Electric shower has broke and we can't find water valve.

[Plump82]

Our electric shower has broke, we've got a new one that my electrician husband can fit but we can't find the water valve to turn the water supply off. It's not in the usual place of under the sink.

When we had the bathroom done 6 years ago I don't recall the plumber even asking where the valve is! Turns out he did a lot of things wrong but surely he couldn't have done the bathroom without the water off?

There will be a stop cock out in the street or pavement. Small square box. Lift lid & peer in.
(I’m surprised your husband doesn’t know this.)

That will enable you to totally isolate the entire house whilst shower gets fixed.

IF u can’t find it in the street ring yr Water Supplier (number on their website) they will know where it is.

Your water bill will have a meter number on it.

Go out front and find the small box thingy.

Once opened there will be a meter number on the meter that's in it. Find your number meter that way and isolate from there.

Had the kitchen been remodelled? Ours is under where the sink used to be in the old kitchen.

Utility room?
Behind washing machine?
in a little cupboard in a downstairs loo?
behind a downstairs loo?
if you have water tanks in the loft look where the feed pipe comes up and visualize what ground floor room is beneath it. The tap is likely to be in that room.

Also, is there not an isolating valve just for the shower feed in the attic.
if not , this is the opportunity to put one in.

Similarly, my friend couldn't find hers, contacted the previous house owners, she had to take a drawer out in her kitchen and it was behind that.
Ours is under the stairs.

Do any of your neighbours have the same house design? Worth asking them if so.

Yes good tip, ours is too since we had the kitchen done.
Alternatively as others have recommended check the lid thingy in the street, but I think you need a special square key, like a bigger version of those things you get with flat packed furniture.

Do you have separate shut off valves eg in airing cupboard, under bath?

"Turns out he did a lot of things wrong but surely he couldn't have done the bathroom without the water off?"
Our plumber has a gadget that you clamp on to a pipe and it freezes a small section of the water so he doesn't have to turn off the water or drain the whole system.

You need one of these to turn off the valve in the street. They don't cost much and it's a handy gadget to have anyhow in case of leaks.
https://www.toolstation.com/stop-cock-key/p62757

If you have an airing cupboard, look in there.
The more modern versions look more like a light switch than a valve or tap.

Our is under the sink in the kitchen, but not in the cupboard - it's behind the kickboard underneath the cupboard. Another place to try, perhaps?

In our old kitchen it was behind the drawer stack, you could just pull out a few drawers and reach in, quite clever.

Not sure why my husband would know about the stop cock on the street being he's an electrician and not a plumber. Anyway we do know where that is. But will that not shut off the whole street?

The kitchen hasn't been remodeled and it's definitely not under the kickboard as when the he cats were kittens they managed to get under there and we had a good look to see what was there. The building is an old Georgian conversion so the other 3 flats are completely different however @tanstaafl you've just reminded me of a conversation I had with one of my neighbours who has an issue with his water and I'm sure he said he turned his off in the loft. Will have a look up there.
@imbolic that's good to know that a plumber could do that even if it's just to get the shower replaced.
My husband is going to take the bath panel off in case there's something in behind there.

@Plump82 the stop tap on the street will be linked with your meter so should only impact your property. I assume there are other main valves that water board can access which would cut off street supply

I'm in Scotland so I might be wrong but we I don't think we have anything like that as we don't get water bills.

I had this at a previous house. Finally found it sunk into the front drive with a sort of concrete 'mushroom' cap over it.

It didn't help that I'd parked my car over it 😀

That's a bit sexist. Why not just be surprised the OP doesn't know?

In our street, on the pavement there is a little panel about 3 inches square for each house, open it and you can shut off the supply to that house. For ours you don't need a gadget, it's only about six inches down. Obviously your house might be different!

(A plumber once told us of the scam whereby someone switches off the mains and then rings the doorbell offering to fix the problem...)

Yes thats the thing I meant 👆

Normally there is a stopcock for the whole house near the meter.

If you don't have a meter, don't know where the stopcock is or the stopcock is in the loft as you suspect I would definitely find out how to turn the water off at the outside stopcock.

Reason being if there is ever a leak between the outside stopcock and the stopcock in your loft then the whole house could get deluged with water.

Ours is in a cupboard in the kitchen, cupboard under the built in cooker- no where near the sink

We have a large walk in cupboard between the kitchen and living room. The cooked backs on to the cupboard. Wonder if it's in the back of there.

Ours is in the garage

OP, is there not something like this on the pipe feeding the shower? You turn it off with a screwdriver.