Buying an acrylic bath

Oct 26, 2003 19 Replies

OK folks - I'm doing up my bathroom and need a new 'victorian looking' bath. I've plumbed for acrylic (no pun intended!) for the following reasons:



Steel feels cold on the bum Cast iron would be a nightmare to get up my narrow stairs.



So the questions are ...



? how do you ascertain the quality of an acrylic bath? Construction method? Thickness?



? where's the best place to buy?



? what's the ball park cost for an OK-ish bath?



Thanks in advance,



Rob


I find it very strange that people still feel the need to install baths - such a waste of space & time

You try washing a six month old to 2 yr old baby in a shower. You'll not be popular and the baby won't be clean and there would be a good risk of dropping it. A baby bath is no use for after six months old as you can't lift the damn thing with water in it. Needs to be in the bath to empty it. Must run - said baby has the flu.

I'm doing a full bathroom for someone shortly, and the person is disabled - a shower would not be a practical proposition.

PoP

Can't shave your legs in a shower!!

LOL

Not really, I like a bath *occasionally*, so does the rest of the family! For the rest of the time, it acts as the shower tray.

Returning to the original question, you want an 8mm (rather than the cheaper

6mm) bath with plenty of reinforcement. Mine came from (and the choice of 8mm is described in):

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from an independent bathroom company)

and I have been very happy with it. The 8mm is shaved down to 6mm at the plug and overflow so standard fittings will go on. It doesn't flex noticeably and has kept its shine

Given that most bathrooms are designed for a bath, what are you going to do with the extra space so liberated?

Yaeh, BUT WHAT A FANTASTIC WAY TO WASTE IT.

listening to te radio, topping up with yer left toe, and reading 'War and peace'

Bugger showers. The magazines get all wet.

And how do you keep the Martini dry?

Get someone else to do it for you.....?

PoP

Yes you can. And you don't have to float in the shaving foam hairy scum. Yeuck.

What happens with baths is that you fill them with hot water. As metal conducts heat so well, the metal bath also gets hot and your bum stays nice and toasty.

Christian.

loweriong teh water tempearture by several degrees as it does do..

A good quality (heavy) one takes ages to heat. So when you get in the bath is a bit cold on your bum. Then the bath heats up, great nice and cosy. But then it's cooled the water! So lash more hot water in. Assuming there is some... Vigourous paddling of water up one side and down the other to prevent scald and redistribute heat evenly. Repeat ad nauseum.

Takes me back to childhood that. We had a massive steel enamel bath. so big it was a mini aqua park for me. The hot tap dripped too and the water was always hot from the Rayburn Royal range, so you used to get small mini burns on your toes. One good thing about the steel bath - it acted as a giant radiator in the bathroom, good because there wasn't a real one.

Suzanne

I think modern baths are very different, with thinner higher strength steel. They seem to heat through instantaneously and are very solid.

Also, perhaps the plastic lovers are all wee waifs. When I get into a plastic bath, I'm usually pretty scared that it will split. They seem to give way quite alarmingly.

Christian.

strength steel.

When I installed a steel bath, I insulated the underneath with loft insulation, so that it would keep warmer during a long soak.

Well I've installed both for other people and just about to fit two completely new suites in my own house.

They will be thick Acrylic.

Steel is hardier but cold and a pain to fit. Bottom line (excuse the pun) is that most people now prefer plastic over steel. Steel is cheaper though, but defintely colder.

HTH Rob

Not the ones I've seen. I daresay you can press heavier gauge steel.

"Suz" wrote | A good quality (heavy) one takes ages to heat. So when you get in | the bath is a bit cold on your bum. Then the bath heats up, great | nice and cosy. But then it's cooled the water! So lash more hot | water in.

If one can bear the slovenliness, the answer is to omit to wash out the bath after use, and wash it out before use the next time. The washing-out water will then preheat the bath.

Owain

On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 10:05:57 +0000, The Natural Philosopher wrote (in message ):

Hoorah!

This is so true :)

I did my bathroom completely some months ago and didn't fit a shower. I never use them. For me the bath is a very important thing and I find it wonderful in the evening to sit in the bath and listen to the radio. Wonderful for reading as well.

I think the bath is a very good thing for mind & body though I have no science to back it up but if some day it is discovered that people who have a bath and use it frequently live longer happier lives I would not be surprised.

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