Adsibob Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I had specified a 1700 x 750 steel bath for our bathroom, but some of the walls in our old 1930s semi are not plumb and could do with some insulation, so we don't quite have enough space for a 1700. Two options: inbed 4cm or so of the bathtub each side into the wall - I know it's pretty standard to tile over the bath tub, but not sure about the hardiebacker board being fitted over the bathtub as well; OR go for a smaller bathtub although I'm reluctant to do this as I'm a tall guy so even 1700 is not that roomy for me, and it's actually really hard to find an affordable steel bathtub in the 750 width in anything other than the standard lengths which tend to be multiples of 100mm. I really don't want to drop down to 1600. I have found bathtubs made from 5mm acrylic lucite in both 1650 lengths and 1675. But I have no experience of this material. There is a Pura Bath that comes with a 25 year warranty so presumably it is fairly hard wearing, but does it feel as sturdy and solid as 3.5mm or even 2.4mm steel? And if I fill the voids around the tub with insulation, will it keep the heat in the bathtub nicely? Anyone have any experience of lucite or Pura? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_r_sole Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 what wall construction do you have where you can take out 40mm of the inner leaf? Acrylic baths are absolutely normal, you can get lots of different specs, it's not as simple as steel vs acrylic - are you having a shower over the bath or is it just a bath? Usually the only time you would "feel" how sturdy a bath is, is when you step in and out (and manoeuvre around in the shower) but I've had both and with a steel bath you'd definitely want insulation around it, I actually changed out my steel bath because it dropped temperature too quickly giving the kids a bath, although it was fine when you ran a proper hot bath and filled it to the brim! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markc Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Although the specific heat capacity of steel is relatively low, its mass is relatively high compared to composte materials so it takes a lot of the heat from the water. Insulation does help but most of the heat is maintained within the steel as opposed to radiating it, this is why filling to the brim results in a warmer bath for longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaryM Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 I 've just purchased two baths, one was a Trojancast 1700 x 750. It's actually smaller as that is it's overall size, bath opening is nearer 1600. The other was a Clearwater 1800 X 800, this was much bigger as the side were less than 10mm thick, so bath opening was nearly 1800, it feels much bigger. It was a resin stone bath, found it on eBay at half price Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 1 hour ago, the_r_sole said: what wall construction do you have where you can take out 40mm of the inner leaf? Acrylic baths are absolutely normal, you can get lots of different specs, it's not as simple as steel vs acrylic - are you having a shower over the bath or is it just a bath? Usually the only time you would "feel" how sturdy a bath is, is when you step in and out (and manoeuvre around in the shower) but I've had both and with a steel bath you'd definitely want insulation around it, I actually changed out my steel bath because it dropped temperature too quickly giving the kids a bath, although it was fine when you ran a proper hot bath and filled it to the brim! The bath is going in a nook in between two walls. One wall is a solid brick wall (no cavity) that is the original wall of the house. The other wall has not been built yet. We were going to go for a stud wall that is 100mm stud plus 12.5mm of plasterboard on one side and/12mm hardie backer on the bathroom side. But my builder has suggested using a thinner wall structural support for the wall, so instead of 100mm studs he had suggested using something that is only 50mm thick. Not sure what, I assume a metal rail as I thought the thinnest timber stud would be 70mm. Anyway, his idea was that we could still fit the 1700 bath by inbedding the lip on one end by 3cm or 4cm on the side where the solid brick wall is by just chipping away a 1cm channel from the solid wall and by using a thinner stud wall on the other side and then building up the wall's hardie backer and tiles over the rim of the bath. I thought this was madness, but then realised (by asking the person who lives there now) to measure the gap between the walls around the 1700 bath we installed at our last place and he told me it's only 165, so they must have overlapped the edge of the bath by 2.5cm on each side there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Won't most thermal losses from a bath be from evaporation. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amp/evaporation-water-surface-d_690.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 5 hours ago, SteamyTea said: Won't most thermal losses from a bath be from evaporation. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/amp/evaporation-water-surface-d_690.html Probably, but other than drape a sheet of polysterene or cling film over the top of the bath whilst you're in there, not sure if you can do anything about that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 10 minutes ago, Adsibob said: other than drape a sheet of polysterene or cling film over the top of the bath whilst you're in there, I shall stop using bubble bath on my long soaks then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bored Shopper Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 I know it's apples and oranges, but both HHMBO and myself find that with age standard long baths, no matter the depth, are becoming quite uncomfortable. And for larger people there is never enough water level. We opted for a soaking bath from Omnitub (with some initial resistance from my sceptical self, admittedly), and I could not be happier with the choice. Our ensuites are very narrow and space was at a premium, but the square deep bathtub fit perfectly and I am having my bubble baths now immersed up to the chin :). Keeps the heat pretty well, and takes a lot of weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 47 minutes ago, Bored Shopper said: I know it's apples and oranges, but both HHMBO and myself find that with age standard long baths, no matter the depth, are becoming quite uncomfortable. And for larger people there is never enough water level. We opted for a soaking bath from Omnitub (with some initial resistance from my sceptical self, admittedly), and I could not be happier with the choice. Our ensuites are very narrow and space was at a premium, but the square deep bathtub fit perfectly and I am having my bubble baths now immersed up to the chin :). Keeps the heat pretty well, and takes a lot of weight. Just had a look at their website. Looks like an interesting concept. I think i remember using something similar at an Onsen in Japan. In terms of practicality though, how do you actually get in and out? They are very deep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bored Shopper Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 15 hours ago, Adsibob said: Just had a look at their website. Looks like an interesting concept. I think i remember using something similar at an Onsen in Japan. In terms of practicality though, how do you actually get in and out? They are very deep! Indeed, the concept is Japanese, it's for proper deep soaking in tight space. Getting in/out is VERY easy - I've got really bad knees and cannot get up from the standard low long bathtub even with grab rails! WIth the omnitub, it's a question of swinging your legs in and sitting down as if you are sitting down on a cushion (one leg bent). Getting up also very easy as the space (we've got a Duo Plus) allows you to move around freely to find the right position from which to raise up. They have flat topside, not rolled, so support is very good. Also they are perfectly flat at the bottom, not semispherical like standar baths, so risk of slipping is very low. Overall, we are fans HHMBO was so keen on the concept that we travelled all the way to Omnitub workshop in Somerset to watch how they make them, and test out all the sizes they had Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 Anyone have an ArmourCast bath? Also made of 5mm lucite, and then sprayed with glass fibre apparently to make it stronger. Comes with a 25 year guarantee. Sounds like the best of both worlds, more insulating than steel, but similarly firm. Sounds too good to be true. What's the catch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Try Trojan Baths. UK made, use Lucite sheet and can be sprayed too but they are very well made even at standard thickness. https://trojan-baths.co.uk/trojan-baths/#double_ended_baths Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Aren't all acrylic baths backed with glassfibre? Our 20yo cleapy corner bath does. Another vote for Trojan here, I paid the few quid extra for the Trojancast upgrade and it makes for a very solid-feeling bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adsibob Posted May 17, 2021 Author Share Posted May 17, 2021 Those who bought a Trojan, where did you get it from? I'm after the Trojancast Algarve 1700 x 750 and just received this from one of the few suppliers who purport to supply them: We are temporally unable to supply Trojancast baths due to extended lead-times from the manufacturer due to Covid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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