Bath Frame Problem

[Sonic70]

Steel supports are set where ideal standard recommend, there's also precooked holes for the legs, so I've put where they say. I've also got the center leg off our old bath which I was going to attach for additional support. Someone at ideal standard said not to sit the white acrylic on my batten but that the baths timber reinforcement should sit on my wall batten, what do you think to this. Really appreciating this help.

 

[Sonic70]

Sitting the white acrylic on my 2x2 would be a lot easier but could you crack the acrylic doing that, that's only reason I could think for ideal recommending not to do it.

 

[Madrab]

Yup, it needs to sit on the baton that's molded into the edge of the bath and not the edge of the acrylic sitting on the wall baton as the edge won't be able to support it properly. Had it a couple of times.

I do what you have in your picture, stick a baton to the molded piece with silicone adhesive, then fit another baton to the wall for the stuck on one to sit on.

 

[JaimieH]

You're making it all far more complicated than it needs to be. Take the height of your bath panel and fit 3 lengths of timber horizontally around the wall at this height from the finished floor level. Sit the bath on these timbers and use plenty of silicone to bond and seal the bath edges to the wall. Once the silicone has gone off the bath edges will be solid. Take up the slack in the legs, tighten everything up and screw feet to floor. Job done.

 

[Sonic70]

manufacturer said not to support using rim edge but to use encapsulated batten

 

[JaimieH]

Sounds like a right faff, manufacturers should provide everything to safely fix the bath to the wall. But if the instructions tell you to fit a wooden batten of your choice to the underside of the bath, and then support this by fixing another wooden batten on the wall then I'm afraid that's what you should do. Not sure how they could ever offer any kind of guarantee though if they ask customers to cobble together their own supports for the bath.

 

[Sonic70]

That's what I'm going to do and then silicone on top to take up the difference due to the uneven fibreglass over wood in bath. Thanks to all of you for your help.

 

[Madrab]

manufacturers should provide everything to safely fix the bath to the wall

They usually do .... it's 2,3 or 4 L shaped brackets that screw in to the moulded baton and then screw to the wall.

Personally I'd go with a doubled baton any day

 

[Sonic70]

Madrab, what would you do at tap end as there is no timber support on bath there, the shower and of the bath is at opposite end. At present I have double battened on long edge and shower end bath.

 

[Madrab]

Stick one in there so it overhangs the bath edge, then attach a baton to the wall for it to sit on. You have the added complication of the taps so you only need small sections, one at the far away section from the back corner then a gap for the cold tap, a small section in the middle, another gap for the hot tap then another small section at the front corner (don't forget to leave enough gap inwards so the panel isn't stopped and will recess enough and then a baton on the wall for them to sit on.

You said the shower is at the top end of the bath, opposite end to the taps/plug hole? Is it a double ended bath?

 

[Sonic70]

Single ended, we've always had shower at other end to the taps.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Single ended, we've always had shower at other end to the taps.

That is unusual, normally the steep slope of the bath makes it awkward and slightly dangerous to have at the end opposite the taps. My own bath, has a built in grippy surface at the tap end, for a shower.

 

[Madrab]

Yup, the shower would normally be at the tap/waste end of the bath, where the end is straight down.

I have seen electric showers placed at the sloping back end of the bath more than a few times but as @Harry Bloomfield mentions, the user then has to stand further back in the bath to avoid the sloping back end. Even then a bath has the fall built into it so even in the middle of the bath they're still on a slope.

Not ideal in my book but certainly not unique.

 

[Sonic70]

Its been that way 20 years.

 

[Sonic70]

Quick question, would you use sanitary sealant to glue bath to frame and wall or general purpose.