Bathrooms Explained -Baths

Acrylic Baths

This is the most common material now used to produce baths in the UK and Europe. Acrylic comes in several thicknesses most commonly 3mm, 5mm, 8mm and 10mm. The thicker the bath does not mean the stronger the bath, the acrylic is there to hold the colour and maintain a waterproof barrier, the strength of the bath is a combination of the glass-reinforced plastic which is sprayed on the underside of the bath and the acrylic.

Manufacturing 

A sheet of Acrylic 5mm thick is heated and pulled into a mould to make the shapes of the baths, rectangular, circular, corner or square.

The acrylic mould is then sprayed with glass-reinforced plastic on the underside of the bath to give the bath more strength

A chipboard base is then fitted to the bottom of the bath to give the acrylic bath more rigidity for stepping in and out of.

Another layer of Glass-reinforced plastic is then sprayed on again to fully encapsulate the bath, again adding extra strength.

Fitting

Before installation the protective packaging on the bath should be removed and the bath inspected, we then recommend that the bath is to be re-covered for protection during installation.

All acrylic baths are supplied with no tap holes and it is down to the installer to drill the baths as required to suit the choice of taps.

Maintaining Acrylic baths.

All Acrylic baths are designed to give many years of reliable service provided they are maintained and cared for.

These are our recommendations:-

• Clean up immediately after use to stop a build up dirt and scale.

• Use warm soapy water, CIF cream cleaner or Domestos multi surface cleaner.

• Fix dripping taps – this stops scale and lime scale build up.

• Minor scratches and abrasions can be polished out with a mild polishing compound like Brasso.

We recommend that you don’t:-

• Leave soap and shampoo pools, these can cause permanent stains.

• Never use household or commercial cleaning chemicals with bleach incorporated it can damage the acrylic.

• Do not use scouring products, acrylic can scratch.

Double Skinned Acrylic baths

Double skin acrylic baths are free standing baths that are either traditional or contemporary, very much like the cast iron versions but not as heavy.

Manufacturing

The best way to describe these baths is a “bath in a bath!”

* Firstly they take a 5mm sheet of acrylic and mould the shape of the bath.

* Another mould is then made inside out to fit directly inside the bath.

* Both undersides of the bath are sprayed with Glass-reinforced plastic.

* A base board is then fitted between the 2 sheets of acrylic for extra support and strength.

* The floor mounted baths are fitted with adjustable legs on a frame to give extra support and for fitting purposes.

* Each bath has a specific waste and a specific tap position.

Maintaining the baths

To maintain the bath the same rules apply to the Double skin Acrylic baths as they do the acrylic baths:

These are our recommendations:-

• Clean up immediately after use to stop a build up dirt and scale.

• Use warm soapy water, CIF cream cleaner or Domestos multi surface cleaner.

• Fix dripping taps – this stops scale and lime scale build up.

• Minor scratches and abrasions can be polished out with a mild polishing compound like Brasso.

We recommend that you don’t:-

• Leave soap and shampoo pools, these can cause permanent stains.

• Never use household or commercial cleaning chemicals with bleach incorporated it can damage the acrylic.

• Do not use scouring products, acrylic can scratch.

Cast Iron Baths

Cast Iron is the material from which most baths used to be made and is now most commonly used for freestanding baths.

Manufacturing

The Cast Iron Baths are moulded and fired to an exceptional heat. When the bath is heated to the sufficient temperature the cast iron bath is enamelled by fusing a thick coat of powder enamel to the surface of the red hot surface. This process gives the cast iron bath very individual characteristics.

Characteristics:-

1. The Bath may inherit dimples

2. There may be a degree of surface ripple.

3. There may be evidence of small black specks on the surface of the bath.

These are normal and will not affect the life span of the bath.

Points to remember:-

1. The weight of a standard cast iron bath is in the region of 25 stones without water, spread over 4 legs. With water it approximately weighs 40 stones.

2. Cast Iron Baths come unfinished, customers must metal prime the baths, and then paint them to suit using an oil based paint.

3. A cast iron bath must be painted before the feet are fitted.

4. We recommend that the cast iron baths are cleaned regularly with a non – abrasive cleaner. Wash with warm soapy water after use to get rid of the build up of dirt and scale.

5. Never use any bathroom lime scale remover or any acidic or alkali cleaner unless it has been specifically recommended in the manufactures instructions.

6. Never use bleach on the cast iron bath it will erode the enamel surface.

7. Repair any leaking or dripping taps to ensure no pools of water are left in the bath.

8. Any silver aluminium / metal marks can be carefully removed using a bath rubber.

Recommended additions:

Stand pipes: to carry the water through copper pipes fitted inside with last pipe to pipe fix in the floor - used when the baths have no tap holes, the taps are fitted straight onto the pipes.

Shrouds: as a decorative pipe to cover the copper piping that carries the water; the bath must have tap holes to use these.

An exposed waste: if the pipe work is visible along with a shallow seal bath trap which carries the water out of the house to the main waste.

Bath Wastes

Standard Plug & Chain – This type of waste is the most common waste used on all the majority of baths, more often the traditional suites or baths with Pillar taps.

Pop up waste – a modern type of waste, it is operated by a cable mechanism, very much like a brake cable, the plug pops up and down by turning the overflow.

Click Clack Bath waste – This type of waste is operated with a spring loaded function that is pushed up and down to seal the bath.

Please note that some acrylic freestanding baths and cast iron baths have specific wastes to fit.

Sanitaryware - How to tell the good from the not so good.

Pottery, also known as sanitary ware, ceramics, porcelain and ware.

The first question I had when I started selling pottery was how do you know which is good and which isn't so good? All the companies say they are the best!

Well, like anything you buy, the quality is down to how long you want to use it for, how many times you use it, what you want to pay for it, and how you want it to look.

Let me explain.

There are four basic areas that affect the quality of pottery and its expected lifespan:

The depth of the glaze.

The glaze is the glass-like surface coating which is fired onto the pottery in the kiln when it is made.

The glass enables the pot to be waterproff and protects it from chemicals, such as bleach etc. over its life.

The thicker the glaze generally the longer the life.

Once this glaze goes, wears out, the pot becomes porous, absorbs water and eventually cracks.

The more you use and clean the pottery the faster the glaze wears out.

To make the glaze thicker you have to apply it a layer at a time and each time fire it in the kiln.

This process results in breakages within the kiln.

For example, if I fire 100 pieces of pot once I may get 99 back in one piece, so the 99 pays for the 100.

If I then fire the 99 again I may only get back 80 in one piece so now 80 have to pay for 100.

If I then fire the 80 I may only get 50 back, so now 50 have to pay for 100.

You get the gist of this by now.

If you assume that each layer of glaze lasts approximately 5 - 7 years you can soon see how the system works.

If you glaze once you get less expensive cost to manufacture but the product does not last as long in a house.

The thicker the glaze the longer the lifespan.

Quality of the clay.

The quality of the clay that is used to make pottery is very important.

The reason for this is that the finer the clay the smoother the finish will be on the item being made.

If you use a poorer grade of clay it will have more grit in it and the surface will have a more rippled appearance.

You may also find that because of the increased grit content the pottery is heavier than an item of the same size made with a finer grade of clay.

The finer the clay the more tonnes of rough clay you have to use to refine down to make it.

It is therefore less expensive to produce pottery with a coarse grade of clay.

The overspray (or colour).

The white colour, or whatever colour it happens to be, is applied to the pottery before the glaze. 

Each manufacturer mixes their own colour to try to match it to the colour of the acrylic bath.

The white colour of the acrylic bath is a worldwide standard set by the acrylic manufacturers. 

You need to be aware of this if you wish to mix and match pottery from different manufacturers.

It is usually acceptable to have a toilet and basin from one supplier made to match the bath but if you put a basin from one supplier and a toilet from another and then the bath together it will stand out like a sore thumb.

The thicker the colour is applied, the less fading on the edges takes place and the colour is even over the whole item.

The colour as with the glaze is applied in layers and then has to be left to set before the next coat can be applied.

The fewer coats the quicker the product can be made and the less cost is involved.

The design of the item.

The more intricate the design the more expensive the mould is to make and the more chance there is that you will not always remove it from the mould without damage.

Plainer shapes are usually less expensive.

You should also note that basins, toilets and bidets are made as matched sets.

You will often find that the foot of the pedestal on the basin matches the foot of the toilet pan and that the back of the basin matches the toilet cistern lid.

Bathrooms Explained - Toilets

WC’s

There are 5 types of toilets currently available in the UK.

Close coupled

This is the most common type of toilet in the UK. This type of toilet has the pan and cistern joined together. The advantage of this type is that the pan has a splash back built onto it where it joins the cistern

Back to Wall

This type of toilet is used mainly when having fitted furniture. As with the wall hung toilet the cistern is concealed inside the furniture but the pan is sat on the floor. Alternatively you may have the cistern concealed in a false wall depending on the look you are trying to achieve.

Wall Hung

This type of toilet has the pan hanging on the wall and the cistern concealed in the wall behind it. You do however need to ensure that the pan is supported properly when fitted either by the use of special floor mounting brackets or the use of a frame work. A wall hung pan minimizes the impact of the WC on the design of the room.

High Level

This type of toilet was popular in the Victorian era and is associated most closely with bathrooms of that period. The pan is free standing and the cistern sits on the wall approx 1800 or 6 feet up the wall with chrome or gold flush pipe and a chain pull flush.

Low Level

This type of toilet has a freestanding pan and the cistern sits approx 900mm or 36 inches up the wall with a short flush pipe in between the 2 pieces. Like the High Level, they are most commonly sold with a traditional bathroom and have a chrome or gold flush pipe.

Cistern fittings

Due to British Water Regulations Cisterns now hold 3/6 litres of water and tend to be operated by a dual flush mechanism.

Dual Flush Valve (Dump Valve)

The majority of WC’s are fitted with a dual flush valve or a dump valve as many people know it. The Dual flush valve works by a means of a push button, as you press the button it lifts a valve that instantly releases all the water down through the toilet. This makes the type of flushing mechanism very effective with low levels of water.

The Inlet Valve

The cistern fittings have an inlet valve/refill mechanism that turns the water on and off, when the push button is pressed the dump valve releases the water into the bowl and the filler float (or ball valve) falls. The Valve turns the water on and refills the cistern until the filler float (ball valve) returns to the required level.

Today’s cistern fittings also have an internal overflow which means the water flows back in to the pan if the ball valve fails, it also makes them easier to install.