Nothing says luxury more than a beautiful freestanding bath elegantly placed in the centre of a grand and spacious bathroom. But even those of us with moderately-sized bathrooms can still enjoy the statement that a stand alone bath tub brings. In fact, a freestanding bath is even an option in small bathrooms thanks to the variety of sizes and shapes that are available.
One of the biggest concerns about opting for a freestanding bath is installation, so to help, we've pulled this guide together to understand exactly how to install and plumb one with ease.
There is a common misconception that freestanding baths are a hassle to have installed and involve significant disruption, which is not necessarily the case. Installing a freestanding bath can be as straight forward as plumbing in an ordinary bath, so long as you have done your research and are confident with the process. We would always recommend asking your local plumber to help with any installation like this, as it's important it's done correctly to ensure no leaks or damage which can lead to more costs.
Plumbing a Freestanding Bath
When it comes to plumbing a freestanding bath, it generally works in the same way as a regular bath tub being plumbed in. It has a waste in the front leading to the drain pipe adjacent to the hot and cold water pipes that stop at your tub, or continue up to your shower. The only difference is that a regular bath has plumbing that works behind the scenes, whereas freestanding plumbing works from the front and centre. But what's great about that is that the plumbing can also work as a design feature.
First of all, your plumber will need to turn off your property's main water supply at the stopcock. After carefully unwrapping your bath, your plumber will then carefully turn the bath upside down so that they can fit the feet on, if you have opted for that style. It is advisable to lay the bath on a doubled up dust sheet to avoid scratching the enamel or acrylic surface. The feet should be screwed in with no more than 20mm screws as any longer may damage the bath. The height of the bath may then be measured either side with a tape measure to check each side is set to the desired height. Once the bath is set to the correct height the screws in the feet should be secured firmly.
NOTE: Freestanding baths must be positioned with a minimum 50mm gap between the bath and any wall surface. This is to allow for subtle movement as you enter and exit the bath.
At this point your bath may be raised onto some timber slabs to allow access under the bath to make the final connections.
Drilling Tap Holes & Tap Installation
For a stand alone bath tub that will be paired with a standard bath mixer tap, check whether it has pre-drilled tap holes. If not, then your plumber will need to drill the bath to fit your mixer taps and waste, using masking tape to layout where on the bath the holes are going to be drilled.
Your plumber will mark the centre line of the bath allowing 90mm either side to give 180mm for mixer tails then drill holes in the centre of the rim using a 32mm tank cutter.
Having drilled through the bath safely, the masking tape marking the area will need to be peeled off in order to mount the bath mixer securely to the rim of the bath. There will be flexible tap connectors already attached to the tap, which will then be attached to the hot and cold supplies directly.
Cleargreen Saturn Freestanding Bath - 1700 x 750mm
£959.99
Julia Freestanding Back to Wall Acrylic Bath - 1680 x 800mm
£1,079.99
Burlington Windsor Roll Top Bath with Luxury Feet - 1500 x 750mm & 1690 x 745mm
From £904.99
Putting Pipe Work in Place
If you are going to pair with freestanding bath taps, start by marking out the bath position on the bare floor boards, then mark out the position of the pipe work in relation to the bath. Next, your plumber will need to drill holes for the supply pipes before gently lifting the floor boards to run the pipe work up through the holes, leaving copper tails sticking out enough to connect onto (taking into account thickness of ply, adhesive & floor tiles if applicable). Your pipe work should now be capped off and tested for any leaks, before the floorboards are put back, along with the ply and tile (if applicable).
Once that stage is completed, your plumber will run 22mm hot and cold supplies under the floor to where the bath will sit, then connect two bends to the pipe work, slide over the chrome shrouds and then connect the copper pipes to the taps in the same way that regular taps are fitted.
After that, it's time to fix down the chrome stands to the floor, the chrome sleeves should then slide or screw into position. The taps should come with instructions as to what centres your pipes need to be and how much copper to have sticking up through the finished floor.
Once your pop up waste has been fitted, your plumber will connect the bath waste into the floor through pre-drilled holes. Now everything is in place, your plumber will disconnect the pipe work and remove the timber framing in order to position the bath in its correct place. Once all the pipe work is re-connected your plumber should undertake a wet test to check everything is in the right place and working well with no leaks. If your bath has claw feet that are secured to the floor, it is at this point that your plumber will fix them to the floor.
To finish off, ensuring the surfaces of your bath are completely dust and grease free, your plumber will add a silicone bead along the joints between the panel and floor to secure the installation. After allowing 24 hours for the silicone bead to dry, your new freestanding bath is ready for you to take a glorious long soak in!
Billy Fluted Freestanding Bath - 1700 x 800mm
£899.99
Drench Reinforced Essence Freestanding Bath - 1500 x 640mm & 1700 x 690mm
From £1,099.99
Charlotte Edwards Belgravia Freestanding Bath
From £1,179.99
We hope this article has been useful to understand the process of installing and plumbing a freestanding bath. Your plumber should also be able to run through the specifics of your own space and how that affects the install too.
If you'd like more information on freestanding baths, check out our comprehensive Freestanding Baths Guide.
We're always here to help with any information you need, especially when considering which freestanding bath will work best in your bathroom. Just get in touch with us via the Help Hub and we'll be happy to help!
