Can I Install a thermostatic shower?

[Deleted User]

I have a council maisonette (in a block with one 'two story house' on top of another, I am ground floor), few repair problems. Had a builder come round today, he said no way could I install a thermostatic shower in the bath. It is true that the mains water pressure to the kitchen sink is high enough to make filling a glass without wide splash area difficult (25L/M). But the water that comes out of the cold bath tap upstairs is fairly pitiful (9L/min).., the hot water tap has a better flow rate.

I have a Greenstar 15RI condensing boiler with 8 radiators (two in lounge). Slightly above spec but the heat in the house is brilliant, it warms up very quickly.

See photos of tanks and piping:

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1914/44971373082_7fbc10d52c_m.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1950/44971373062_385e75830d_m.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1947/44108633085_8c12d49502_m.jpg

I had a council plumber (who seemed to know these buildings like the back of his hand) tell me that to install a shower I just needed to T into the cold water feed to the tanks, perhaps install a pump to allow me to get enough flow for a thermostatic shower. The builder today said it wasn't possible to get enough flow, even with a pump. Mind you the same builder was telling me I needed a foot of hard core under paving in the back yard for an area that will just be for dogs and sunning humans (not driving huge trucks through it).

I can get a plumber to come round, but having had two completely different opinions, I suspect I need some knowledge myself! I am searching for information on the net but suspect my lack of plumbing knowledge is getting in the way lol.

Oh dear, confused now. If I had a combi system, it wouldn't have any water tanks supposedly. HELP please.

GDB2222

The red tank is just a compression vessel. You can ignore it.

The large insulated tank is the hot water cylinder that stores hot water. It looks like a vented cylinder to me. Vented means that there is a cold water tank higher up in the building that feeds it. With council flats, it could be in the flat upstairs, in the roof, or even in a separate tank room.

It's interesting that the hot tap has a better flow than the cold tap, as I expect they are both fed from the same tank effectively. Maybe there's a tap somewhere on the cold feed that's half off, but it could be elsewhere in the building.

I'd believe the plumber who knows his way round the building! He says to take the cold feed from the rising main. You would then have mains-fed cold and tank-fed hot, which are not the same pressure, but a thermostatic mixer might work okay.

Do you have to have a thermostatic shower mixer? Why not manual?

[Deleted User]

Thank you so much for your comments.

Obviously I need advice on options, just starting the process but I'd like a shower with body jets to help my back and arthritis problems. My ex has one and it did seem to help. I have problems getting in and out of a bath of water, don't particularly like them, so thought this would be the best option.

GDB2222

deannatrois wrote: »

Thank you so much for your comments.

Obviously I need advice on options, just starting the process but I'd like a shower with body jets to help my back and arthritis problems. My ex has one and it did seem to help. I have problems getting in and out of a bath of water, don't particularly like them, so thought this would be the best option.

You might need a pump to get the required water flow rate for that type of shower. It sounds like it might work, but do get a decent plumber to advise you. Possibly, a general builder is not ideal.

I also prefer showers to baths. I haven't had a bath for years! LOL.

Dan-Dan

Have you tried approaching your local council for adaptation works if your struggling with getting in and out the bath ?

[Deleted User]

Yes I did have an assessment, the whole thing was a bit of a fiasco, unfortunately. They wanted to remove the bath, install a shower in the corner but wouldn't have looked very good and not been what I wanted. So I decided to install what I wanted if a PIP payment came through, which it has.

But council are wanting answers on building control etc. I thought getting a builder to oversee a small number of jobs I wanted to do would be best but looks like I will need to employ a plumber for the shower, and someone else for the other things that need doing. I do have a budget, but can't afford to mess around.

Ruski

Perfect setup for a pumped solution: you just need a plumber not a builder to do the work.
If the Bathroom's behind that airing cupboard then it's perfect to supply a bodyjet shower solution, although you may need additional advice on shower screens for a jet shower as they tend to make additional puddles on the floor outside the bath

HTH

Russ

southcoastrgi

If you had a 3 bar pump with body jets you would run out of hot water in less than 10 mins with your currant cylinder & you might not get that long if the roof tank isn't big enough

[Deleted User]

OK I am looking at this systemhttps://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/milan-square-triple-shower-valve-with-diverter-fixed-head-6-body-jets-slider#pnlCustReview

I'm not sure of the quality.

Also a bit worried about the comments above about water jets although when I had access to a shower with water jets, I just used them for a minute or two to relieve back ache and then reverted to normal over head shower spray, so hopefully that will be ok.

I do have a Wickes bathroom guy coming round. So trying to prepare. He was a bit 'authoritative' and I don't do too well with people like that lol. He told me (I suspect this will go up) Wickes would do everything, including plastering walls and would costs upwards of £6k which is my max spend.

I am happy with plain white tiles, basic toilet, basic sink (don't really need to replace sink), basic bath, but need this type of shower. So want to spend money on shower but will cut back on spend for everything else.

Any thoughts?

The problem is of course, the council. They will only let me refit the bathroom if I meet their criteria. I did my last bathroom myself with the aid of a builder that helped with the plumbing and plastering. I tiled it myself (and I seriously did do a good job, straight lines everywhere). But not an option with council watching over my shoulder wanting professionals doing the work. I must admit I do have some physical problems now but could still do the work, would just take longer.

PS I now have a roughly paved back yard. Managed to get enough slabs to do the whole 28m2 for £110 (used). A superhero collected them and laid them for me. Will bed them properly once the good weather returns. You can do it if you have to lolol. I was lucky with the slabs, haven't seen anything similar for ages (either too few slabs or too expensive or too far away or all three). As the ground is very clayey, I am wondering if they will be ok with just a bit of levelling. But time will tell, the dogs aren't tracking in dirt anymore. I am happy lol. Much better than the few grand quote I was given by the original builder lol.

GDB2222

Personally, I prefer surface mounted pipework. It's easy to sort out if anything goes wrong.

Do you need a bath at all? Or just a walk in shower?

You found a very, very cheap superhero! Well done.

[Deleted User]

Because I have 2 children in the house (although one is an adult) I am keeping the bath, no room for a walk in shower so will have over bath shower. But will be getting a bath that can have a door put in if there is a need to do this later.

I am going to have to build (or have built) a half wall behind the bath so shower can be mounted there. The other end of the bath has an even narrower wall because of a window.