Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 May 13, 2010 10:35 pm I was at a Reese store today and in their display section they had a free standing bath and also a steel lined built in bath. Both were the same size bath but the free standing was over 2 grand and the built in was $650. While the freestanding bath did look very schmick, the price different surprised me. Are they usually that different in price? Obviously with the built in, you also need a frame built, with sealing and tiling, but all that would not cost $1400 would it? Very confused. Building tip No. 3: A raft slab will not get you down a river. A waffle pod slab does not go with maple syrup. My building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53000 Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 2May 13, 2010 11:20 pm Freestanding baths would be more expensive to manufacture; partly because of the design (think about the fact that the bath is finished externally as well as internally) and partly because there's less demand for them (bulk manufacturing tends to be cheaper). There may be some extra expenses with the plumbing too - certainly, with a built in bath you have plenty of room within the frame to hide plumbing and level up the bath etc. I'd imagine that everything would need to be precise with a freestanding bath. Remember too that freestanding baths are a "designer" feature and are going to be priced accordingly. The tapware is likely to cost a bomb as well, especially if you want one of those tall spouts rising out of the floor, so factor that in. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 3May 13, 2010 11:51 pm The only thing I don't like about the free standers are that if you have them in a corner then cleaning around the back on the floor would be difficult. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 4May 13, 2010 11:57 pm Depends on your personal circumstances. $1400 is a small price to pay to keep my wife happy, there was no way I was saying no to her on the freestanding bath after her dreaming about it for years. I value my life. kek is right about the cost though - we have upgraded the mixer, spout, basins, basin taps etc to make sure the ensuite looks the part with the bath. Don't ask how much. Defo need to place them well re the cleaning or you just won't get to the back. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 5May 14, 2010 12:41 am Luckily my wife does not care either way. But I have noticed the free standing baths a often longer and deeper. I am six foot size and out teeny tiny bath at the moment is painful. If I want to put my shoulders in the bath, my legs go straight up the wall and then I need someone to pull the plug before I caterpillar myself back into a sitting position. I also saw a corner spa but that was 4 grand... Building tip No. 3: A raft slab will not get you down a river. A waffle pod slab does not go with maple syrup. My building thread https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=53000 Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 6May 14, 2010 7:20 am barker ....I have noticed the free standing baths a often longer and deeper. I am six foot size and out teeny tiny bath at the moment is painful. If I want to put my shoulders in the bath, my legs go straight up the wall and then I need someone to pull the plug before I caterpillar myself back into a sitting position. You can get standard built-in baths in various lengths. 1500 seems to be the standard, which is fine for bathing kids in, but a bit squeezy, even for short people like me. A lot of models do come in different lengths, some up to 1800. Watch out for the depth though - I noticed when I was looking that one 1800 bath was only 450 deep. Brrr! Cold shoulders! Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 7May 14, 2010 7:29 am barker If I want to put my shoulders in the bath, my legs go straight up the wall and then I need someone to pull the plug before I caterpillar myself back into a sitting position. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 8May 14, 2010 8:35 am Our freestanding bath is extremely long - 1900mm and really really deep. In fact it is so deep that you can only just see Master Almost 3's head over the top if you were to be sitting down on the same level (going to be a looooooong time before we can bath the baby in it as it is too deep to lean down into). As PP said they really are better placed somewhere where you can get completely around them to clean. Ours is slap bang in the centre of the room so it is not an issue for us. We also found that tapware costs extra should you wish to have floor mounted tapware. Luckily we found a bath that has all tapware / controls integrated into the bath shell (ours is a spa as well). The kids and DH absolutely adore it - DH even moreso since he wall mounted an LCD in the bathroom to sit and watch whilst enjoying the bubbles. Some things are worth waiting for. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 9May 14, 2010 7:03 pm what about something inbetween - I have seen on Reece website (so probably others that do similar) a bath that is straight along length so it can be placed against the wall, but is not built in so has the fre standing look on the other 3 sides. As I have not seen one in the 'flesh', I am guessing that this eliminated the difficult to reach to clean behind the back problem. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 11May 15, 2010 9:38 am Yeah, I don't actually like it. But it's an option. If I ever built again (slap me if I even mention it ), I'd have a freestanding bath. They look so luxurious.... Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 12May 16, 2010 10:46 am i think the acrylic ones are a bit cheaper. I got my freestanding for $850. I have the taps and spout coming out of the wall so that's cheaper than having the floor mounted taps. Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 13May 18, 2010 10:05 pm I've found some bigger free standing baths here, - http://www.showerline.com.au/Freestanding_Bath.html No pricing, but at least it has the sizing so you can check the length and hight. Good luck Re: Freestanding vs built in bath. 14May 25, 2010 11:00 am Freestanding means just that. Preferably, they should not be backed up to a wall, you need space behind to walk and clean and they look better on a raised platform. To get the best effect you really need a larger bathroom. The acrylic baths can cost anywhere between $900- 1400. Look at Marbletrend- Merge, that's not over the top in price, avail. at Bunnings or Early Settler have a couple of inexpensive ones too. Bathroom renovation will likely include a back-to-corner bath and we’re considering a freestanding tap with hand-held shower such as the picture included. My hesitation… 0 24685 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Grind texture and paint off at blister up to top of fence Will see damp cement render 5 6258 2 4474 |