Bath waste position - mad design?

ban-all-sheds · 27 Nov 2012

Was looking at a bath the other day, and the waste outlet is not in the middle at one end, it's to the side of the bath, about half way along.

The thing is that it's at the side which would be against the wall (definitely is, because it's an asymmetrical bath, and the other side is not straight).

Am I right in thinking that this is a crazy idea?

Once installed, there would be no way to access it - if ever the trap needed attention, or the pop-up mechanism, or the overflow pipe etc, you'd have to remove the bath.

During installation you'd have to find a way to connect the waste pipe before moving the bath into position.

It seems so barmy I keep thinking I've missed something which will make me go "Doh!"..

hazetimesfive · 27 Nov 2012

i could reach it.

CBF · 27 Nov 2012

& you will normally find the taps on that side too, so now to change the taps you have to take the bath out

ban-all-sheds · 27 Nov 2012

hazetimesfive said:
i could reach it.

How?

TicklyT · 27 Nov 2012

Faced with a bath installation like that, before fitting the tub, I hooked up the taps and waste to tails clipped to the bath frame and legs, extending to an accessible position just behind the bath panel. I connected them to the services there, so it's relatively easy to get to them, or even hoik the whole tub out again if necessary.

The taps need not be on that side - you could bury then in the wall. Now that would really make them nice and easy to get at.....

denso13 · 27 Nov 2012

Trap/waste pipe easy to reach from the front. Overflow accessible from the side - maybe a stretch but 750-800mm is easily reachable.

ban-all-sheds · 27 Nov 2012

If that bath were in my bathroom there would be no access possible from the sides (i.e. the ends). And mine can't be the only bathroom in the country like that.

So even if you could "easily" reach under the bottom of the bath to unscrew/remove/replace the trap, I can't see how you could ever replace the pop-up mechanism or the overflow pipe.

Having to hoik the whole bath out does not seem like a winning solution. Every other one I've seen like that has the waste on the accessible side - remove the side panel and there you'll find your dad's brother called Robert....

denso13 · 27 Nov 2012

ban-all-sheds said:
Every other one I've seen like that has the waste on the accessible side

There's your answer then.

Still think it's not a problem though. Pop up wastes tend to be fixed from the front so lean in (from the front) poke it up and through the overflow hole fix it through the front of the bath. Or drop say a piece of cable down through the hole and use it to draw the overflow up and through the hole. Easy peasy.

Biggles.. · 27 Nov 2012

Pop up wastes through the front.....every bath waste I've done at some point needs the back section with overflow pipe holding in place while the front is affixed.

ban-all-sheds · 28 Nov 2012

denso13 said:
There's your answer then.

But why wasn't it the answer for the people who designed this bath?

What were they thinking of?

What possible advantage is there to having the outlet that side?

Easy peasy.

I doubt that.

denso13 · 28 Nov 2012

ban-all-sheds said:
if ever the trap needed attention, or the pop-up mechanism, or the overflow pipe etc, you'd have to remove the bath.

Looking at the dimensions of the bath it is roughly 300mm from the front of the bath to the waste hole, with the front panel removed. Say even 400mm - do you really think that the trap is not easily reachable at that distance and you would have to remove the bath?

ban-all-sheds · 28 Nov 2012

Well - if you can get both arms under the base of the bath, 300-400mm in and remove/refit the trap by feel, and if you consider that an easy peasy thing to do, as well as accessing/replacing the mechanism, and/or the overflow pipe the same way, then I can see why you don't see any potential problems with this design.

SimonH2 · 29 Nov 2012

The key point that no-one seems to have mentioned is ...

... it is no concern to the bath designers how you service the waste. It just "looks good to the designer" and practical considerations are someone else's problem

Mikefromlondon · 29 Nov 2012

Totally agree with ban-all-sheds, it is an ill thought design from the service point of view, and of no concern to designers, because at the end of the day they have found a way around it, even if it is a lot awkward, perhaphs using remotre controlled robotic arms!

It is just like modern cars, so compacted under the bonnet that often to get to an alternator or a starter motor you got to remove engine mounts and part lift the engine!

But in honesty, I have thought about how one needs to be extra careful when installing such a bath, all tap base seals must be good first time before pushing it over in position, otherwiose it could be a nightmare if any leaks develop from the tap base, that is the water that splashes over the taps when showering for example.

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Bath waste position - mad design?

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