Advice needed. fitting a shower.

kezz

Hi, I need to fit a shower over my bath but reallly dont know where to begin.:o
I live in a flat so the water tank is on the same level as the bathroom. Just a emersion heater. I was going to buy a power shower but do I need an electrician or plumber to install it? If so, how do I go about finding a good one? How much should I budget for this costing? Thanks.
Kerry

Alan_M_2

You have two options:-

An electric shower - this takes a feed directly from mains cold only and has an electric element inside the box on the wall that heats the water as it flows through (Like a really powerful kettle) the higher the wattage of the shower the faster it heats the water, the faster the water will flow.
You'll need a dedicated electrical feed professionally installed for this unit.

Good makes -

Mira
Aqualisa.


Alternatively you could fit a pumped shower, something like an Aqualisa Quartz or similar. However, you'll need at least a 50 gallon cold water tank for one of these and a reasonable size hot water cylinder, which in a flat isn't usually the case. These are nicer showers, more expensive to buy and install but nicer.

In my experience you'd be better installing a good quality electric unit such as a Mira Sport - link follows:-

http://www.mirashowers.com/onlinecatalog/shower_features.jsp?item=116516&prod_num=Sport+7.5kW%2F+9.0kW%2F+9.8kW

Don't go for the 7.5KW, buy the 9.0 or 9.8KW unit.

Before you do anything get an electrcian to come round and look at the electrcis in your flat an tell him what shower you'd like to fit (including the power output) and get a quote for the electrics before you buy anything.

There are a few plumbers about that will have the relevant qualifications to install the electrics too, but I've alwys got an electrician in out of habit.

kezz

Thanks Alan, Now Ive just got the task of finding a decent electrician in Enfield.

plumb1_2

Yes as Alan has said your best option is to go for an Electric shower, as with most flats you will either have a 25gall tank( not large enough for a power shower) and a 36x18 cylinder, or you will have a Fortic cylinder fitted, again not suitable.

The only showers i recomend are Mira.

Jake'sGran

plumb1 wrote:

Yes as Alan has said your best option is to go for an Electric shower, as with most flats you will either have a 25gall tank( not large enough for a power shower) and a 36x18 cylinder, or you will have a Fortic cylinder fitted, again not suitable.

The only showers i recomend are Mira.

Our electric shower is quite old but does still work. But, I have been complaining about it this year as there are only three settings; warm, medium, hot. On warm I have been getting hot water. A couple of people have said it was because, during the hot weather, the water was already warm when it came into the system. Don't really follow that except that it is more bearable now and I don't believe it has a thermostat..

I'd just love a power shower with a seat. But a plumber said it would be a big job. The bathroom is downstairs and the tank is upstairs. Sorry to but in here but, at the moment, the subject of showers is of special interest.

weekendwarrior

You might be able to save some money if you do the plumbing side yourself, ask a sparks as recommended above and see if he will wire it up and you can do the plumbing as long as you feel confident. You can see here the basics of installing one-INSTALLING A ELECTRIC SHOWER

Jake'sGran

weekendwarrior wrote:

You might be able to save some money if you do the plumbing side yourself, ask a sparks as recommended above and see if he will wire it up and you can do the plumbing as long as you feel confident. You can see here the basics of installing one-INSTALLING A ELECTRIC SHOWER

The money wouldn't be a problem. It's the thought of my husband's jaw dropping on the floor if I suggested something like that. Also, the bathroom is fully tiled so it would turn into a very big job I suppose. He is always really chuffed when jobs are actually done but getting him to agree to new things is just not worth the hassle.

kat21

http://www.showerdoctor.com/Installing_a_shower.php
kat21