Baths

Baths come in all shapes and sizes so it can be a bit of a challenge deciding on the right bath for you.  We have details of all the major bath styles, sizes and materials to help you reach your decision.

Baths can be separated into three basic types - straight baths, freestanding baths and corner baths.

This site has had a major upgrade and there are now many more pages available with a lot more information on baths - click the following button to find out more:

 baths

Roll Top Baths

Roll top baths have always been popular for Victorian style bathrooms, but manufacturers are now also making freestanding baths for use in modern bathroom designs.

Roll top bath sizes are normally slightly larger than the standard 1700x700mm and because the baths are very deep they tend to hold a lot of water - up to 250litres.

When choosing any large bath, as well as making sure your heating system is up to the task of filling it, you should also ensure that the bathroom floor can take the extra weight.

Straight Baths

As they are the most popular bath style in the UK, straight baths offer the widest choice of sizes and design. Most of these are offered at the standard size of 1700x700mm although there are some small baths available if you are really pushed for space. Baths larger than the standard size are becoming increasingly common as customers look for a little more luxury in their bathrooms.

Although the external dimensions of the bath are important you should also pay particular attention to the internal dimensions. The gently contoured, sculpted lines inside the bath may look nice but they can also encroach into the bathing area and can even make a large bath feel cramped.

Corner Baths

If you are bored with your current bathroom setup, you could consider installing a corner bath.

These come in a variety of sizes and styles and are suitable for use in all but the smallest of bathrooms.

One problem with corner baths is the lack of "lying down room". They tend to offer a lot more width when lying down but considerably less length.

The smallest size available is 1100x1100mm which should only be considered if you have no other option as these corner baths are very small. 1500x1500mm corner baths are available but you need a big bathroom to accommodate them. You also need to take into account the amount of water need to fill the bath. A standard size straight bath holds about 155 litres of water whereas a 1400x1400mm corner bath could hold as much as 210 litres.

Offset corner baths offer a good compromise as they have reasonable legroom and take around 180lt to fill. Size wise, they normally measure around 1500x1000mm.

Bath Materials

Baths are made from enamelled steel, enamelled cast iron, fibreglass-reinforced acrylic sheet and less commonly, ABS. All these materials have their faults - if something heavy is dropped in a cast iron bath or steel bath they are liable to chip, whereas acrylic and ABS baths are liable to scratch. The advantage of the plastic baths is that scratches can be polished out (if not too deep) but chips in a cast iron or steel enamel bath are very difficult to hide and can lead to the bath rusting. Cast iron and steel baths are more rigid than most acrylic or ABS baths but they are colder to the touch.

Although acrylic baths are available in different thicknesses (5mm 8mm 10mm) the quality of the fibreglass reinforcing and the thickness of the baseboard will have just as much bearing on the rigidity of the bath in-situ. You should be aware that many budget baths have little reinforcing and are very flimsy as a consequence.

Overall, there is not much to choose between the different materials as they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Cleaning Baths

Any abrasive or strong chemical cleaners can have a detrimental effect on a new bath tub. Check the bath manufacturer's instructions for any recommended cleaner. Gold effect bath grips, wastes and taps can be severely damaged by strong chemical cleaners containing bleach etc - again check with the manufacturers instructions.