A couple of people mentioned that they'd like to see photos to visualize the shower setup, so here they come. Just for background--this is a 150-year-old building of terraced cottages. There was no indoor plumbing when it was built and each cottage had this installed in whatever way suited the owner at the time. A couple of them had small bathrooms put in, which took away space from an already small bedroom. In this cottage, the different elements you'd normally find in a bathroom are sort of scattered around. So the shower is in one of the bedrooms.
This first one is of the room from the doorway. Note that the window is a reflection and isn't next to the shower as it appears to be in the photo.
In the photo above, you can see the pipe sticking up from the floor. This is what that looks like at floor level between the front wall of the room and the side of the shower.
This is what's on the wall above these pipes--the electric shower control box. The water flows through this and is heated on the way through.
The top dial adjusts the water pressure, the bottom one is for the temperature, and the power button is above the dials. That's how we turn on the shower. There are no taps. This is a pretty standard sort of shower here and the kind we've had in almost all the places we've lived since we've been in Ireland. There's a switch to turn on the power to the box across the room by the bedroom door. That gets turned on and off for each shower.
You can see the silver hose coming out of the bottom of the box above. This is connected to the showerhead, which you can see a bit of in the photo below. Again, the window is just a reflection.
As you can see, the pipe holding the showerhead comes over the side of the shower. The shower itself was installed to be used with the tub I mentioned earlier. That tub was on feet and raised off the floor so the showerhead had to be higher, which works out well for this setup.
So you can see that to turn the water on and off, we have to be outside the shower. This is fine. I'm used to those showerheads that you can take off and hold in your hand, so I used to get in, take it down, point it away from myself, and then turn on the water, waiting for it to warm up before turning it on myself. I also used to turn the dial so that I had a concentrated flow of water with a bit more pressure. That's not happening here. And that's fine. These are such minor quirks and I'm sure I will quickly get used to things, being very careful all the while 😊
10 comments:
Thank you so much for showing this and for the explanation. It makes a lot more sense now that I can visualize it. The good thing is that you finally have a working shower! (I hope the plumber returns with the stabilizers soon if he hasn't already!) YAY!
I should have posted pics earlier, Jeanie. It does make so much more sense with them🙂
That's a bit different from what I pictured. I didn't expect it to be seen through all the way around. I guess once you are used to it you'll know how warm to make the water. And I totally understand how getting the right temperature and then getting in works. And that's a good thing that window is just a reflection too. Grin. Otherwise it could be a whole other issue with curtains or a shade in that narrow space. But hurrah for a shower. That is the important thing.
Fortunately, There's no way for anyone to see in the window--there are no buildings in front, just a bunch of trees filling the slope down to the road and then across that, the water. There are those filmy, gauzy curtains on the window and it is weird being up there without any real window covering. I do love the view though. :-) And I agree--the shower is the important thing. I'll get used to it.
Thanks for sharing these photographs, it does make more sense now.
I'm sure once you get used to it you'll be fine ... just so nice to have a shower.
Take good care.
All the best Jan
Thanks, Jan. Now there seems to be a slow drain problem, but that's manageable for now.
Just like a Lego kit, Shari, it all goes together sooner or later. You will appreciate a shower more than most of us who simply take it for granted.
Oh yes, we have experience with appreciating the first shower. When we were leaving Alaska we'd been living without running water for a couple of years. We stopped to camp somewhere in the Yukon and put the money in the slot. The shower turned itself on and the water kept coming 😆
The pictures really helped with the understanding. Best of luck to you getting everything taken care of. Seems like quite a project.
Thanks, Sandy! Now we had to have him back to deal with a potential leak!
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