Outdoor showers and tubs guide

An outdoor shower can be a great practical addition to your garden. If, for example, you live near the sea and have children who visit the beach a lot – it saves bringing all that sand into the house. Outdoor showers are also useful if you have a pool, sauna or hot tub, and you want to shower before taking the plunge. They can be great for washing dogs, too. But, increasingly, homeowners are embracing showering and bathing outdoors for the pure, sensuous pleasure of the experience.

Joss Thomas from Indigenous says, “If hot and cold water supply permits, outdoor showers are wonderful additions. As well as providing a fabulous al fresco experience, they’re especially useful after water sports and similar pursuits, to save bringing salt and sand into the home. They can be freestanding or wall-mounted. One of our favourite designs was a freestanding shower sited underneath the boughs of a mature oak.”

Back to basics

Your most basic option is a shower head attached to a garden hose. You can get simple tripods to support this most basic of outdoor showers. A basic tripod and showerhead kit costs about £50.

Solar-powered showers

The next level up is a freestanding, solar-powered garden shower. You can get a basic solar-powered shower for about £100. Made of plastic, these incorporate a water tank and when it’s sunny the water inside will get warmed up in two or three hours. These simple showers are just connected to a garden hose. The downside is, that if the sun doesn’t shine, you will get a cold shower, unless you hook up your hose to a hot tap.

Hot and cold connection

A more expensive option is to connect an outdoor shower to your hot and cold water. There are lots of issues to consider here. Joss Thomas says, “It’s relatively easy to wall mount a system near to an existing kitchen or bathroom water supply, on the outside of a wall, or in a pool house. If you want to create a freestanding shower area further away from the water supply, excavation will be necessary to take it underground.”

You will need to fit isolation and drain-off valves so that you can drain the shower down for the winter to prevent it from freezing. The pipes to the shower will need to be buried and/or lagged to stop them from freezing too.

Joss adds, “In terms of shower design, stainless steel is a practical rust-free option, with models available to suit all tastes.”  Whatever material you choose, it’s important to pick a model designed for outdoor use.

Drainage

What happens to the water from your outdoor shower is an issue that requires serious consideration, especially if your shower is next to your house. You don’t want the all water dumping straight onto the foundations of your house especially if you are going to be using the shower a lot. It’s possible to use grey water, (water that has been used for washing) to water plants, but you don’t want it draining down into the ground water.

Your drainage options will depend on what type of soil you have and where your shower is sited in relation to existing drains. Water won’t drain away easily through heavy clay soil. But if you have lighter, sandier soil, you could direct the waste water into a French drain or dry well – both of which are essentially holes filled with gravel – through which it can soak away into the soil. You’ll need to take into account the slope of the ground you are putting the shower on if this is the method you go for.

The other option is to install a gully drain. A drainage gully is a wide pipework chamber with a grille on the top, which connects to a main drain. The chamber holds just enough water to stop bad smells coming up from the drains. The grille on the top is designed to stop debris getting washed into the drain and blocking it.

Whatever plumbing and drainage options you choose, you will likely need to call in the professionals to help you achieve your plans.

Biodegradable products

Particularly if your shower drains into the soil, use biodegradable shower products, which break down quickly and don’t pollute.

Once you’ve got the practicalities sorted, it’s time to have fun thinking about the design.

Flooring

Louise Ashdown from West Room Bathroom says, “It is really important to think about the flooring of your outdoor shower area. In a typical wetroom, you’d want at least an anti-slip rating of R11 but you can get tiles that reach R13 and it is definitely worth considering that in an outdoor setting. Or if tiles aren’t your thing, a style of wooden decking can be both functional and aesthetically pleasing.”

Shower enclosure?

If you’re just going to be showering in your bathers, perhaps it’s a non-issue, but if not you need to consider the issue of privacy and whether you want to build a shower enclosure. There are so many options: brick walls covered with tile? What about glass bricks? A simple wooden structure? Full length or just a partial screen? Rustic style or contemporary? Will you leave one side open or provide a door or curtain? How to strike a balance between the need for privacy and the desire to really feel like you’re in the great outdoors? There are so many choices… But whatever materials you use, they will need to be suitable for outdoor use ie UV resistant and able to cope with temperature changes and frosts.

Cost

The budget for your project could be as little as £200-300 for a basic set-up, or 10 or 20 times as much for a luxe installation. It all depends on the specific details, quality and complexity of your project.

Outdoor tubs

Why stop at a shower? Outdoor bathtubs are an increasingly popular option tool.  All the considerations around plumbing and drainage apply to an outdoor bath too. But it’s definitely something worth considering as James Smith from House of Rohl, says, “Outdoor bathing is the newest statement of luxury at many of the finest hotels – not just in the warmest climates but in northern Europe too. Trends in hospitality always filter through to residential design, and at Victoria + Albert, we are increasingly seeing freestanding baths specified for outdoor bathrooms. A steaming hot bath under the stars is a truly restorative experience. From calming water features to outdoor showers and baths, we are seeing new ideas for mindfulness and relaxation, blurring the line between indoor and outdoor spaces.”

Barrie Cutchie of BC Designs agrees, “As with a lot of trends in the home, and especially anything bathroom related, it can be influenced by what luxury hotels and vacation homes do. This is the case for outdoor bathtubs. There is something very luxurious about bathing outdoors, most likely because it is different to the norm, and add in stunning views it can become quite magical.”

James advises, “Placement will need careful planning. A secluded and sheltered location, where the bather has some privacy, is ideal. It should also be close enough to the main property to minimise plumbing complications. Choose a comfortable bath. An outside bath is likely to be a regular treat rather than a daily event, so you’ll want to indulge in a long soak when you do use it. Sit (and lie) in the bath before you buy it.”

Joss adds, “For privacy, baths and tubs can be tucked behind walls, a screen or trellis, or even sited in a shed.”

Garden spa

You could even go the whole hog and create a complete outdoor home spa in your garden. Joss says, “Creating an outdoor spa space is a beautiful garden addition and something that can be achieved in even the smallest of spaces. A traditional tin bath may take centre stage or a hot tub – but it’s the thoughtful styling that creates the perfect setting.

“Traditional tin bathtubs are a good, practical choice for a spa space. Most are made of copper, tin or nickel. All of these materials retain heat really well and can generally be left outdoors, though it’s best to cover them up when not in use. They’re also surprisingly light, so easy to move around. Traditional bateau-style designs, with their symmetrical shape and gentle sloping ends, create a beautiful feature and can also accommodate two – or lots of little ones.

“A little careful bathscaping will create the perfect outdoor spa.  Well-appointed, versatile surfaces for drinks, snacks and books are essential. Another really important accessory is a stand, rail or hook.  It will keep towels, robes and sunhats nice and dry; especially important if you’re creating a family-friendly space. Spaces can be styled with summery picnic ware, candles and solar fairy lights, as well as fragrant plants like lavender, lemon verbena, eucalyptus, mint and rosemary – also handy for deterring mosquitoes.”

Hot tubs

If you’re going for the full garden home spa, you might want to think about a hot tub too… You can find lots about about how to choose a hot tub here.

Ice baths

At the other extreme, the most fashionable type of garden tub right now is an ice bath. Top-of-the-range models generate their ice and can be controlled via an app.