We're starting to refit the bathroom and hopefully the assembled experts can give some advice on a few questions:
I want to replace the existing bath with a shower bath. The old bath moves a surprising amount, how can I install the new one so that it feels really solid?
Naive question: is the recommendation to tile the walls first and then seal the bath to the tiles, or to fit the bath and then tile down to it?
There was mention in a thread recently that regular plasterboard shouldn't be used in a shower, is it really worth replacing some existing plasterboard?
I'm surprised at the price of some heated towel rails and baths, where's a good place to buy? It's hard to tell whether such things are better/cheaper in France, has anyone any experience?
I got a lot of my stuff of the internet. I paid around 1/2 typical shop price for my towel radiator by getting it off Ebay. Cant remember exact prices however. I got my shower and base of Ebay as well. Seller Bobsww. Quality is quite reasonable. Fast delivery but slow communication and still hasnt refunded me for a non fitting part. Only =A310 so not to bothered. Its risk vs reward I suppose but take a look on ebay as there are some bargins to be had.
carefully. I use bits of wood to make a frame, and the clips that come with the bath to hold it to it. The bath frame legs mus be levelled up properly and on secure wood. If there isn'tt any, put some in.
I usually then run some epoxy or cyanoacrylate (edepnding on hether there is a gap) between bath and walls to lock the bastard into place firmly.
Any flexure in the bath is taken care of by shims and bloccks and battens glued to the bath with car body filler, and I run a batten along the exterior edge to take the panelling, glued with gobs of car body filler.
Ive ven thouight about, but not used, expanding foamn underneath to lock the whole assembly in place.
The latter. Once the bath is in place mechanically, do the4 silicone thing between bath and wall, but only enough to seal it. My bath edges are so bloody rigid that I don't need a flexible sealer: I just tile down to withing a grout width of the bath edge (you did level the bath with a level, didn't you) and then fill with grout.
No. Its fine. As long as you tile it and don't let water get behind it. That means decent grout and maybe waterproofing additve, though I don't normally bother.
Decent baths cots seriosu money. You ca get a ceapo flexi steel or plastic bath for a 100 or two, but a quality steel, cast iron or acrylic will cost 400 or more.
You can make a cheapo plastic much more solid as described above. Ive done it both ways - cheap bath and structure, and expepnsive bath (and still structure) I like the expebsive bath, but don't buy from ditz shops, buy online from big wholesalers. What is 600 quid in a ditz shop may be only 300 in builders merchants with sensible discount.
And follow a bathroom fitters advice 'cheap china and taps and expensive tiles is a better use of your money'
Personally, I'd just stick with the plasterboard. However, it is ESSENTIAL to do a good tiling job if using a non-waterproof background. Use a top quality adhesive suitable for swimming pools (not some value readymix adhesive + grout s**te). Ensure (lift occasional tiles to check) that you are fully filling behind the tile with no air gaps. Use a quality grout with antifungal additives and narrowish joins. Really fill the gaps with the grout. Seal the grout with Lithofin KF StainStop.
Dunno about France, but I got my bath from City Plumbing (pretty reasonable for a corner bath), and my towel rail from screwfix (about 85 quid) - really pleased with both.
And I dunno about England, but Brico-marche have 600w 1200mm electric towel heater/radiators for 119 euros atm, sometimes they are down to
65-75 euros. I got our plumbed in one for 35 euro but haven't seen those prices since, usually 75 euros ish. Baths start at 50 euros ish, corner baths at 80 euros ish.
The only place which I know you can find prices online is
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which would give you some idea, but the offers come and go all the time.
The general answer, as others have given is to tile down, but on the bath I've recently installed I tiled first.
In this case our tiles were about 12mm thick, which with the aditional adhesive thickness would have given an appearance which I wouldn't have found acceptable if tiling down. Silicon was applied right around the edges before the bath was pushed agianst the tiles, and the bath was screwed very securely to the wall.
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