Some Ideas for Creating a New Bathroom and Shower

The most important factor when choosing your next shower is your current water pressure and your current pipe work. Water pressure is key as this could be the difference between a wonderfully invigorating shower and standing under a tap. Combi boilers provide a consistently high water pressure and source of hot water and are suitable for all types of shower units whereas gravity fed water systems are best opting for an electric shower as the pressure in your system and hot water in your tank have no bearing on the type of shower you have in then morning. In terms of pipework you must always be aware of where the pipes are as this can be costly and time consuming to move them around.

Water Pressure

As discussed, gravity fed water systems will tend to have a lower water pressure than houses containing a combi boiler system. Not all is lost in this scenario and there are cheaper solutions than installing a new central heating system, a little extreme though just to have a good shower. One option is the raise the height of the cold water tank with 150mm sometimes all that is required to enhance the overall pressure within the system. To accomplish this you need a strong and secure support structure beneath the tank but in doing so you will need to extend your current pipework to make up the gaps.

Q) How Does Raising The Tank Help?

A) Raising the tank increases what is called "head". This is the natural pressure caused by gravity and the weight of the water in the tank enhancing the overall pressure of the system.

In the event that raising a water tank is not a viable option i.e. space then the alternative is to fit a shower booster pump to your shower to make up for the shortfall of pressure in the system. The shower booster pump will ensure that you shower has a little extra kick to it, all with a little help from electricity.

Safety Issues

When installing a mixer shower it is imperative that the cold water supply be taken directly from the water tank as apposed to being linked to a current supply pipe i.e. toilet so that all items may be used at the same time, otherwise someone flushing the toilet will have an extremely negative effect of the person in the shower. This occurs as a result of the cold water being used to flush the toilet and therefore being taken away from the shower, leaving a greater amount of hot water for the poor individual in the shower, bad times.

The opposite exists however for the hot water supply in that it can be taken from the same pipe as other appliances. This is because of the lower risk. If the hot water supply is reduced by drawing it off at another appliance outlet e.g. a sink, the shower temperature will decrease only to cause discomfort, not physical injuries. Should you own a thermostatically controlled shower then the actions of anyone in the house will have no bearing on your shower as the shower automatically works to maintain your desired temperature regardless of the flows of the hot or cold water and ultimately a safer option.

If the hot water supply is to be taken from a cylinder, the connection point should ideally be made above the height of the top of the cylinder.

Your Choice of Showers

You choice of central heating system and the water pressure you have often dictates the type of shower best suited for your home with combi boiler households opting for mixer showers and gravity fed households opting for electric showers, though this is not always the case as above.

Most modern showers are designed to be flexible with different water pressures, such as stored hot water and cold mains. It is important to note whether or not the chosen shower is capable of coping with certain systems and that it can regulate a safe level of water through the boiler.
Such systems include those of hot water supplied from the mains via either a multipoint water heater or combi boiler.

To ensure the shower is adaptable to such conditions, it may be worth checking installation requirements with the manufacturer or to have it fitted by a registered plumber. As each bathroom and showering environment is completely different, manufacturers have produced a range of showers to cater for every need and these include electric showers, mixer showers (both pumped and unpumped) and digital showers. Each use depends on the showers location and the current heating system installed within the house.