Best small bath?

Slinky_Malinky

Hi,

I hate my corner bath and want to replace it with a straight one. Due to the position of my shower cubicle I will have to make do with a straight bath that is a maximum 1400mm long. I know this is not ideal, but tbh I always shower and while my 9 year old currently takes baths I expect him to be using the shower within the next few years so I am happy to have the smaller bath ( fitting a full size bath would mean putting it on another wall, moving the radiator, water and waste pipes which I don`t feel is worth the effort or cost) Not too worried about resale value of house as no plans to move and if I did then the buyer could get a full size bath fitted if it bothered them that much....no doubt they would want to remodel the whole room to their taste anyway.

I have googled and searched this forum and have found three possible baths by Kaldewi, Carron and Bette....



http://www.qssupplies.co.uk/bathroom-furniture-shower-taps/1795.htm

http://www.bathrooms365.com/acatalog/Carron_Delta_1400_x_700_Bath.html

http://www.boundarybathrooms.co.uk/Baths/Steel-Baths/Bette-Form-Rectangular-Bath-Normal-Gauge-1400-x-700mm_1956.html

The Bette baths seem to be well liked but I found a mention online that some foreign baths do not allow space for taps to be fitted on them as it is more popular abroad to have them wall mounted. There is nowhere local to me where I can see these baths so please can anyone comment on the quality of them and whether I am likely to have trouble fitting taps on? Any other brands I should consider? I have tried researching the plastic versus steel question but it seems opinions differ greatly depending who you ask. I have never had a steel bath, only ever cheap plastic ones so have no experience to compare.

Any advice on where to buy is also welcome.

Thanks in advance,
Slinky

WestonDave

At the risk of not answering the question and making life harder - have you considered replacing your shower cubicle and bath with a shower bath. You could get a full length bath in, but with a shower bath you have the extra space at the shower end which means you avoid the cold curtain effect you normally get when showering over a normal bath. We had an Adamsez shower bath in our old house which was a really good option as we couldn't fit a seperate cubicle in unless we removed the bath altogether.

Good plastic baths are generally fine although will scratch if you try hard enough - they tend to be less cold so you won't lose as much heat when filling it. Steel baths are more rigid but tend to greater heat loss. As with anything there are cheap naff versions of both!

Slinky_Malinky

Thanks for your fast reply Weston Dave. I have never used a shower over a bath, always had a seperate cubicle. In this house the shower has a fully tiled plasterboard wall on one side and a glass door on the front (glass door faces the end of the bath hence needing small bath to step out of shower) so ripping it out would make a lot of mess and I am not re-tiling.

Good suggestion though and may be suitable for anyone searching the forum in the future.

Cheers,
Slinky

ukmaggie45

You can get the Kaldewei baths with 2 holes pre-drilled. We just had one fitted, though not used yet as water not installed in our renovation yet. Ours is 8000mm long I think. Here's a picture of the tap end of the bath (sorry the tap is covered), the shower hasn't got the hose etc on it yet. But might give you an idea what it looks like.


Tap end of bath and shower mixer by ukmaggie45, on Flickr

Slinky_Malinky

Thanks for the photo, definitely plenty of room for taps :T

elsien

I'm fairly sure the Carron delta can have tap holes drilled as well - I was looking at them earlier in the year, and the specifications said
Bath comes without tap holes (these to be drilled as required).
(just checked again to be sure.)

Slinky_Malinky

Thanks elsien, when you saw the Carron bath, did it seem decent quality?

ukmaggie45

Slinky_Malinky wrote: »

Thanks for the photo, definitely plenty of room for taps :T

Forgot to say that the two tap holes are joined across for a single tap on our bath. IYSWIM.

I'll try get better pics (at least take the plastic bag off the tap and associated hardware ) if we get to the house tomorrow and I remember while I'm there. Plus if vertigo allows me to climb the stairs with no banister to reach the bathroom! Hopefully can get OH to take photos if I can't make it to the first floor.

ukmaggie45

andrew-b wrote: »

That's a long bath ..8metres (over 26 feet!)

Yeah Andy, I'm not doing too well at the mo since the dreaded intestinal lurghi visited last Tuesday night. Brain gone walkabout, but still trying to join in. OP, sorry if I misled you, but guess you prob realised I made a silly mistake.

Slinky_Malinky

Lol yes I had guessed your bath was probably 1800mm long. I am planning a bath/shower mixer tap so it would meet in the middle just like yours.

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough, I hope you recover quickly. I am assuming you are happy with the quality of your Kaldewi as you have bought it rather than any other brand.

Take care,
Slinky

ukmaggie45

Slinky_Malinky wrote: »

Lol yes I had guessed your bath was probably 1800mm long. I am planning a bath/shower mixer tap so it would meet in the middle just like yours.

I think it's 800 mm long. Wanted 900mm but bathroom too small!

Slinky_Malinky wrote: »

Sorry to hear you are feeling rough, I hope you recover quickly. I am assuming you are happy with the quality of your Kaldewi as you have bought it rather than any other brand.

Thanks for your kind wishes. As yet we don't have an opinion on the Kaldewei as we haven't used it yet, and are unlikely to get into the house (we're doing a renovation) before late Spring. But the bathroom place we used recommended them, and we've been happy with their help for the bathroom and the downstairs shower room. And their help in making choices.

Downside is Kaldewei are pricey. I guess it depends on what you need from your bathroom. This is our final home, so we're more inclined to pay a bit more than maybe we wouldn't have done 40 years ago. Best of luck sorting out your bathroom. :beer: