Bath advice

[fourforksache]

Wondered if anyone can give me some pros & cons on different types of bath please? I'm planning to redo the bathroom next spring. We have an acrylic bath that makes me edgy as it flexed when I stand in it .

I'm looking for something that will last 10 years & will take a "heavy load".

Thanks all.

acrylic baths should be perfectly able to stand weight IF properly installed. That means the support legs, plus an edge support, plus solid expanding foam resting on bricks. (top tip from our plumbers merchant)

steel or iron baths mean the water goes cold very quickly. They've gone out of fashion for a reason.

meantime I'd look under that bath - wonder if you have a leak which is wrecking the floor beneath it? If you don't want a surprise trip downstairs check NOW.

I may not be right, but I thought you got different thicknesses of acrylic. The very expensive acrylic baths are much less flexy than say £200 wickes ones.

I would definitely spend a good sum of money on an acrylic bath. I have just looked on the Duravit web site and their acrylic for the Vero bath is 5mm. Therefore I would look upon this as a minimum and also consider the fixing of the bath. Modern high quality baths do not flex and are sturdy.

Carronite bath is meant to be sturdy and won't lose heat like a steel one.

I had a http://www.kaldewei.nationwide-bathrooms.co.uk/saniform-plus/baths/kaldewei-saniform-plus-single-ended-steel-enamel-bath.html Kaldewei steel bath for 10 years in my old house and it was fab, sturdy (even with large DH in it) and still looked brand new when we left. Never found it too cold. Have just installed the same one at this house.

I've got a Carronite bath, it's really good!
It's completely stable and retains heat very well. I chose a really deep one.

We have a kaldewei steel one - a shower bath version. Pro's - smooth, solid, very durable enamel surface. I don't really notice the water going cold, it's not like those cast iron ones used to to be. We were thinking of packing the void under with loft insulation but haven't felt the need.

I agree a good quality acrylic one will probably be fine but we were looking for a particular combination of size, shape and tap layout.

I also have carronite bath and it doesn't flex at all when I stand on it. (It's 5mm I think, forgot already - sorry). I did look into Kaldewei steel baths too, but I just found a better deal with the carronite one.

steel baths retain heat better than acrylic once heated

I've just bought a steel bath. I think the heat thing is acrylic is warmer to touch then steel but it doesn't hold the heat longer.

Steel ones are OK. It's the old cast iron ones that absorb a vast amount of heat, and the traditional shape also holds more water than more modern designs.

Consider how much energy it takes to raise the temperature of a hundredweight and a half of cast iron from 20C to 50C. It was even worse in cold old houses where it might have started out at 10C. I wouldn't ever have one again.

Acrylic baths are also fine, but they can be chipped and scratched if you drop something sharp in them.