Just about to embark on a bathroom refurb which involves a new recessed shower valve.
What I'm trying to find out is how the shower valves are connected to the pipework. Are they rigid connections, or of the plexible hose variety, similar to the type used on taps ?
I'm intending to use a Grohe valve which has ½" unions, but my pipework is
15mm.
You can do either.
You don't say whether it's a mains pressure system, a pump or just gravity fed from a tank. If you do use hoses then check that the bore is not reduced significantly or it will reduce the shower performance.
Generally this type of shower valve is fully servicable from the front. However, try to arrange access to the connections if you possibly can.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
If you fit backplate elbows and screw them to the wall, you then solder your
15mm pipes up to them. The shower fitting will then screw to this. see link below, this is a chrome fitting though(compression)mike
You'll have to look at the valve when it arrives. They all use different fixings and pipe work at different angles. I've had one that used tap connectors. I've had another that used push fit. The concealed type I used was pushfit and could be screwed to the "wall" behind. The feed pipes came in at the sides and you had a choice of whether the exit pipe went top or bottom. I wouldn't use flexible hoses, though. They are a bodge for something like this. Non-concealed valves often rely on the pipework as their main fixing point. Hoses for this would be ridiculous.
Christian.
Its going to be pumped
good point
Its a recessed valve. Looking on the web site the connections are 1/2 " female, ie internal threaded hence my query about tap connectors, but I think these will reduce the bore too much.
In that case I would go for threaded male 1/2" BSP connectors with compression fittings. This will allow you to assemble more easily. Do make sure that the threads are sealed with PTFE tape properly and the compression fitting is done up tightly. It's best to use a fitting where you can get one wrench on the body of the fitting and one on the nut rather than tightening against the shower valve body - especially if it's plastic.
If the pipes are of any length, try to put in soft bends with a pipe bender if you have the space. Elbows change the flow behaviour suddenly and are equivalent to adding about 0.5m of pipe, so if you have a lot of them it can be bad news. A soft bend has comparatively little effect.
.andy
To email, substitute .nospam with .gl
Hello Justin
Mine's just arrived!
Thermostatic mixer valve, twin control. Concealed.
15mm compression fittings for hot and cold. I *think* the output is 1/2" but not sure. But yeh, fixed. Stubs onto the connectors. Rigid, but rotateable. Heritage make, btw.
Just packed up for the day on my 1st day of the refurb. Today its mainly been prep. I'm taking out 2 small walls which form the sides of the shower cubicle, and the wall that separates the wc area from the bathroom.
Because some ceiling joists rested on these walls I've been in the loft above (confusing because the bathroom is on the ground floor - single storey extension with pitched roof on back of a 200 yr old mill cottage) and fitted a new purlin to support the 5 ceiling joists that rested on the wall. They effectively now hang from the purlin rather than rest on the wall. This way I don't have to have a beam sticking down from the ceiling. The bathroom is very small because of the age of the house so by trying to keep all the surfaces smooth I'm hoping to maximise the space. (god sound like property ladder) I have had to rip down the ceiling above the shower area also so I'm covered in glass fibre and muck at present!!
Back to the connections, I've got in situ an old Topliss manual recessed mixer. I wonder what the odds of the pipework lining up with the new connections on the Grohe valve that will replace it. I was hoping it was just going to be an unbolt old one, bolt in new valve job, but guess nothing is straight forward.
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