wish I could explain it better, but being just a client(and not the sharpest one, lol..)..your shower can't have two heads. anymore. as of now. you have to have two showers installed. the overhead one, and the hand held one(if you want/need both) .Your GC/plumber should be able to explain to you exactly all new code requirements.

(we're in Southern OC)

Scramboleer, did you successfully figure this out? We want two shower heads with two separate valves. The shower heads are 4 feet apart on center (the shower is 8 feet long). Can we do this?

Skyblu, the CA code will say that you can not do that, but plenty of people will have the plumbing inspected/approved by the local building inspector and once they pass, their plumber will return reroute some pipes and finish the tiling.

No one is looking to install the water guzzling multi jetted showers that were popular 20 years ago.

Do you need permits and/or inspections in your area? Some regulations are just dumb and no one else will care that you hooked up your pipes differently. What difference does it make whether 2 people shower in 2 different showers or in the same master shower with 2 showerheads. Lost of ways to save water, dictating how your master shower can be plumbed isn't one of them!

Chispa, thanks for your response. Where do I find this language in the code? I have tried and do not see it anywhere.

We installed two shower heads (48" on center) with two distinct valves in a 96" wide shower and took the chance. The inspector commented that it was not allowed (but allowed us to keep it!).