I want to buy a standard size straight white plastic bath.
I want one that is more than the usual 5mm thick for rigidity. Mentioning the thickness doesn't seem to be a strong point with online retailers.
Can anyone point me in the direction (a link) of such a bath? Thanks.
mark
5 or 8mm baths are available at all good plumbers merchants. The 5mm ones are £70-100, the 8mm are £100 up. If you ever go into a large B+Q, try and have a look at the different baths. The cheap ones are see through from the back/bottom, the better, thicker ones are not. Armitage Shanks Sandringham range are thicker, and were available at Screwfix, maybe still are?
Every steel bath I have ever fitted have already got tap holes.
On Saturday 08 June 2013 15:23 mark wrote in uk.d-i-y:
Mine is from the BathStore.com (actual shop) - it's 5mm or so, but it's pretty rigid.
I battened all walls (4x2" bolted on well) so the lip rests on the batten.
The free side I made a tightly fitting open frame and screwed to the wall at the end and up into the little wooden blocks that are glued to the bath lip underside. This also serves as something to screw a side panel to.
I correctly adjusted the feet.
I'm lardy and the bath does not move nor barely makes a sound.
It came with some sort of board moulded into the fibreglass in the base which seems to stiffen that up nicely.
Although it has lasted 15+ years, the chipboard board on the bottom of my bath got damp and it crumbled away and the bottom of the plastic bath flexed too much and cracked. Currently it has a DIY bodge with a fibre glass repair kit and the underside propped with wood between the floor and the bottom of the bath.
I'm currently looking at replacements and I've seen plastic of different thickness and different methods of fixing the underside board. Some boards are fibre glassed in to the structure while others just seem to be stuck on afterwards.
A large shed, such as B&Q is the place to see different build qualities although perhaps not the best place to buy. You need to inspect the baths stacked up on the shelves and not the ones in the bathroom displays.
Price isn't an indicator of the bath thickness or "quality" of build. Fashion and fancy bulges in the bath appear to attract inflated prices. Often in the sheds the bath price will include a set of taps which you may want to throw away[1] for something better.
Carronite reinforced acrylic baths. We replaced a cast iron bath with one last year and it really is very good, very similar rigidity to the cast iron but without the cold feel.
I've just fitted one of these:
Expensive baths tend to be more rigid than the el-cheapos. You can put in additional supports/fixings in to stiffen them up too. When installed, they are all a lot more rigid than they seem in the showrooms. I suppose if you were fanatical on the topic you could add a few more layers of GRP to a bath.
Or you could get a cast iron bath. Very heavy.
dont worry about the thickness. You can stiffen the crappiest bath with planks of wood/ply and car body filler. Go for the thickest you can find, and add more stiffness.
I was extremely doubtful about all plastic baths but, in the end, relented and fitted one. As regards rigidity/stiffness/strength - no problems whatsoever. That was, IIRC, a Jacuzzi branded product (but did not have pumps and nozzles and so on).
Biggest complaint is that the overflow is too low down - so cannot get water as deep as might be desired for a long soak.
On Saturday 08 June 2013 16:32 alan wrote in uk.d-i-y:
The board on mine is fully encased in the fibreglass.
The BathStore one I have is the former - but being a shop, you should be able to have a look (I'm sure they'd take a side panel off for you).
Mine was not hugely expensive but I'm very pleased so I'm inclined to agree.
Armourcast is one brand of extra strong bath.
We got one many years ago.
Now having trouble finding a link via Google but it is mentioned here
Cheers
Dave R
Don't want a steel bath due to heat loss . Happy to drill holes in plastic but not enamelled steel. About 15 years ago I bought an Armitage Shanks bath that was 10mm thick. It had the option of Jacuzzi style jets so would need to be reasonably thick for that. Looking at the Armitage Shanks site it seems they are not interested in the domestic market but hotels etc.
Just checked Screwfix and they do an 8mm bath for 220 but not particularly nice looking for the price.
mark
my B-I-L stuck a 60 watt bulb underneath his bath to take the chill off the metal.
That is what central heating, a tank of hot water, and a pipe straight to a hot tap is for. Endless topups of water at whatever temperature you desire, not dictated by a eurostandard shitty combi boiler and 'think of the children' mixer valve.
Also older baths, made of steel are sized for wide arses and shoulders and so are more comfortable than the modern water saving flimsy acrylic heaps of shit.
If we ever moved house the bathroom suite is the only fixture and fitting we'd take. A bog that flushes with lots of water, a proper sized steel bath that fits humans and not just stick insects, and finally a washbasin that is shaped to be used, not shaped to satisfy some design wankers dream.
Got one of those. Well impressed. Supported around the edges and on the legs. Solid as a rock. No need to silicone with water in ! Got my money back on the original one from the plumber merchants that I could see through. One some patches the fibreglass was barely there.
Simon.
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