BATH problems

[hardatwork]

I am installing a new bath on sunday but have some questions. I know how to connect taps and waste outlets and the overflow, but after reading various posts/diy books/etc they all seem to vary.. on how to balance and spread the weight of the bath. My questions to you experts are :

Do baths all come with wall brackets built onto the sides?

Do they all require a plank of wood under the feet at both ends?

Do they all have a middle leg to spread the weight?

Is a wooden batten needed on the wall(s) that the bath is attached to?

Please give me some advice as the easiest and best way to safely install the bath and spread the weight as nothing makes sense!

Somebody also said that instructions come with baths... but these are rubbish apparently? Is this correct.....

 

[DIYedboy]

Firstly, is your bath metal or plastic (they move a lot more), do you have brick walls to attach the bath side brackets to, is your floor concrete or timber? You need to rely on experience/ common sense really. If you have strong timber floorboards under the bath that are supported by a couple of joists the feet can sit straight on the boards. If the bath is plastic, it will have chipboard bonded to the bottom of it to reinforce/spread the weight. If the bath is plastic, the side brackets are all important to hold the sucker in place ( I always cut a horizontal chase in the wall so the bath sides sit In the wall by 6mm ). When applying silicone at the end of the job, fill the bath to normal water level, squirt round, then leave water in till silicone has cured (plastic baths move).

 

[hardatwork]

Thank you for that information.

The bath is plastic - and i am assuming then that brackets will be built into the sides. I'm not sure about cutting a chase into the wall, seems like hard work and a hard thing to do!

One DIY source said if the fllorboards underneath it were running in the opposite direction to the bath then wooden plansk would be needed, 1 under each set of feet.

The floor is wooden (normal floorboards) (1st floor), the wall is an external brick wall.

My main concern is filling it up and it going through the ceiling...

Also I am not doing the tiling so should I still seal it or wait until it's been tiled before sealing?

 

[DIYedboy]

The brackets are just flat metal plates that are screwed to the 2 x1 timber under the bath lip, they then stick up above the bath, so the wall needs to be chased where the brackets are to ensure plate won't foul the back of the tile.
Under the bath the centre leg is crucial to stop you falling through the bath!.
It's a bit OTT to seal the bath to the plaster (especially as silicone don't stick to porus surfaces for long) before the tiles are fitted, but you must silicone the tiles to the bath (ensure all dust etc is blown out first)

Which way do your boards run? if they are parallel with the long side of the bath, there will be multiple joists supporting it therefore no problem. if the boards run the other way, you need to lift one to ensure a joist runs along the wall thus supporting the floorboard ends (it's 99% certain there will be)

 

[hardatwork]

the boards run the opppsoie way of the length of the bath! i know for a fact as i had them up a little while ago to install a ladder/towel rad.

so i will need 2 planks of wood, one uinder the back and 1 under the front legs? any type of wood/thickness acceptable?

whats the easiest way to chase out wall for the tiles?

 

[JPC]

well i cant agree with all of diyed comments

If the floor has sound pine floorboards, then no more required.
Chasing the wall to sit the bath in is unnecesary hard work.
Dont bother with the wall brackets (on the far wall under the tiles)..hard work.
place upright 2x1 timber in the corners....floor to underbath, or screw it to the wall.
Screw legs feet to floor.
Do silicone the bath (take plastic film of first) to the wall before tiling. this firstly waterproofs and secondly helps secure bath in place
Use the brackets if required on the 2 front corners (upside down "L" shape) if you feel its still moving
Yes, by all means fill the bath when you silicone the tiles/bath