Shower reversed inlets

TheGreenFrog

My daughter has just had a new shower fitted. Involved some pipework and new tray, door and mixer. But somehow the inlets are reversed and the shower doesn't work properly. Plumber is coming to propose solutions and I am wondering what she should insist on. The ideal would I suppose be to remove the new shower tray to access the piping - this is where new piping was routed to join up with the existing risers in the wall and must be where the reverse occurred. But that means removing the door, a row or two of tiles etc etc. I suppose the plumber might also fit a mixer which works with reversed inlets, but there don't seem to be many (especially ones which work well with a combi) and when that fails replacement will not be straightforward (and everyone will probably have forgotten the pipes are reversed). So just wondering what is reasonable (so far I have suggested she rejects the solution of turning the mixer upside down, except as a temp fix pending proper fix!).

pramsay13

Do you mean the hot and cold water feeds are switched around?

If so it should be easy enough to put a flexible hose behind the shower if you have access.

If not he should be able to go back to the easiest place and switch them around there.

Usually no need to rip anything out although depends on your situation.

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990458#Comment_81990458

A flexible hose will restrict flow, and if it is suggested, snacks of bodgery. But then the plumber should have checked which was hot and cold before connecting the pipes.

I would be demanding that it is done properly and any damage caused, to be put right. I'd also reject turning the mixer upside down even as a temporary fix (these things have a habit of becoming permanent).

TheGreenFrog

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990458#Comment_81990458

Yes the feeds are reversed. The pipes are buried in the wall - mixer at least is external! Easiest place to switch them is where he joined them to the new pipework - which is under the (low profile) shower tray.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990479#Comment_81990479

Are they dedicated feeds for the shower, or tee'd off the feeds for other things in the bathroom/other rooms?

TheGreenFrog

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990487#Comment_81990487

Teed off - with the cold feed leading eventually to an outside tap.

WIAWSNB

Trace the pipes - isn't there some point where they can be reversed? Even if it means a hole in a ceiling below, for example, or going under the floor.

Style of shower? Does it have a rainhead, or just a flexi hose to a single handset? For the latter, I would be contemplating accepting an upside-down mixer, rather than a dismantling of the cubicle. But with a serious discount.

Depending on style, it might not be very obvious.

Hmm… https://www.showerdoc.com/thermostatic-bar-mixer-chrome-reversed-inlets-sd-bvalve-1005

More hmmmmy - https://www.aqva.co.uk/Bathrooms/251927

casper_gutman

Check with the shower manufacturer before doing anything drastic, as some showers can be modified to suit reversed feeds by installing a different thermostatic cartridge - or occasionally even just by reversing the standard one!

born_again

I know with our shower, that there is a option to reverse internal parts, depending on where the feed is from, top or bottom.

flashg67

I c0cked up like this fitting a shower - luckily the Mira shower I'd bought was able to work with a feed either way by the manufacturer by following some simple instructions. Might be easier than removing tiles/floorboards etc

GDB2222

I simply installed ours upside down. In fairness to myself, it was a bar mixer I already had in stock. It works perfectly well, so I never bothered to reverse the pipework and turn the mixer the right way up.