Bath/Bathroom query

aliasojo

I want to put a 1800 x 700/800 bath in a space that measures 1790.

I've been advised that many baths are not exactly the quoted size and could well be + or - 5 or 10mm.

If the bath we want is under the quoted length then that's ok, but if it's exactly 1800 or slightly over, it obviously wont fit.

I'm now thinking that as our walls are timber stud and plasterboard, it would be simple enough to cut a rectangular horizontal chase in the wall at one (or both if necessary) end(s) so the bath would fit.

The plasterboard is 12.5 mm thick so cutting this away would supply the required extra space.

Trouble is, I'm woondering if I'm missing something. I did read that plumbers used to regularly 'embed' baths into the wall years ago but I'm not sure if this kind of thing is what they meant.

Is there any reason why I couldn't do this? The walls would be tiled around the bath so it would be a neat finish I think.

The only thing I can think of is that I would never get the bath out again after the walls were tiled. Since the bath is supposed to carry a 50 year guarantee, I'm hoping I wont need to take it out again!. There again, it's acrylic so I suppose I could just break or saw it out if need be.

Is there any practical pitfalls I need to be aware of? I almost ordered online this morning, but there's a nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I'm not doing the right thing.

Any input please?

lipidicman

Dont worry about getting it out. Any removal of a bath means you have to do some repair of the tiles, especially if you have used the plastic trim which goes under the tiles and sealed it all up.

If the bath is over by 10mm you will be in real trouble even with a slot cut. Can you cut a slot in the other walls plaster? I also heard that baths used to be fitted into slots cut in the wall for a better seal.

aliasojo

Yes, lipidicman....the wall at the other end is exactly the same construction so shouldn't be a problem.

I thought if the worst came to the worst, I could also chisel out a small area from the stud upright if need be. We're probably only talking a few mil at most.

I don't know if it will be physically possible to actually fit it in though even although the gap would be technically wide enough by cutting into the wall. It would have to be angled diagonally...fitted into one end and the other end would then be lowered. If I have to cut into both end walls...I can see the bath getting stuck on the way down at it wouldn't be able to fit into the other end chase until it was actually on the floor and in situ. Does that make sense? Quite hard to explain what I mean.

With regard to the baths being fitted into the wall....I was never sure if this meant as I described above....or whether it was just the brackets for the bath that were embedded?

HeMan_3

I have just faced a similar problem. My current bath is 1675 and the new one is 1700. My plumber has told me that he is planning to chiasel the plaster board, and that this is common practice. He did mention that on my house the tiles have to be an inch deep below the top of the bath tub.

aliasojo

Thanks Heman. The more backup I get for this plan, the happier I feel.

I don't quite understand the bit about the tiles though.

If the plumber has to chisel out plaster, then the bath will be in the wall....how would you tile below the top of the bath tub?

Plasticman

I've fitted a few baths and have always embedded them into the walls to get a better seal. Never done this with plasterboard walls though so not sure if it makes a difference.

aliasojo

Anyone know if plasterboard is ok to do this to?????

lipidicman

aliasojo wrote:

I don't know if it will be physically possible to actually fit it in though even although the gap would be technically wide enough by cutting into the wall. It would have to be angled diagonally...fitted into one end and the other end would then be lowered. If I have to cut into both end walls...I can see the bath getting stuck on the way down at it wouldn't be able to fit into the other end chase until it was actually on the floor and in situ. Does that make sense? Quite hard to explain what I mean.

Yes, perfect sense. If you hadn't mentioned it, I was going to!

With my tiles, I did it with the bath in place. Tiled from 2" above the bath. Then filled the bath (to weigh it down), sealed to the wall. Then embedded a plastic trim along with silicon and with tile adhesive to the wall. Then tiled over the trim to give a neat finish. The silicon is thick and covered with the rounded trim so it looks good several years later. You have to make sure you get it right as you cant patch it up after. Only empty the bath when the whole lot is dry!

aliasojo

Ok, I'm going to order an 1800. I'm going to have another look at some of them and maybe phone the manufacturer to query likelihood of bath being over rather than under size quoted. Don't know if they can offer advice re that, but worth a try. I might get an idea of how much they would be over if they were over at all.

Walls have just been newly plasterboarded so no tiles to worry about at the moment. Will tile once bath is in.

Anyone have any experience of 'Carron' baths. Or recommendations for good quality bath? Must be acrylic and substantially strong.

tr3mor

my mum had this done in her bathroom, considerably more than 10mm too, at one end of the bath the tiles are level with the top of the inside of the bath if you get what i mean. and it's fine.

edit: this was into plasterboard.

Lemoncurd

aliasojo wrote:

Anyone have any experience of 'Carron' baths. Or recommendations for good quality bath? Must be acrylic and substantially strong.

We've just had one installed so no real experience but it looks good quality. These cost a bit more but they also do a toughened much stronger acrylic for some models, I think they call it "carronite" or something similar.