I am struggling to find a bath

[GatoradesDream]

I am in the process of having my family bathroom refurbished and I can not find a bath that I want to put into the room.

The flooring is staying in place and as a result the waste can not be moved. The positioning of the waste (comes in sideways from he skirting board rather than through the floor) I will need a freestanding bath which is raised on feet.

I can't find a roll top bath that doesn't look cheap and plasticy. I would put in a cast iron bath but the bathroom fitter is concerned that the floor tiles won't take the weight over time and may crack (the joists are apparently fine). I would like a white roll top bath with white feet. I may paint the bath in the future. I want it to not be too glossy and not have a thick rim around it. I don't want to pay more than 1,500 and I can't find a thing!

Any ideas?

I hate to query your fitter, but the weight of a bath is mostly you and the water in it. If you are prepared to spend £1500 on a bath, why don't you have a decent floor? Why would the tiles crack? That suggests they are not laid on a base that does not move. Get into any bath full of water and it weighs a lot.

I have a decent roll top one from the Bathstore. It's not enormous but looks good. Why not have a built-in bath? Just hide everything. You would then get a good sized bath and decent quality with a wide choice. I would sort out the floor though.

I do wonder if the fitter is just covering himself. It is a well built Edwardian house so I don't think it is the underlying floor or joists that is the problem. His concern seems to be cracking tiles rather than the floor itself. The tiles were already in the room and I like them so I don't want to replace them.

Maybe he just doesn't want to carry a cast Iron bath up the stairs!

If there is a bath in there already, then are the tiles the real problem? I think it may be more of an access problem. Would it not be possible to go with built in? Lots more options for a high quality comfortable bath.

I have just been reading that steel baths weigh less than cast iron so could this be a solution? I would build in though to hide waste.

A built in bath might be the way to go (and more practical with children if not quite the look I was going for). There was a bath but is was a plasticky looking free standing one which I really didn't like. It was very light in weight though.

I have just had another chat with the fitter, he is also concerned that if I had a 'to the floor' bath which needed the waste to do directly down into the floor (thus destroying the tiles but under the bath so maybe not an issue) then the waste flow away would be at the same level as the shower and it might bubble back up in the shower. I have no idea if this is a legitimate concern!

Steel baths usually fit onto standard floors, they're not too heavy. I hate acrylic baths, they do look cheap and we'll have steel baths in all our bathrooms.

I'd presume the builder's job is to find solutions. You're putting bathroom items into a bathroom. I'd question him more and get a quick second opinion.