Good quality basic wc & basin?

pinkladyjune11

We are looking for a simple, good-quality white toilet & basin for our bathroom.

Considering Armitage Shanks 'Sandringham' or Twyford 'Option' - anyone had these?

They are the budget ranges from decent manufacturers (I presume!) - do they compromise on quality or are these just good entry-level basics?

Also, would welcome thoughts on steel v. acrylic baths?

And is it worth paying extra for reinforced acrylic bath (carronite, armour plus etc) - my OH is quite large/heavy (!) and we will be having a shower over bath, so will be standing up in bath. Salesmen say that nowadays the normal acrylic won't flex/creak much, but I am not sure!

Thanks in advance!

TomsMom

We bought both Armitage Shanks and Twyfords a few years ago, A/S for the bathroom suite and Twyfords for the shower room. Both were not overly expensive (purchased from Jewsons) so probably not top of the range. Everything has been fine with both makes.

Our A/S acrylic bath has also been fine but we opted for the thicker acrylic, 8mm (I think) instead of the usual 5mm. Not sure if the thicknesses are the same now, as I said this was a few years ago, possibly about 10 years or so. As your hubby is on the larger side I would say go for the reinforced one (sorry hubby ). We've looked at new bathroom suites recently as we are in the process of moving house and will have to renovate a bathroom and we will again be going for the thicker/reinforced acrylic and OH is just over 11st. We just prefer the better quality.

Also, I think the acrylic will be warmer than the steel, I think the steel bath will lose the heat out of the water quicker than the acrylic. Just make sure you use a non-scratch cleaner.

andrew-b

You could consider an Ideal Standard Idealform plus+ bath. Information on them doesn't seem to appear on the manufacturer website. Before our bathroom plans changed we were considering one ourselves. There is information on them on page 120 onwards in the current Ideal Standard catalogue. They claim to be creak/movement free...plus retain the heat of your bath water longer.

I was going to buy one from here which is where i first discovered about them: http://www.bathrooms365.com/acatalog/Ideal_Standard_Idealform_Plus_Baths.html ..gives you an idea of prices.

Steel is always going to be stronger and has the disadvantage of being far heavier for the installer. Steel baths are much more expensive though and if your going to be standing up showering in the bath an anti-slip surface is highly advisable.


Andy

pinkladyjune11

Thanks for your help!