Any builders on board?

[missdiane]

Just a quick one for any builders, plumbers or electricians....

We need (want) a power shower

I know it's difficult to know as every house is different, but we have been quoted £1700 to fit a Mira power shower over existing bath.

We need electrics up there for it too- so part of the cost will be electrician costs- I think it was something about an extra fusebox maybe?.

The chap has not broken down all the costs and we will be asking for this in due course, all we do know is that he has allowed £420 for the shower unit and has accounted for a glass screen to cover the bath, water pipes are at the other end of the bath, and all parts and labour in this price

Some people have said it's cheap, others have said expensive... is anyone in the know?

[missdiane]

I forget to say, we are getting another quote too, but was wandering in the meantime how off course we were

[Ganglandboss]

By 'power shower' I assume you mean a shower that has seperate hot and cold water feeds and uses an electric pump to boost the water pressure? If so the electrical supply will be a 13A fused spur and is (or at least should be) a simple job; you should not need an extra fusebox.

If you are talking about an electric shower (i.e. cold water supply with instantaneous electric heating element) you may need an additional fusebox as it requires a dedicated supply with a pretty hefty cable (usually 10mm2).

Whichever type it is, the works need to comply with Part P of the building regs and a certificate issued.

Your price does sound quite high but may not be unreasonable depending on the quality and / or how much is involved. If it is a pumped shower, is it a self contained wall mounted type or a separate pump that sits under your bath?

[Matt172]

Ganglandboss said:

If you are talking about an electric shower (i.e. cold water supply with instantaneous electric heating element) you may need an additional fusebox as it requires a dedicated supply with a pretty hefty cable (usually 10mm2).

it would be this type, he told me we would need an additional fuse box because ours didn't have any space left

[Ganglandboss]

Matt172 said:

Ganglandboss said:

If you are talking about an electric shower (i.e. cold water supply with instantaneous electric heating element) you may need an additional fusebox as it requires a dedicated supply with a pretty hefty cable (usually 10mm2).

it would be this type, he told me we would need an additional fuse box because ours didn't have any space left

Do you know how the new cable will come from the consumer unit? Will there be any chasing and replastering? Any arkward floors need lifting? Has he given an idea how long it will take?

Also, are you really sure you want an electric shower? If your hot water supply is good I would steer clear as electric showers are the work of the devil. If an electric shower is the only option, Mira are one of the better ones.

[missdiane]

Can you expand on the work of devil please... what are the pro's and cons for example, I don't think I knew personally what difference there was, I just thought there was a mixer tap shower, a normal shower, and a power shower.

Does a normal pumped shower give the same water pressure with the pump as a power shower? which would be cheaper to run, and which is cheaper to install.
Sorry for all the questions

[B17NNS]

Yes I would avoid an electric shower.

What type of boiler have you got chap?

If its a combi I would go with a thermostatic mixer valve - just requirs a hot and cold feed pinching from under the bath. No electrickery required.

If you have a traditional system with tanks then a power shower or pumped shower would be the nicest option.

Another consideration is how modern is your consumer unit. I'm no spark but I would assume an electric shower would now need its own RCD protection.

[Ganglandboss]

missdiane said:

Can you expand on the work of devil please... what are the pro's and cons for example, I don't think I knew personally what difference there was, I just thought there was a mixer tap shower, a normal shower, and a power shower.

The reason they are the work of the devil (and I'm a spark by trade so totally un-biased) is that you end up with an ugly box on your wall, you need to take extra care with electricity in bathrooms and the water flow is limited by the speed at which the element can heat the water. I personally have an electric shower but that is because the water heater (gas fired multi-point) is pretty poor. If I was moving into a new house and was planning on gutting the place, I would have a nice big unvented hot water cylinder. Electric showers are great if getting a hot water supply is difficult.

If you have a plentiful supply of hot water, I would reccomend a good quality mixer shower. If you wanted the pressure, a pump can be added.

missdiane said:

Does a normal pumped shower give the same water pressure with the pump as a power shower? which would be cheaper to run, and which is cheaper to install.
Sorry for all the questions

A pumped shower and a power shower are the same animal. You generally have two options:

• A twin impeller pump (one motor with a separate pump for hot and cold) with a flow switch. When you open the tap, a flow switch senses this and the pump kicks in and boosts the water pressure.
• A wall mounted self contained unit. This looks a little like an electric shower but has the pump and controls built into the unit.

Both the above require a small power supply (usually a spur off a socket circuit) to power the pump. The power can be picked up locally rather than running a 10mm2 cable all the way to your consumer unit.

If you have a decent water supply, a mixer shower (either pumped or non-pumped) will most likely be your cheapest in terms of energy consumption. Installation costs depend on what work needs doing.

[Ganglandboss]

B17NNS said:

I'm no spark but I would assume an electric shower would now need its own RCD protection.

Not necessarily it's own RCD but it must have one. This is no big deal though as they are simple to install.

[mickk]

Ganglandboss said:

B17NNS said:

I'm no spark but I would assume an electric shower would now need its own RCD protection.

Not necessarily it's own RCD but it must have one. This is no big deal though as they are simple to install.

Yes all new circuits in bathrooms now need to be on a RCD

[Matt172]

Ganglandboss said:

Matt172 said:

Ganglandboss said:

If you are talking about an electric shower (i.e. cold water supply with instantaneous electric heating element) you may need an additional fusebox as it requires a dedicated supply with a pretty hefty cable (usually 10mm2).

it would be this type, he told me we would need an additional fuse box because ours didn't have any space left

Do you know how the new cable will come from the consumer unit? Will there be any chasing and replastering? Any arkward floors need lifting? Has he given an idea how long it will take?

Also, are you really sure you want an electric shower? If your hot water supply is good I would steer clear as electric showers are the work of the devil. If an electric shower is the only option, Mira are one of the better ones.

cable wise, he said they would run mini trunking up from the consumer unit rather than chase and replaster. No idea on time yet, how long would you expect it to take? we've got a combi boiler, but to be honest, the pressure of the hot water is pretty pants, certainly doesn't spray out of our existing shower very quickly. He did suggest that mira was the best one for us to go for

[B17NNS]

Matt172 said:

cable wise, he said they would run mini trunking up from the consumer unit rather than chase and replaster. No idea on time yet, how long would you expect it to take? we've got a combi boiler, but to be honest, the pressure of the hot water is pretty pants, certainly doesn't spray out of our existing shower very quickly. He did suggest that mira was the best one for us to go for

Sounds pricy then. All he has to do is get a 10mm feed to the shower complete with pull switch and a 15mm cold supply.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/92437/Bathrooms-Show...

£225 for the shower
£100 for cable, switch, RCD, pipe and fittings

Makes the labour look a bit expensive. If it took him two days he would be making a meal of it.

I'd get a plumber in to quote for fitting a thermostatic shower fed off your combi. Tee into the hot and cold under the bath, 2 small chases, make good and fit shower.


Oh, forgot about the screen so thats another £100 in bits.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/23360/Bathrooms-Show...

Edited by B17NNS on Tuesday 21st April 18:31

[Matt172]

B17NNS said:

Matt172 said:

cable wise, he said they would run mini trunking up from the consumer unit rather than chase and replaster. No idea on time yet, how long would you expect it to take? we've got a combi boiler, but to be honest, the pressure of the hot water is pretty pants, certainly doesn't spray out of our existing shower very quickly. He did suggest that mira was the best one for us to go for

Sounds pricy then. All he has to do is get a 10mm feed to the shower complete with pull switch and a 15mm cold supply.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/92437/Bathrooms-Show...

£225 for the shower
£100 for cable, switch, RCD, pipe and fittings

Makes the labour look a bit expensive. If it took him two days he would be making a meal of it.

I'd get a plumber in to quote for fitting a thermostatic shower fed off your combi. Tee into the hot and cold under the bath, 2 small chases, make good and fit shower.


Oh, forgot about the screen so thats another £100 in bits.

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/23360/Bathrooms-Show...

Edited by B17NNS on Tuesday 21st April 18:31

cheers for that, think I'll be giving him a call tomorrow to get a breakdown of his costs

[miniman]

I had this dilemma. Answer: Aqualisa Quartz Digital. It is a pumped power shower, runs off a normal electrical feed (i.e. not 40A or whatever) and pumps the hot and cold water from the tanks. The "box" goes in the loft, and the water feeds down the riser rail, through the ceiling. i.e. no cocking about trying to hide all the pipes behind the wall.

We had one fitted recently, about £400 for the shower, £200 to fit. Bloody lovely.

[ss64ii]

Got a Trevi-Therm running directly off the hot and cold feed from the combi at ours, lovely hot water for as long as you like with good pressure too, does drop a bit when someone turns the tap on though so maybe I need a pump on mine, but, compared to electric, mines a winner every time.

[B17NNS]

ss64ii said:

Got a Trevi-Therm running directly off the hot and cold feed from the combi at ours, lovely hot water for as long as you like with good pressure too, does drop a bit when someone turns the tap on though so maybe I need a pump on mine, but, compared to electric, mines a winner every time.

You can't pump from a combi, there is no tank to pump from, the water is at mains pressure already.

[B17NNS]

miniman said:

I had this dilemma. Answer: Aqualisa Quartz Digital. It is a pumped power shower, runs off a normal electrical feed (i.e. not 40A or whatever) and pumps the hot and cold water from the tanks. The "box" goes in the loft, and the water feeds down the riser rail, through the ceiling. i.e. no cocking about trying to hide all the pipes behind the wall.

We had one fitted recently, about £400 for the shower, £200 to fit. Bloody lovely.

He hasn't got any tanks to pump from though.

He has 2 options:

Electric Shower
Mixer shower from his combi

[miniman]

B17NNS said:

miniman said:

I had this dilemma. Answer: Aqualisa Quartz Digital. It is a pumped power shower, runs off a normal electrical feed (i.e. not 40A or whatever) and pumps the hot and cold water from the tanks. The "box" goes in the loft, and the water feeds down the riser rail, through the ceiling. i.e. no cocking about trying to hide all the pipes behind the wall.

We had one fitted recently, about £400 for the shower, £200 to fit. Bloody lovely.

He hasn't got any tanks to pump from though.

He has 2 options:

Electric Shower
Mixer shower from his combi

Ooops. Although "he" is a "she"...

[B17NNS]

miniman said:

Ooops. Although "he" is a "she"...

Well seeing as the OP is a she, she will have whatever she bloody well wants anyway.

[Matt172]

B17NNS said:

miniman said:

Ooops. Although "he" is a "she"...

Well seeing as the OP is a she, she will have whatever she bloody well wants anyway.

I'm married to said she