As part of my bathroom renovation I’m having a Kaldewei steel bath fitted, I say having but it’s actually already been installed and the tiling has been done. It still needs silicone + bath panel made and fitted, however my concern is there’s no anchors or supports for the bath (just the legs which are on what looks like plywood off-cuts).

Planning to speak to the plumber & carpenter today but I’m sure they’ll come back and say additional supports aren’t needed but from googling around it seems a lot of people either frame or anchor the bath. Is it still important on a steel bath to give additional support around the rim? Also Kaldewei do sell bath anchors but describe them as an option (being a cheap house the two walls that the bath sits against are just 4 sheets of bonded plasterboard rather than a proper stud wall so not sure anchors would work anyhow, or are they OK just into plasterboard?

It seems to me though without anchoring (even at the feet) some sideways pressure on the bath from the back wall (e.g. lose balance when taking a shower) would just be relying on the silicone + weight of the bath to hold it in place, is that enough? The old bath wasn’t anchored and seemed OK.

If the rim should be braced, it’s too late to run horizontal batons now but would adding some vertical supports and jamming the under the bath rim help/be worthwhile?

I can’t actually find any ‘official’ bath installation instructions or requirements to confirm what’s required and what’s optional.

I fitted a Kaldewei steel bath when I did my bathroom. No need for any additional support round the top, but I did make up some brackets from steel straps to clamp the feet to the floor. Might not be officially needed, but I felt it was a good plan. It’s still rock solid 8 years on.

Being steel, it should be earth bonded too.

we’ve got a plastic rolltop thing on feet, and if you sit on the edge too hard, it’ll tip, and you get up sharpish. Less of an issue with 150kgs of water in it, obvs.

I’ve just moved and refitted mine. There was no additional support, just the legs, and it was fine for years. The silicone actually held it pretty securely and it was remarkably hard to remove. Refitted it in a similar manner and it’s been fine so far.

Just to add it’s unlikely you need earth bonding, in fact for most installs it’s recommended that you don’t bond it. There is no single solution for every install so you need to check though

Cheers, might ask if they can screw the legs more securely and leave it at that (there’s no screw holes in the feet but it can’t be that hard to rig something up…). I know he’s getting a bit pissed off at me reading stuff on the Internet and questioning how things are done but I had to convince him to tank the walls above the bath (that’s going to have a fairly powerful shower going in it), he said it wasn’t necessary but pretty much everything I read said it was worth doing (I’m paying the extra anyhow so surprised he resisted at all).

As you say, you are paying him extra to have it how you want it, so he shouldnt have a problem.

Im with you ,just because someone is an “expert” , does not mean they are right , and its your prerogative to question them. You are the one who has to live with it at the end of day.

Applies to most walks of life, not just builders

being a cheap house the two walls that the bath sits against are just 4 sheets of bonded plasterboard rather than a proper stud wall

What?

Is this a thing?

IMO  the bath should be fully framed in strong timber all around the edge.  Anything else is an utter bodge and will move and leak around the sides.  Even steel baths will flex unless they are really thick old skool cast iron ones

There is no real need to frame a steel bath if it is installed properly. If extra framing is needed to stop it leaking, then it wasn’t installed properly.

No need to fix the feet to the floor either (that’s why they don’t have screw holes in them a lot of the time)

You can if you want obviously, but there is no need.

It’s not a “utter bodge” to do things properly in the first place, so you don’t need the extra “belt and braces” approach of extra framing and screwing everything down that you can get to.

If every bath needed framing, then manufacturers would be on it like a flash, selling custom frames with every bath. But they don’t.

(Ex plumber/bathroom fitter)

I can’t actually find any ‘official’ bath installation instructions or requirements to confirm what’s required and what’s optional.

depends what you intend on doing in it. I framed ours…. 😉

I installed a tin bath in our house. Fully framed it to about it moving been fine no leaks. Also means I can stand on the outside edge to reach the shower curtain.

Neal – how do you “install it properly” without framing it?

Most bathroom fitters don’t bother I know – but in my house?  ~all baths are properly framed.

There is no real need to frame a steel bath if it is installed properly. If extra framing is needed to stop it leaking, then it wasn’t installed properly.

No need to fix the feet to the floor either (that’s why they don’t have screw holes in them a lot of the time)

You can if you want obviously, but there is no need.

Interesting, that’s pretty much exactly what he says (so then it becomes a case of if I question it it’s me implying he’s not doing the basic install properly rather than actually I just want peace of mind it’s done as securely as possible). Him and his team are doing a good job and I’m sure it’s all to standard etc. it’s just been a couple of things where I’ve read it’s worth doing a bit extra, just to be absolutely sure, that I’ve had a problem with (from the start I’ve said I don’t want to cut any corners to save on costs, I’m renovating as I want a nice bathroom not to try and sell the house or something).

I haven’t tried to put a lot of weight on it (tiles were already up before I realised there was no support apart form the legs) but it does flex a bit if pushed although I’m sure silicone could cope with that, bit worried if someone did sit on the bath edge it would flex more than silicone could cope with.

What?

Is this a thing?

Hah, unfortunately so (I’d not heard of it before either). House was built 25 years ago and I guess corners were cut. It’s just braced at the sides on the walls less than a plasterboard width and in the middle as well (vertical 2×2) on the longer wall. I guess with a hard shove you could probably take the wall down :p

Hah, unfortunately so (I’d not heard of it before either). House was built 25 years ago and I guess corners were cut.

I was being sarcastic. It’s not a thing. …. at least not in my 25 years experience in the construction industry.  I’d be more worried about that than a bit of flex in a steel bath.

For my next trick, I’m going to instruct TJ on how we fit catheters to patients in my house because anything else would be a total bodge. 😉

House was built 25 years ago and I guess corners were cut.

Guy I knew lived in a 16th century cottage. He took the knackered bit of hardboard out the back of the built in wardrobe in his bedroom. Behind it was the inside of the equivalent wardrobe in his next door neighbours house.

He said they’d always thought they could hear quite a lot of what the neighbours were up to…

PP

I just do not get how you can secure a bath properly without framing it.

As for catheters  pop round to my house and I’ll fit one for you 😉

“Being steel, it should be earth bonded too.”

Not in the majority of cases it doesnt.Only if circuits in, and passing through, the bathroom are not RCD protected, should supplementary bonding be used to bond all extraneous metalwork to the bathroom circuits earth.

This ‘bonding of sinks and baths’ was from the 15th and 16th editions of the wiring regs, from the 60’s onwards.  We’re on the 18th edition in 2 months time.There is no need to bond a bath or sink if all cicruits in, or passing through the bathroom/shower are RCD protected.

<span class=”skimlinks-unlinked”>There</span> is no need to bond a bath or sink if all cicruits in, or passing through the bathroom/shower are RCD protected.

Cool…does this mean I’m now ok using my toaster in the bath?