Traditional Freestanding Baths - A Guide

There are five main shapes of traditional freestanding bath, these are, double ended, single ended, slippers, boat baths, bateau baths and keyhole shower baths. In addition the terms roll top and freestanding in relation to baths are defined:

Freestanding Baths
A freestanding bath is simply a bath that is designed to be used without touching a wall. All normal baths could in principle be used freestanding , the wall doesn't support the bath, but most standard 'panel baths' are designed to be tiled in along a wall on one or two sides and would not look good installed any other way. A freestanding bath is one which has been specifically designed to look good away from a wall where all sides of the bath can be seen. Just to muddy the waters though there actually quite a few freestanding baths which are designed to be tiled in along a one or two walls so, for example, that a shower and shower screen can be fitted. These are freestanding in the sense that they are manufactured to look exactly like a bath that is intended to be used freestanding with just the modifications required to make it practical to use with a wall mounted overhead shower.

Roll Top Baths
Roll top baths are distinguished by the way the edge of the bath is curved, usually on a traditional style bath this curve is part of the circumference of a circle although some roll top baths have more or less flattened edges, baths that have a flat edge are not strictly speaking roll top baths but if everything else about the style of them is similar then they may be referred to as roll tops. Its important to be aware that in general it is not possible to mount a tap onto the rolling edge of a roll top bath. Victorian and Edwardian roll top baths provided a solution to this by having tap holes in the side of the bath just above the overflow. Taps designed to be used like this are c used are shaped to come up at right angles to the water inlet so they are in the same form as a deck mounted set of taps. These taps are called globe taps but modern reproduction baths do not use this method of mounting taps and although globe taps can be found they are only available form more specialist manufacturers. Instead contemporarily manufactured roll top baths may have a tap platform. A tap platform is a part of the edge of a roll top bath that flattens out and may widen slightly to allow taps to be fitted to the edge of the bath. Roll top baths with no tap platform must be fitted with freestanding or wall mounted taps.

Single Ended Baths
The single ended bath was traditionally the most common form of bath and it is one of the simplest of the traditional bath styles. The single ended bath refers to the shape of the bath which is rounded at the head and flat at the foot of the bath (viewed from above). The traditional single ended bath has a level top and stands on four feet. The plug hole and overflow are at the foot end of these baths and if the bath has a tap platform then that is also at the foot end of the bath. These baths are usually but not always roll tops and are distinguished from slipper baths by being the same height all around the top of the bath.

Double Ended Baths
The traditional double ended bath has the same level top as the single ended bath but it is rounded at both ends and the plug hole and overflow are in the middle lengthwise (the plug hole may in some cases also by central width-wise - and in these cases you may need an extended overflow pipe on your bath waste kit). If the bath has a tap platform then that will also be in the middle along the long side of the bath. The traditional double ended bath also like the single ended bath sits on four feet.

Slipper Baths
Slipper baths are single ended baths where the head end of the bath rises up higher than the foot end, the foot end may or may not also rise up but not as high as the head end. Traditional slipper baths stand on four feet. Slipper baths are roll top baths that may or may not have a tap platform at the foot end of the bath.

Bateau Baths
A bateau bath is a variation on a slipper bath where both ends of the bath rise up equally high. Bateau baths are also sometimes known as double ended slipper baths and like the slipper bath stands on four feet, unlike the slipper bath however the bateau bath plug and overflow are in the middle of the bath rather than the end. Bateau baths are roll top baths that are found both with and without tap ledges for mounting taps.

Boat Baths
Boat baths have a similar shape to the bateau bath - double ended with the waste in the middle lengthwise and curving up at both ends - but instead of resting on feet the boat bath has a skirt that reaches down to a plinth which takes the weight of the bath on the floor or conceals a metal frame that does so. Boat baths are roll top baths but some are available with a tap platform so that taps can be mounted on the edge of the bath.

Traditional Bath Feet Materials and Styles
Feet for freestanding baths are never interchangeable between different manufacturers and often cannot be swapped between baths even by the same manufacturer. There are often however a variety of styles and finishes available for any particular bath. The most common finishes are painted cast iron, chrome plating on metal or painted resin or stone cast resin. Its also possible to get bath feet that are available in chrome finished in gold or nickel, if these are not available directly form the bath manufacturer then any chromium plated foot can be plated over with a gold or nickel finish by an electro-plating company.

Feet come in a variety of forms, the most common of which are described below:

Ball and Claw
Ball and claw feet are the most familiar kind of traditional style bath foot. The foot consists of a claw or talon in relief grasping a ball which rests on the floor. Ball and claw feet vary greatly in the amount of detail and may be more or less ornate.

Lions Paw
Lions paw feet are less common than ball and claw feet and consist of a stylised lions foot with an ankle and toes standing on the floor.

Plain
Plain feet generally have a similar overall shape to a ball and claw foot with a rounded end and more or less conical body going up to the body of the bath but they have no detail and no claw features.

Stylised Ball and Claw
Between the ball and claw and plain foot in style there are many versions of stylised claw, these are a ball and claw foot where the details have been lost to leave a general form.

Find Out Much More about Traditional Freestanding Taps
There are lots of options when choosing a traditional freestanding or roll to bath for your traditional bathroom and its well worth taking your time to choose the right bath and accessories for you and if you can get good advice all the better. To get a better feel of what is out there have a look at my web site classsicalbaths.co.uk where you can find out lots more about Traditional Freestanding Baths.