Do I need an electric shower? I wish I had an idea about this sort of thing!

[BeanCalledPickle]

So we bought a four bedroom house. It has two bathrooms but no proper shower. It just has the bath attachment stuck to the wall. We have a combi boiler. The pressure in the 'shower' is ok but, because it's a combi boiler you could never have two showers at the same time, and the pressure in the shower drops if you have a tap on.

We are getting the bathroom done. We want a standalone shower. I thought we needed an electric one but that's not going to help with water pressure is it? It's just like having a heater in the shower, no effect on pressure?

What do I need then? Can't get a new boiler as no room for anything other than combi. Need decent pressure in shower. Ideally the ability to have more than one water using device on at the same time. Help!

[PigletJohn]

An electric shower will not help with flow or pressure. A new water supply pipe all the way to the pavement will help with both.

An electric shower will however be useful when your combi boiler breaks down, which it will. If it is positioned where it can fill the basin you can also use it to wash your hands and hair.

I am a great enthusiast of modern hot water cylinders.

[namechangenumber5]

The best thing I ever did was to get a new combi boiler and put in a massive shower head off the mains. Mmmm.

[PigletJohn]

How old is the house?

Does it have wooden or concrete ground floors?

To dig a trench to the pavement, is it gravel and flowerbeds, or concrete? Is there a water meter?

Fill a bucket at the kitchen or garden cold tap, time it, calculate how many litres per minute you get. With two bathrooms, a combi is not a good choice.

The amount of water coming into the house from the main will be your constraining factor. A new, larger pipe may make a big improvement.