A Material Guide to Freestanding Baths
Traditionally made from cast iron with an enamel coating, freestanding baths are manufactured today from a range of materials. Restored cast iron baths can be the ultimate trophy piece for the bathroom, but their expense increases with their rarity and popularity, they are cool to the touch and lose heat rapidly, and they are extremely heavy even before the addition of water and a bather (or two). The additional expense of bringing in a builder or structural engineer to reinforce floor joists to cope with the weight is enough to put off quite a few potential buyers.
Steel freestanding baths are formed when a thin sheet of steel is pressed into shape, covered with a coat of enamel, and fired at a high temperature to bond the two components. They have an inherent strength and durability, and although they are cool to the touch and lose heat in a similar way to cast iron baths, they are lighter and therefore easier to transport and fit than a cast iron bath.
Modern acrylic baths are lightweight, warm to the touch, and relatively cheap. The acrylic sheets from which freestanding baths are manufactured vary in thickness from 4mm up to about 8mm: thicker sheets will make a generally stronger bath. For added strength, acrylic baths can be reinforced with a fibreglass membrane, and may have an added baseboard. Any size or shape of freestanding bath can be created from acrylic, and so a wide range of styles is available to suit almost every taste. If you are planning to buy an acrylic bath, you should check that it is double layered for insulation, as a single layered acrylic bath will not retain heat so well.
Composite materials such as stone resin are increasingly used in manufacturing freestanding baths. The inner face of the bath is made from an acrylic sheet; this face is placed in a mould and the composite material is poured in. When set, the composite is what gives the bath its rigidity and strength. Made of resin or acrylic mixed with stone or quartz, composite is a relatively light material, depending on the percentage of stone used to make up the composite, and these baths are warm to the touch, strong and durable, and resistant to marks and scratches. Although originally used to create replicas of the old cast iron roll top baths, composite is increasingly being used to create new contemporary and designer shapes.
As to which of these materials wins when it comes to making a freestanding bath, well, that depends on what you want. For purists with strong floor joists who are prepared to pay the extra, a restored cast iron freestanding bath cannot be bettered. If you prefer not to overspend, however, and will be happier with the style and comfort of a modern freestanding bath, whether styled in a modern or traditional way, you should probably be looking at baths made from acrylic or composite.
