Does floor have to be re-enforced for iron bath?

Possom

In my bathroom (1930s house) there's a shower but no bath. Bathroom is on the 1st floor.

If an iron bath is installed, does the floor usually have to be re-enforced due to the weight? The floor is standard timber beams/planks.

DaftyDuck

No, it should be fine. However, get a builder in for a view. If it's always been a bathroom, joists may be rotten from decades of minor leaks. If it's not been such, it's possible floor could do with strengthening.

Doozergirl

A builder can't tell you definitively. Nor should someone online, really.

A structural engineer an calculate the specific loading to check for you.

I have a rather expensive bathroom to install on my project, with a marble floor and freestanding bath and have had to change all of the joists on the instruction of our SE.

What often happens in bathrooms is that plumbers notch into the joists to accommodate pipework. This makes an entire joist only as strong as its weakest point. Successive plumbers over time in an old house can cause genuine problems.

casper_g

Even a plastic bath would be heavy when full of water, so you're right to be cautious. The right answer will depend on the size, span and condition of the joists, and on where you want to put the bath - near where the joists are supported will be better than at the midpoint.

Whatever you do though, don't let anyone cut a foot out of a hoist under the bath to accommodate the waste pipe!

sew_what

In the 1930s the original bath would have been cast iron.........

Keith99

I've just cut out my cast iron bath, good luck getting it up the stairs!

27col

I have removed several cast iron baths over the years. There was certainly no sign of reinforcement of the floors.
I remember breaking up one in situ with a sledge hammer. Talk about "the bells, the bells" Absolutely deafening.
By the way, if anyone is tempted to do this. Make sure that there is a sheet covering the inside. The enamel shards are absolutely vicious. Safety goggles and ear defenders are also essential.
However, times change. Maybe there is a market for S/H cast iron baths today

DaftyDuck

In passable condition, well over a thousand quid.... Smashing!

I doubt many structural engineers were employed when the baths were originally put in, either.

tuannb030

you have multiple designs or unborn? My every shower is fitted

lstar337

Did I just witness the birth of a spammer?

DaftyDuck

lstar337 wrote: »

Did I just witness the birth of a spammer?

Spambot, I'd say Even a new initiate spammer tends to make a little more sense. Mind you, I'd buy an unborn shower online from anyone, mug that I am!