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shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 06:59 AM

Hi all,
I am wanting to instal a shower in my bathroom,but the water preasure is rubbish to say the least!
I have plastic cold water pipes feeding from the storage tank which is in the attic.I have been told that I need to change the plastic piping to copper to increase the preasure,so that I may be able to get the water up the pipe and through the shower.
Is there anyone that maybe able to confirm this?

speedball1 · Jan 25, 2010, 07:15 AM

I need to change the plastic piping to copper to increase the preasure,so that I may be able to get the water up the pipe and through the shower.

Whoever told you that was wrong!

I am wanting to instal a shower in my bathroom,but the water preasure is rubbish to say the least!

That's the real problem, not the material the pip-es are made of.
Did the pressure suddenly drop or has it always been like this?
How old is your home and what pipes do you have in most of it. Plastic, copper or galvanized? Let me know, tom

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 07:17 AM

The preasure has been like this for the past year when we moved in.All the plastic pipes are 22mm and the house was built in the 70s-80s.

speedball1 · Jan 25, 2010, 07:19 AM

Originally Posted by ;

All the plastic pipes are 22mm

That makes your plastic pipes 3/4" Id. Plenty large enough to supply your needs.
And what was the original piping? Tom

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 07:20 AM

Im not sure,the pipes have always been plastic from the looks of them!So if the pipes arnt the problem,how do I ramp up the preasure to get the water up to the shower?

speedball1 · Jan 25, 2010, 07:43 AM

A few questions first shaz. Are you on a pump or city water? Is the pressure good in the rest of the house? Back in the 70/80's we used copper in my area. Take a look in the basement for any original pipes. If you have plastic throughout I would suspect you have a repipe job. Regards, tom

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 08:37 AM

We are city folk,and the preasure in the rest of the house is fine,but that's because its on the mains.The reason I was told to change the piping is because if I was to increase the water preasure the plastic pipes wouldn't be able to hold the increase and split,and as for the rest of the pipes,all the hot water are on copper piping and some of the cold are plastic,they changed some of the pipes when they changed and relocated the boiler.

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 12:14 PM

Please can ANYBODY help!!

speedball1 · Jan 25, 2010, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by ;

please can ANYBODY help!!

Shaz, We are all volunteers with separate lives and many questions to answer. Please don't become impatient with us simply because you had to wait a few hours for a reply.

The reason I was told to change the piping is because if I was to increase the water preasure the plastic pipes wouldn't be able to hold the increase and split

I hope at the same time that you were told that they also gave you a shovel to dig your way out of all that BS.
The Top operating PSI for 3/4" Schedule#40 PVC is 289 PSI but the burst point is 1545 PSI. That's right sports fans! Over a thousand pounds to split that sucker. So much for replacing any pipes.

the preasure in the rest of the house is fine,but that's because its on the mains

if the rest vof the house has good pressure why doesn't the bathroom have the same pressure as the rest of the house? So, can you increase the pressure? Let me know, Tom

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 01:33 PM

Oh sorry,I wasn't getting impatient...
I don't know how to increase the preasure,but Im sure I would be able to find out.So the plastic pipes won't split?100%?And as far as I understand it,my downstairs is fed by the mains,and the upstairs is fed by a mains fed cold water tank in the loft.

speedball1 · Jan 25, 2010, 01:43 PM

Shaz, Are you in the UK?

shazshubby · Jan 25, 2010, 02:05 PM

Oh sorry... yes!
Does that make a difference to the advice you can give?