Electric Shower?

Question

I want to get an electric shower installed. Do we need to have both a plumber and an electrician or will just an electrician do? Or just a plumber?
I had a plumber who mcame to have a look and he said I must have both but that would double labour costs. Just wondering if anyone can shed light on this.

Answer 1

Do yourself a favour, go for a power shower, much more powerful and cheaper. With an electric shower the electrician has to run heavy cable from the bathroom ceiling to the meter box in a continuous run in what is known as a dedicated circuit.
If someone were to fill a kettle while someone was in the shower, the shower shuts off..
A power shower doesn't suffer this problem if fitted correctly (In a dedicated circuit to each tank)
NO electrician to pay and superior performance.

Answer 2

If you are in England then you MUST use an electrician for the electrical work, it will have to comply with Part P regulations. The electrician that you use will either be able to do simple plumbing or will have a plumber that he uses regularly, that he can arrange to do the required work.

DO NOT let a plumber carry out the electrical works, they are plumbers after all, they do plumbing. Electricians do electrics. It won't double labour costs, as each will only be doing their own bit! And you should end up with a safe job, and not get flooded or electrocuted.

Answer 3

As an Electrician myself I have installed many showers including the plumbing, I have also repaired many showers that have been installed by Plumbers, It is a pretty easy job but can be time consuming, look in the phone book for NICEIC registered sparks and you should be fine.

Answer 4

UK ? any new or modified wiring has to be certified by a qualified electrician to comply with the latest Electrical Regs. So no matter who does the work you should have the necessary paperwork in place at the end of the job. This is a safety requirement and should be in place when you come to sell the house, and more importantly make sure your shower is not a death trap.

Answer 5

most plumbers know about the electrics to install a shower. If he doesn't then you need an electrician too.

Answer 6

You would need an elecctrician to run the appropriate cable from your consumer unit ( fuse board ) to the location where you want the shower. you will use 6mm cable for any electric shower rated up to 8.5 kw and anything above this rating will need to be a 10.0 mm cable. it is best to have the shower wired to a separate rcd or fuse on your fuse box. regulations say you are not allowed to have a fused spur in the bathroom so it needs to be done direct from the fuse board.
all the plumber has to do is run a cold water pipe in 15mm copper to the same location but rememer this has to be mains pressure or it wont work. good luck.

Answer 7

There are multi-talented plumbers out there who can also do the electrics - they must be Part P registered. You might also find an electrician who can plumb.

Answer 8

What the hell is an Electric shower, if such a thing exist, you dam well better hire an Electrician, as water and Electricity don't mix well and you will get Fried.

Answer 9

get the sparks to install the feed, then get the plumber in. let the spark know what shower it is so he can work out the wie to fit. it wont double the cost cause there only doing 'x' amount of work each!!

Answer 10

a plumber should be-able to both jobs at once when you ring one ask him first before he comes round then you wont waste your time and his