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Freestanding Baths
City Plumbing offers a stunning selection of freestanding baths that elevate any bathroom design. Discover our range, featuring everything from classic clawfoot elegance to sleek, contemporary stone resin styles. With designs and competitive prices to suit all needs and budgets, your perfect luxurious statement piece is waiting.
The Benefits of Freestanding Baths
A stunning freestanding bath is chosen not just as a fixture, but as the centrepiece of your personal spa retreat.
Aesthetic Appeal: The Ultimate Statement Piece
- Focal Point: These tubs instantly command attention, transforming a functional room into a showcase of design and luxury, often mirroring the grandeur found in high-end hotels.
- Sculptural Form: Whether you choose an ornate, traditional clawfoot design or a sleek, contemporary egg-shaped basin, the freestanding form adds an architectural element that elevates the entire bathroom's style.
- Showcases Finishes: The bath's exposed body allows the material, be it deep, glossy acrylic, textured stone resin, or beautifully painted cast iron, to be appreciated from every angle.
Versatility in Environment
- Flexible Placement: Unlike built-in options, a freestanding bath doesn't need to be against a wall. It can be positioned anywhere in the room, under a skylight, in front of a window with a view, or diagonally, offering unparalleled freedom in designing your layout.
- Creates Openness: By separating the tub from the walls, the open floor space around the bath helps create an illusion of increased size, making the bathroom feel more airy and spacious.
Comfort and Insulation Features
- Deeper Soaking: Freestanding designs are often deeper than standard built-in baths, allowing for full, therapeutic body immersion and an exceptionally comfortable soak.
- Ergonomic Shapes: Many models feature contoured, sloped backs (like slipper baths) or symmetrical shapes designed for maximum relaxation and natural support for the body.
- Superior Heat Retention: When opting for materials like cast iron or high-quality stone resin, you benefit from their excellent thermal properties, keeping the water warmer for longer and ensuring a truly luxurious, extended bathing experience.
Types of Freestanding Baths Available
1. Traditional Designs
- Description: These designs often draw inspiration from Victorian and Edwardian eras. They are characterised by their ornate features and robust construction.
- Material: Cast iron is the classic material, known for its excellent heat retention and durability. Modern alternatives include acrylic or stone resin for a lighter weight.
- Key Feature: Claw feet (ball and claw being the most common) or highly decorative plinths.
- Ideal For: Classic, vintage, rustic, or period-style bathrooms.
2. Contemporary Designs
- Description: Focused on clean lines, seamless curves, and often a larger depth for a luxurious, immersive soak.
- Material: Typically crafted from acrylic (offering versatility in shaping and warmth) or stone resin (providing a solid, matte, and high-end finish).
- Sleek, Rounded Baths: A good example is a Slipper Bath (often rounded at one end for back support) or an Egg-Shaped Bath (a seamless, symmetrical, and deeply rounded design).
- Ideal For: Modern, minimalist, and spa-like spaces.
Tap Hole Options and Plumbing
Freestanding baths offer flexibility in where the taps are positioned.
Baths With Tap Holes
- Description: The bath rim has pre-drilled holes, usually two, to accommodate deck-mounted taps (taps that sit directly on the edge of the bath).
- Style Suitability: More common on traditional-style baths, but can be found on certain contemporary designs.
- Installation: Simplifies the plumbing, as the tap feed pipes run directly through the bath structure and attach to the taps on the rim.
Baths Without Tap Holes
- Description: The bath rim is solid and smooth, so the taps must be installed separately from the bath.
- Tap Options:
Wall-Mounted Taps: The taps emerge directly from the adjacent wall. This is a very clean, minimalist look popular in modern bathrooms.
Floor-Standing/Freestanding Taps: A column/pillar rises from the floor beside the bath, with the tap unit mounted at the top.
- Chrome Standpipes for Tap-Free Designs
Chrome standpipes (also known as bath legs or upright fillers) are decorative, exposed pipes used specifically for traditional-style baths without tap holes.
They elegantly run the hot and cold water feeds up from the floor to the correct height. They also support and connect to a specific type of tap called a rim-mounted mixer tap, which then sits over the edge of the tap-free bath.
Widely available, especially in chrome, nickel, and sometimes polished brass finishes, these are seen by many homeowners as essential accessories for achieving the classic look with a tap-free, traditional bath (like a cast iron roll-top).
Freestanding Baths Frequently Asked Questions
What styles of freestanding baths are available?
There are two primary styles of freestanding baths available, including:
- Traditional: These feature high backs, decorative roll-top edges, and often sit on ornate claw feet or decorative plinths. They are typically made from cast iron or acrylic and suit classic or vintage-style bathrooms.
- Contemporary: These boast clean, seamless lines and modern, symmetrical shapes (e.g. egg-shaped, boat-shaped, or deep slipper designs). They are usually made from acrylic or solid stone resin and are perfect for minimalist, modern, or spa-like spaces.
How do I choose the right freestanding bath for my bathroom?
Choosing the right bath involves three main considerations:
Space Considerations
- Measure the Area: Accurately measure the length and width of the designated bath space.
- Allow Clearance: Ensure there is at least 15–20 cm (6–8 inches) of clearance around all sides of the bath for comfortable cleaning and access.
Style Considerations
- Match Décor: Match the bath's style (Traditional vs. Contemporary) to the existing décor and fittings in your bathroom to ensure a cohesive look.
Material Considerations
- Acrylic: This material is lightweight, warm to the touch, and easy to manoeuvre.
- Cast Iron and Stone Resin: These materials are heavy, offer superior heat retention, and provide a high-end, solid feel.
Do freestanding baths require special taps?
Yes, they require taps that are mounted separately from the bath's body. Your options depend on whether the bath has pre-drilled tap holes:
- Bath With Tap Holes: You can use standard deck-mounted mixer taps or pillar taps that sit directly on the rim.
- Bath Without Tap Holes: You will need either a floor-standing bath filler (a tall pillar tap that rises from the floor) or wall-mounted taps that emerge from the wall adjacent to the bath.
Are freestanding baths easy to install?
Installation is generally straightforward but requires professional plumbing:
- Plumbing: The water supply pipes and the waste pipe must be run under the floorboards and brought up to the exact point where the bath will sit.
- Positioning: Because they are heavy, especially stone resin or cast iron models, positioning the bath needs careful lifting to align the waste outlet with the drainage trap in the floor.
- A professional plumber is highly recommended for the correct water and waste connection.
Are freestanding baths durable?
Yes, freestanding baths are extremely durable:
- Cast Iron: Incredibly strong, retains heat exceptionally well, and will last for decades.
- Stone Resin (Solid Surface): Very heavy and strong, resistant to scratches and chipping.
- Acrylic: A modern, high-quality acrylic bath is reinforced, highly durable, warm, and stain-resistant, provided it is not subjected to excessive impact.
Can I place a freestanding bath anywhere in my bathroom?
Theoretically, yes, but practically, placement is limited by plumbing access.
- They are best placed where it is easiest to run the water supply and waste pipes under the floor.
- The most popular placements are in the centre of the room (for a grand statement) or against a wall or in a corner (to save space while retaining the freestanding look).
While we don't require technical specifications to place an order, we strongly advise that you confirm the following with your installer (plumber/builder) before purchase:
- Weight Load: Ensure your floor can handle the combined weight of the bath, water, and user, especially with heavy cast-iron or stone-resin models.
- Pipe Placement: Confirm with your plumber the exact location of the floor waste outlet and water feeds required for your chosen tap style. This prevents installation issues upon delivery.
What Types of Freestanding Baths Do City Plumbing Sell?
With renowned brand names including Forum Lighting, Heritage, iflo, Roca, Scudo, and Vitellio, we offer a range of stunning freestanding baths for all bathroom sizes and decors.
Featuring an assortment of types and widths, our prices remain competitive to help all customers create their dream bathroom while staying on budget, and they are available to purchase online or in-store.
Buy Freestanding Baths at City Plumbing
City Plumbing is preferred by all those working in the trade and by homeowners searching for a reputable local plumber's merchant.
We can offer every one of our customers a superb high Trustpilot rating, alongside extensive knowledge from four-plus decades of experience, and superior plumbing and heating products and advice. City Plumbing is here to help you get the job done.
With more than 350 branches nationwide, our prices are competitive to help ensure you finish all your projects on budget.
With several Delivery Options and a Click & Collect service, if you’re looking for a City Plumbing near me, type your postcode into our branch locator to find your nearest City Plumbing Supplies.
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