An outdoor shower is one of those things you buy in July and regret in August – if you asked the wrong question beforehand. The right one is not "which model", but "where will the water go".
First the location, then the product
Most people plan a garden shower around the object: saw a nice model, bought it, put it up. Then it turns out the location was wrong – and moving a shower is more awkward than moving a chair.
Three things determine the location:
The path. A shower is used when it is on the way. Between the pool and the terrace, at the garden door, where sandy feet pass by anyway. If it is ten meters away, no one showers – you just walk into the house.
The sun. A spot that gets sun in the afternoon makes showering in May and September bearable. A spot in permanent shade will not be touched after September.
The views. The most honest point and the one that almost everyone underestimates. From where is the shower visible? Neighbor's window, sidewalk, street? It is worth standing in swimwear at the planned spot and looking around before buying anything.
The water connection is usually not a problem
More effort is often assumed here than is necessary. Practically all mobile outdoor showers are connected to a regular garden hose via a quick coupling. No trench, no plumber, no foundation – set up, connect, done.
A fixed connection is only worth it if two things come together: The shower stands permanently in the same place, and you do not want to see the hose. Everything else speaks for the simple solution.
Hot water is its own topic. Without a connection to the house installation, it remains tap water – pleasant in the height of summer, a test of courage in May. Anyone who wants to shower warm regularly cannot avoid a fixed installation. Anyone who uses the shower to rinse off after the pool does not need it.
The drainage – the question no one asks
And the only one where you can spend the right amount of money if you ask it too late.
Shower water has to go somewhere. On grass, the spot is a swamp after two weeks and a bare patch after four. On sealed slabs, the water stands. What works is a surface that drains: gravel, grit, a wooden grate, or slabs with a slope. Many showers come with their own stepping grate – it solves the problem directly under your feet, but not underneath that.
And then there is the legal part that brochures like to omit. Pure shower water without additives is not critical. But as soon as soap, shampoo, or sunscreen come into play, it is greywater – and what is allowed to happen with it in the garden is handled differently by municipalities and federal states. We are not an authority and do not provide legal advice here: If you are planning a fixed drainage or want to shower with soap regularly, ask your municipality beforehand. It costs a phone call and saves the doubt of having to dismantle it.
Material: the difference shows in the third year
A garden shower stands outside all year round, gets constantly wet and dries again. That is probably the hardest everyday life there is for metal.
Painted steel lasts exactly as long as the paint remains intact. The first scratch is the beginning: rust creeps under the paint and works further where you do not see it.
Hot-dip galvanized steel works differently. The zinc bonds metallurgically with the steel when dipped into the 450-degree hot melt – the protection is not on the material, but in it. And if the surface is damaged, the zinc sacrifices itself for the sake of the steel. Scratches are therefore not damage, but exactly what the material is made for.
The same applies to wood: acacia and robinia are naturally weather-resistant and do not need chemical protection. They turn grey with the years – silver grey – that is not a sign of aging, but the normal state. Anyone who wants to preserve the warm tone oils it occasionally.
Winter: the shower may stay, the water may not
A shower made of weather-resistant material does not need to be dismantled in autumn. What needs to go out is the water.
Freezing water expands by about nine percent. In a closed pipe, that is enough to burst lines and fixtures – and you only notice it in spring when you turn it on. So: remove the hose, drain the line, leave the tap open so that residual water can drain out and expand.
That is the entire winter work. Five minutes in October.
By the way, the same questions about inflow, drainage, and frost apply to an outdoor kitchen with a sink – more on this in the post Cane-line Outdoor Kitchen: Drop or Sticks Compared.
Which model suits whom
Roughly, three situations can be distinguished.
The fixed spot at the pool. If the shower has an address and is also meant to be a visual statement, a model with presence is worth it. The Cascade by Atelier Tradewinds is one of them: 220 cm high, without a shower head – the upper cross pipe lets the water fall as a closed curtain. Stepping grate made of acacia, frame made of hot-dip galvanized steel, two nylon ladders on the back, in case you ever have to move it.
The spot that can still change. Anyone who is not sure where the shower should stand in the end – and that is more people than they admit – is better off with a mobile model. The Show'r needs neither a foundation nor installation, stands on a base made of robinia wood and can be moved if the garden changes.
Just quickly wash the feet. If it is not about showering at all, but about sand, dirt, or dog paws, a large shower is too much of a good thing. The Fieldshow'r is operated with the foot – step on the pedal, water flows, hands remain free.
The short version
Location before product. The hose connection is almost always sufficient. The drainage is the question you have to ask beforehand, not afterwards. And with the material, it is not the first impression that decides, but the third year.
You can find all models at a glance under Tradewinds Outdoor Showers, the complete collection of the Belgian atelier on the brand page of Atelier Tradewinds. We collect design ideas for the terrace, pool, and garden on garten-ideen.eu.
