Want to install a shower instead of a bath

jenniewb

I have a bath which is next to useless for me and I struggle with it for practical reasons (too small, badly placed, uncomfortable, doesn't retain heat well at all...etc etc). I wont be able to change it any time very soon but in the long term would like a shower instead.


I would like a decent shower rather than one of the electrical-bath-shower set ups I've seen. Ideally a power-shower but am not sure if that's totally out of my budget...any ideas would be greatly appreciated!


I would be getting a professional to fit it having seen many others who've installed even very basic bath showers badly, added to which this isn't something I've ever done before and in the past my DIY experiments have proven I am not very good at things like this myself!


Does anyone know of how much this sort of thing is likely to cost? I am not sure weather it's cheaper to keep the bath to stand in whilst showering- just add a shower curtain. Not a fantastic look if I am never going to use the bath again but I'm trying to keep down costs.
I am going to need to save for this for a long time so am just looking at prices, (cost being the biggest problem right now) I have no idea where to start looking!

robatwork

First consideration - are you staying in this house a while?
Young families will almost always want a bath as well as a shower so you could be restricting the value of your property.

Having said that the shower type will depend on your boiler - is it a combi or do you have a water tank in the loft? If the latter you will need a shower pump.

I have something like this which is fine for me but some people prefer the smaller step of a shower tray so a shower/bath isn't practical for them:

Cisco001

The cheapest solution is to change your existing bath tap to bath shower mixer

Is the wall next to your bath have wall tiles?

onomatopoeia99

robatwork wrote: »

Having said that the shower type will depend on your boiler - is it a combi or do you have a water tank in the loft? If the latter you will need a shower pump.

Conventional systems with tanks do not necessarily require pumps, gravity can be sufficient - certainly is in my parents' home. At my old house it wasn't, as the hot water tank was downstairs. so below the level of the shower head.

jenniewb

Thanks for the replies;


I had bought a shower tap addition but the taps don't fit it. The taps look a bit like a flatter version of this image below only they don't curve downwards, they just jut out flat and this means any shower attachment leaks and squirts backwards. I've previously tried a few different versions all with the same results. (Not my taps btw, just an image I found on Google!)

jenniewb

I have a fairly new boiler, I don't have a water tank (or a loft) as I live in a small flat. The boiler was only put in a few years ago (about 5 years ago?) and is in good working order. It's not far from the bathroom at all though.


I have tiles on the wall just behind the bath but only about 15cm in height which run all around the bath. I was hoping a shower would be far further upward on the wall though- head height would be great


I've no idea where to start looking other than B&Q or Homebase and am not sure if these are even reliable or quality products to look at or if it's better to look for specific brands or shops.

Le_Kirk

You need to change both of the taps over the bath for a mixer type, which also has a outlet for a shower, connect this outlet with a flexible and fit a shower head over the bath. Just Google "bath mixer tap with shower attachment" there's 'undreds of 'em.

Le_Kirk

jenniewb wrote: »

I have a fairly new boiler, I don't have a water tank (or a loft) as I live in a small flat. The boiler was only put in a few years ago (about 5 years ago?) and is in good working order. It's not far from the bathroom at all though.

Is it a combi, i.e. does it fire up when you turn on a hot tap?

jenniewb wrote: »

I have tiles on the wall just behind the bath but only about 15cm in height which run all around the bath. I was hoping a shower would be far further upward on the wall though- head height would be great

Ideally you will want the tiles as high as the shower head, else you will soak the walls. Alternatively you could use a wrap around rail with shower curtain that encloses you on three sides.

jenniewb wrote: »

I've no idea where to start looking other than B&Q or Homebase and am not sure if these are even reliable or quality products to look at or if it's better to look for specific brands or shops.

If you are going to do the work yourself, some of the B&Q stuff is fine. If you are "getting a man in" they might have an account at Screwfix or Plumb Center - honestly that's how they spell it. I am not being sexist about getting a man in, its just an expression. Use Mr. Google to search on-line.

jenniewb

Le_Kirk wrote: »

You need to change both of the taps over the bath for a mixer type, which also has a outlet for a shower, connect this outlet with a flexible and fit a shower head over the bath. Just Google "bath mixer tap with shower attachment" there's 'undreds of 'em.

I would rather spend the money on getting a decent shower- I've used the shower attachments as a child and though they work OK, the pressure just wasn't as good as a decent shower and if I'm saving for something I'd rather buy a shower which wasn't so feeble I wouldn't really be using the bath given the choice so the shower would be the main thing. I'd rather get a whole shower cubical if I could but am thinking that may be totally out of any sort of budget I could save for. However a wall fixed shower with more pressure would be an OK compromise.

jenniewb

Le_Kirk wrote: »

Is it a combi, i.e. does it fire up when you turn on a hot tap?


Ideally you will want the tiles as high as the shower head, else you will soak the walls. Alternatively you could use a wrap around rail with shower curtain that encloses you on three sides.


If you are going to do the work yourself, some of the B&Q stuff is fine. If you are "getting a man in" they might have an account at Screwfix or Plumb Center - honestly that's how they spell it. I am not being sexist about getting a man in, its just an expression. Use Mr. Google to search on-line.

Thanks- hey no offence taken I would be getting in someone to fix this up for me but have no idea where to start. I know when I got for example, a washing machine; I bought the machine and all the parts (the flat had never had a washing machine before I moved in so it wasn't as easy as just fitting it to existing fittings). I bought all the fittings and then I bought in a person to do all the handiwork given that my attempts at this sort of thing in the past have failed miserably to put it mildly.


I wasn't sure what I'd need to get first before I even look for someone to fix this up for me and how and who I'd be looking for or where which in itself I wouldn't even be able to contact until I'd saved up for the shower itself and would ultimately need to find out how much the total cost would be so I knew how much to put aside.


I have had a bit of a search on Google and given that I live in a flat and my boiler heats up water as it comes into the flat rather than soring it and heating it from a tank I am assuming I have a combi-boiler.


I can then see that a power-shower wouldn't be suitable which is a shame as I'd imagined these would be the most powerful. I was trying to get as powerful a shower as I could afford because my bathroom is generally a very cold place and I hate being cold when taking a bath or a shower! I think a mixer shower would be my next option?


I'd possibly re-tile the entire wall rather than just part of it where the shower is fitted and this would be an additional cost. That I'd also get someone in to do- I have tried tiling before when I moved in and I wish to heaven I'd not bothered as I have what can only be described as a total eyesore now! (And that's putting it mildly!)

Norman_Castle

I fitted one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/OurTaps-Thermostatic-Bath-Shower-Mixer/dp/B00AVUQJ7M/ref=sr_1_3?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1432147188&sr=1-3&keywords=thermostatic+Bath+Shower+Mixer last year. Mine was from ebay but possibly the same seller. It works really well. As it replaces the bath taps there's minimal plumbing so low fitting cost. As its thermostatic the temperature is constant regardless of other taps being used.
I fitted cheap shower curtains held up by string on hooks as a temporary measure to keep the walls dry until I either tile or clad the walls. If this is done tidily its fine as a permanent or semi permanent solution.