See piccy of our rather tired and neglected bathroom (i'm rather embarrassed putting a photo of our bathroom for all and sundry to look at!) It's time for a bit of a revamp now that the shower has finally given up the ghost. Our roll top bath has brass globe taps (I think that's the technical term) ie positioned in the end wall of the bath and we want to change them. We've swopped brass traditional style for chrome modern elsewhere. The problem is there only seem to be two styles of globe tap available - the style we already have or another traditional lever style. How feasible/expensive would it be to have the tap holes filled in and a more modern-style freestanding tap installed? Is it sacrilege to change the appearance of the bath (the taps are only about 10 years old - we're not ripping out Victorian ones)? I suppose I ought to get the plumber round to see but just wondered if anyone else had this dilemma? We also want to change the basin for maybe a stone bowl on a cupboard again with a tall single tap so we'd like them all matching. It goes without saying the carpet needs ripping out - not sure what flooring to put down though yet. And another issue which I'm sure I'll find somewhere in another discussion topic but can anyone recommend a shower (we've got a combi-boiler) that actually has some oomph? Ta.
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JoceAndChris
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Sure someone will be along who knows more about taps and showers than me - but I like your roll-top bath! I don't think it's sacrilege to change the taps to chrome, but will you repaint the feet too? And change the plug thingy? Otherwise you'll just have a non-matching chrome tap.
I'm guessing the bath is old?
We bought a French 1870s roll top cast iron bath from Stiffkey bathrooms. It had an overflow hole which was blocked as part of the re-enamelling process. The bath was blisteringly expensive and it took a couple of months to be restored. My partner loves the bath but I would have preferred a newer car
You can apparently re-enamel baths insitu but no one I spoke to thought it was a good idea to buy an old bath and do it yourself. If the bath is in decent condition I would replace the current taps with something you prefer and not mess with the holes. I think you'll be disappointed with any result you can achieve without taking it out and sending it away. If you could live without the bath for a bit you could get the current taps chromed?
We bought a French 1870s roll top cast iron bath from Stiffkey bathrooms. It had an overflow hole which was blocked as part of the re-enamelling process. The bath was blisteringly expensive and it took a couple of months to be restored. My partner loves the bath but I would have preferred a newer car
You can apparently re-enamel baths insitu but no one I spoke to thought it was a good idea to buy an old bath and do it yourself. If the bath is in decent condition I would replace the current taps with something you prefer and not mess with the holes. I think you'll be disappointed with any result you can achieve without taking it out and sending it away. If you could live without the bath for a bit you could get the current taps chromed?
IIRC you can't pump a shower from a combi boiler? So your power output is dependant on your water pressure and the ability of the boiler to heat the water as it goes through. Too much pressure/too fast a flow and the boiler won't be able to make it hot enough.Juju said:
you can buy plugs for the tap holes but they dont look too nice , replace the bath? you can get roll tops with no tap holes , have a look on e bay.
the in-situ re-coating (its not exactly re-enamelling) is a waste of time , it will last a few years then will start to get rough again. vitreous enamelling in a huge over is basically melting glass over your bath , you cant do that with a couple of halogen lamps.
the in-situ re-coating (its not exactly re-enamelling) is a waste of time , it will last a few years then will start to get rough again. vitreous enamelling in a huge over is basically melting glass over your bath , you cant do that with a couple of halogen lamps.
Yes Joce we'd repaint the feet and replace the other bits and bobs with chrome. I don't think we'd want to replace the bath for another roll top bath as it's not in bad nick and I guess is quite old. Being an old romantic, I always fantasised about having a roll top bath and luxuriating in the bath surrounded by lovely candles and so was delighted it was in-situ when we bought the house but it doesn't get used very often (just special occasions :wink: ) as everyone uses the modern bath in the ensuite!
I'm just very fussy and the 2 styles of globe taps available (I think it's just Bristan that make them) aren't to my taste and cos I like taps in one room to match, it would mean I'd have to rethink my plans for replacing the boring sink with a modern stone bowl/tall tap combo.
I'm just very fussy and the 2 styles of globe taps available (I think it's just Bristan that make them) aren't to my taste and cos I like taps in one room to match, it would mean I'd have to rethink my plans for replacing the boring sink with a modern stone bowl/tall tap combo.
Juju said:
Our roll top is in the master ensuite. As the bath is 'the centre piece' the rest of the suite is plain and modern. I was fortunate to find a decent set of taps that work on the modern basin and have a matching wall mounted bath spout from Hudson Reed.
You could always leave the bath as the odd one out, I doubt it would look bad.
Penners
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Rather than the visually unsatisfactory solution of blanking off the tap holes, or the considerable expense of replacing the bath, I wonder whether the following solution would work (you'd have to measure the diameter of the tap mounting holes in the bath to see).
There is a clever device called a Bath Filler, which admits the water into the bath through the overflow, which itself incorporates a spout. Here's what it looks like. The only parts you see inside the bath, of course, are the chrome filler boss and the chrome waste (the white plastic pipe that links them, which is of course concealed, takes any overflow water into the bath waste pipe):
This kind of filler is supplied from remote taps, which can be mounted pretty well anywhere nearby. They are then connected to the filler by a normal 15mm pipe run. Here's an example of a pair of such taps:
Assuming the tap holes drilled in your bath are correct for these taps, and the overflow hole is correct for the Bath Filler, it shouldn't require too much ingenuity to fit the valves into your tap holes and the filler into the overflow hole and waste hole.
All of these products can be bought at Bathstore: http://www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/taps/metro-taps/-metro-deck-mounted-hot-and-cold-valves-263.html
There is a clever device called a Bath Filler, which admits the water into the bath through the overflow, which itself incorporates a spout. Here's what it looks like. The only parts you see inside the bath, of course, are the chrome filler boss and the chrome waste (the white plastic pipe that links them, which is of course concealed, takes any overflow water into the bath waste pipe):
This kind of filler is supplied from remote taps, which can be mounted pretty well anywhere nearby. They are then connected to the filler by a normal 15mm pipe run. Here's an example of a pair of such taps:
Assuming the tap holes drilled in your bath are correct for these taps, and the overflow hole is correct for the Bath Filler, it shouldn't require too much ingenuity to fit the valves into your tap holes and the filler into the overflow hole and waste hole.
All of these products can be bought at Bathstore: http://www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/taps/metro-taps/-metro-deck-mounted-hot-and-cold-valves-263.html
That's very clever, Penners! I could ask the plumber if it would be technically possible (I assume they can be mounted vertically?). That would be a good solution and I like the plain appearance of the valves. Then we've got more choice for the basin taps as there are plenty of lever taps to match them (in fact we could have the same ones we've got in our other bathroom).
Penners
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I can't imagine that the taps would mind whether they're vertical or horizontal. They're just valves.
You might want to have a look at the other types available in Bathstore, too. They've got several different designs.
Other bathroom retailers are available. :wink:
You might want to have a look at the other types available in Bathstore, too. They've got several different designs.
Other bathroom retailers are available. :wink:
Jill
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JuJu, have you thought about looking in reclaimation yards? The taps you have look very similar to those that were on the bath at my parents when I was small, they were chrome and stuck out of the front of the bath, I remember them well as I stuck my big toe up the hot tap one day.
you can buy genuine antique globe taps quite cheaply , have a gander on e bay. e bay can be great if you know what to look for although there is a lot of ''genuine brass'' taps on there from the 80's. i picked these edwardian aston mixer taps for a song.
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sorry guys , i love showing off my taps , , you wanna see my victorian shanks unus combination wash down w.c. pan. 8) ,they needed a good polish and washers etc but to buy them from a dealer would require a small bank loan , anyhow e bay is really good for antique bathroom fittings.
you can get traditional mixer taps like these that come out from the bath rather than up from the floor , the hot and cold feed pipes are horizontal instead of vertical.
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sorry guys , i love showing off my taps ,
, you wanna see my victorian shanks unus combination wash down w.c. pan. 8) ,they needed a good polish and washers etc but to buy them from a dealer would require a small bank loan , anyhow e bay is really good for antique bathroom fittings.you can get traditional mixer taps like these that come out from the bath rather than up from the floor , the hot and cold feed pipes are horizontal instead of vertical.