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How to specify a Shower Arm

What to put on an RFQ for Shower Arm: the ratings, documents, and constraints that change the quote.

25 Oct 2026 · 3 min read · Tradinor Desk

Specification points for Shower ArmTRADINOR · FIGUREWhat to lock for Shower ArmFlow and pressureMountingFinishValve type
Put these on the RFQ for Shower Arm before you compare prices.

A buyer searching for Shower Arm is usually trying to stop a bad substitute. A bathroom fitting is specified by the water supply, the flow, the mounting, and the finish in a wet room. The notes below are selection criteria for a Shower Arm. They are not a catalog promise. Confirm every rating on the current datasheet, drawing, or test report for the revision you will receive.

What has to be true of Shower Arm

A bathroom fitting is specified by the water supply, the flow, the mounting, and the finish in a wet room. For a Shower Arm, start from the duty, then the interface to the rest of the machine or the room, then the document that proves the claim. A lower price that leaves one of those blank is a different product.

Shower Arm is easy to confuse with Shower Hose. If the quote could be read as either, add the line that separates them: the rating, the fitment, or the standard named below. Link the drawing number to that line so receiving inspection can reject the wrong one.

Numbers that change the quote

Line What to write for Shower Arm
Flow and pressure Flow rate and the pressure range it is designed for.
Mounting Deck, wall, concealed, and the depth of the wall.
Finish The coating, and a salt or cleaner note if the room is hard on metal.
Valve type Ceramic disc, thermostatic, or a stated cartridge.
Standards The local water-fitting approval if the market requires one.
Connections Thread, hose, or rough-in dimensions.

How to compare two offers

Lay both quotes for Shower Arm on one sheet and line up flow and pressure, mounting, and finish. If a cell is empty, the offer is not finished. Ask for the missing line in writing. When those match, the honest difference is lead time, the test evidence, and who carries the warranty. Do not average a fully specified Shower Arm with a cheaper line that omitted flow and pressure.

Documents worth having before the deposit

Ask for a rough-in drawing before the walls are closed. The file should name Shower Arm and the revision, not only the supplier’s homepage. A factory quality certificate such as ISO 9001 can sit beside that file. It does not replace it.

Failures that show up after delivery

  • Forgetting the rough-in until tile is on.
  • Ordering a finish from a photo that the plating process does not match.
  • Ignoring supply pressure.

On a Shower Arm, the expensive version of the first mistake is discovering it after the goods are in the crate. Put the rejection condition in the purchase order while the supplier can still restate the offer.

A worked RFQ line

Use this shape, then replace the brackets with your duty: “Shower Arm — Write connections, flow, pressure, mounting, and finish.” That sentence is a template, not a rating of any brand. If a supplier’s datasheet uses different units, convert them onto this sheet so the next offer can be compared.

Where words like stainless / corrosion belong

Searches often add a constraint to Shower Arm: stainless / corrosion, or OEM / custom. Keep those on this page. Name the alloy or the coating and the chemical it must survive. Stainless is a family, not a guarantee. OEM or custom means a drawing, a revision, and a statement of who owns the tool. Without those, you are buying the catalog part. If you need a third constraint, add it as another line on the same drawing. A second URL that only swaps the adjective does not give a buyer a second fact.

Related in this section: how to specify Shower Hose.

Questions buyers actually ask

What should an RFQ for Shower Arm include?

Write connections, flow, pressure, mounting, and finish.

Is a cheaper Shower Arm the same part?

Only if flow and pressure, mounting, and the documents match. A missing line is a different offer.

Do waterproof, OEM, or IP words need their own page?

No. For Shower Arm they are extra lines on this specification. Ask for the test or the drawing that gives the word a value.