It strikes me, that the current fashion for placing a standalone bath, a few centimetres from the wall is a practical nightmare, especially if you have kids, from both a splashing and cleaning point of view. Am I wrong ? We all spent so much trouble, sealing them to the tiling, for that very reason.
Its just a fashion. People do it to prove they have space to waste. Have you seen those circular shower curtains used over them with an overhead shower rose? Often featured in american movies. Ridiculous.
Also, another fashion that' s getting annoying - "lets put a massive RSJ into the back wall of our house and replace the whole lot with bi- fold doors." You just know the "architect", George Clarke or whatever, will suggest it.
Knowing how humid a bathroom gets, exactly how practical is it to have the bath in the bedroom? Wasn't there one in a "Grand Design" where it was under the bed? Perhaps if you can afford the scheme, then you can easily replace the mildewed fabrics.
Shortly followed by "Sorry, there isn't enough money left to give you any storage."
What's getting us riled at the mo is inset sinks - wasted space around the drainer from where you know water will be hard to get into the sink. And this house we moved into has f***ing marble tops - we already chipped a plate against the edge of it. And a deeply set sink with
*another* ledge for dirt to collect in. And grooves ground in the marble top to act as a "drainer" - except that it doesn't as it's horizontal.
We've already determined we're getting a 50s style sit-on sink if/when we redo the kitchen.
yes, which is why they vanished fro use along with outside loos and all the rest of the victorian crap like pine panelling, wooden draining boards etc.
When melamine, fitted kicthens, bathrooms and carpets and central heating came in in the 60's there was a damned good reason why hardworking people adopted the 'naff technology' in droves.
Only have a free standing bath m'dear, if you also have a housemaid.
I hate sinks or basins that are higher than the surround - water flows downhill, don't they understand?
My last GF, when we went to look for a sink, produced a 1/2" ball-bearing from her marsupium and checked that the sink was horizontal and the draining board sloped.
I treasure my ~1950 st. st. double-drainer sink. Enclosed on 3 sides, all the water goes plugholewards.
A nieghbour informed me that the legs of the free standing bath which I had advised her against having installed had started to rust, and asked me how she might remove the rust. I suggested Emery cloth, wire brushing, Jenolite or a Dremel. Several months later I asked how she had got on. "Oh, I got it off" says she, "What did you use?" I say. "Chandelier cleaner!"
I think this depends on the floor it's standing on. I can speak from experience here: I have a standalone bath, kids, splashing, a gap of a few centimetres and sometimes I do the cleaning (both in and under the bath). My bath sits on vinyl. I really don't think that splashing is a problem. A bit of water goes down the gap, but it just sits on the vinyl and, um, disappears. Every now and then I get on my hands and knees and clean under the bath. Mostly it's dust and not too hard to sort out.
What I don't have is a maid, or those stupid bowl style sinks. I also don't have a yucky mouldy strip of mastic around the rim.
How common is it to get the vinyl curved up from the floor to meet the wall at a height of say 10 cm above floor level (sort of inverse coving)? In the States, this is done in all bathrooms and means a flood is contained.
I noticed at our local NHS Clinic that this had been done, too, but I've not seen it done in UK homes.
I've seen it being done in commercial premises like BT wash rooms. It's very thick and welded in the corners. I guess it's just down to the cost that it's never become popular in homes. It would be an answer though.
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