Installation
A shower can be completely changed without touching the wall, provided the new fittings meet the outlets that are already there. That is one measurement — the centre distance — and it is 150 mm on most continental European installations. This list is what fits on the other side of it.
Everything here connects to existing exposed outlets. Measure centre to centre first.
The GROHE thermostatic mixer replaces the valve alone and leaves the rest. It is the right purchase when the temperature swings and everything else works. Read its stated minimum operating pressure against your supply before ordering.
The JOHO system is a mixer, riser, head and hand shower in one box, and it is usually cheaper than the same parts bought separately. Check the overall height against your ceiling and the adjustable range, which is what makes it fit a real room.
The Görbach rail set screws to existing bracket holes where the spacing allows, and its published spacing is what tells you whether it will. This is the least invasive option on the list.
The RONVIE head threads onto whatever is there — G1/2 everywhere — and its self-cleaning nozzle face is the detail that decides whether it still works after three years of hard water.
Water off at the isolating valves, old fitting off, threads cleaned, new fitting on with fresh cone seals, water back on slowly with a hand on every joint. Nothing here replaces the fitting’s own installation instructions.
Shower thermostat · TurboStat cartridge · 38 °C detent · EcoJoy flow limiting with a release button · S-connections and metal rosettes
A thermostat built around a flow-limiting button you press to release full flow — and a water-saving claim published as a percentage with nothing behind it.
Best for: A household that wants a lower default flow without having to think about it, on a known standard wall installation.
≈ £105 / 96 €
Shower column · rail 74–114 cm · 30 × 30 cm head · brackets 66–105 cm · 12 and 16 l/min at 3 bar · NO mixer supplied
The largest rain head in this hub at 30 × 30 cm, on an adjustable rail, with both flow rates published at 3 bar — and, again, no mixer in the box.
Best for: A large shower enclosure on good mains pressure, where the existing wall holes are at least 66 cm apart.
≈ £97 / 71 €
Rail set · 70 cm two-part stainless rail · 22 mm diameter · brackets 30–65 cm · holder slides and turns 180° · NO head, NO hose
A rail and a holder, fully dimensioned — and deliberately without a hand shower or a hose, because you already have those.
Best for: A rail that has corroded or a holder that has snapped, where the hand shower and hose are still perfectly good.
≈ £24 / 20 €
Rain head · 28 cm round (11 in) · self-cleaning rod mechanism · brass nut and brass ball joint · G1/2
The only head in this catalogue with a moving self-cleaning mechanism: a rod that rises with the water and pushes deposits out when you turn it off.
Best for: A hard-water household tired of wiping nozzles, on a supply strong enough to fill 28 cm.
≈ £29 / 29 €
A column is one purchase that matches by construction and replaces the lot. Separate parts let you replace one thing at a time, which is what actually fails. If the existing mixer is fine, a rail set or a head is the smaller and better purchase.
Eccentric connectors bridge roughly 10 to 20 mm each side and are usually supplied with bar mixers. Beyond that range the wall outlets have to move, and that is a different job.
It is worth it where the supply moves — a household where a tap or an appliance changes the temperature mid-shower. Where it does not move, a plain mixer does the same job for less.
Cosmetically yes: sealant, head and screen. Replacing a tray or retiling involves waterproofing and is not a weekend job.
Resealing. It changes the appearance more than anything else and it prevents water getting where it should not.
No. It will not bond and it traps whatever was behind it. Removing the old sealant completely is most of the work.
As long as the sealant states. Using it early makes the seal fail and means doing the whole job again.
With a bit intended for tiles, slowly, and after checking for pipes and cables. Cracked tiles turn this into a much larger job.
Stop and reassess. The job has changed, and covering it up simply postpones a bigger repair.
Taps, shower systems and mirror cabinets swing by fifty euros or more across the year, and the biggest "discounts" often land at prices the same model sold for six weeks earlier. UniverTrack tracks the real price history across retailers, spots fake reductions, and alerts you when it is genuinely the moment to buy.
