A bath is the perfect addition to any bathroom, whether you use it to bathe your kids or for a long, relaxing soak at the end of a hard day.  When it comes to baths, you’ve got two main choices – a freestanding bath or a built in bath.  Both have their advantages, so to help you make the right decision, we’ve outlined what you need to know about both.

What You Need to Know About Freestanding Baths

Freestanding baths are becoming more popular due to the fantastic design statement that they make. Only freestanding baths can give you the elegant, sophisticated feel like you are in a retreat or an expensive day spa.  They work best in larger bathrooms where there is plenty of space for you to walk around the tub.  Freestanding baths are available in classic or contemporary shapes, and in a huge range of sizes, lengths and depths. This means you can get long, shallow baths that are perfect for bathing children, or deep luxurious baths where you can soak happily for hours.  Freestanding baths are available in different materials such as acrylic, cast iron, wood, or stone.  There is also a huge range of choice in tapware to match your bathroom theme.  Floor mounted tapware is popular for freestanding baths but you can also get wall mounted tapware, or mount your tapware on the bath itself.

To get the most from your freestanding bath, it should be placed close to the centre of the room. It should not be placed in a corner or else it will be very difficult to clean around the bath adequately.  You can have it installed floor level or have it raised on some sort of platform to make it even more of a feature.

While freestanding baths look amazing from a design point of view, there are some things that you need to consider.  Firstly, they can be more expensive to buy than built in baths, both to buy the bath itself and the extra plumbing costs incurred.  As far as plumbing a freestanding bath goes, there is the risk that you will see the plumbing associated with the bath, which isn’t always a positive.  If you don’t want to see the plumbing, you’ll need one that can sit on the floor in order to conceal it.  Don’t forget that freestanding baths can be heavier than built in baths so you need to be sure that your floor can handle the weight.

What You Need to Know About Built In Baths

The built in bath is seen as the standard bath for the home and for good reasons.  A built in bath is a bath that is built flush to one or more walls and has the plumbing fully concealed.  The tapware for the bath is usually mounted on the wall.  Built in baths are popular as they will fit in any size bathroom, from the smallest to the largest.  If space is a real concern, they can be easily combined with a shower to give you the best of both worlds.  Another great advantage of a built in bath is that you can have a shelf at the edge of the bath or alongside the bath.  This is perfect for holding soaps, books, drinks or anything else you need when bathing the kids or having a soak.

Built in baths are available in a range of lengths, depths and sizes but there are usually a set range of standard sizes to choose from.  As well as the plain bath, you can get corner baths, or baths that are fitted with spa jets for an even more luxurious experience.  Built in baths can sometimes have the reputation of being a tight fit but you can easily find tubs that are meant for tall people, or that can comfortably hold two. On the other hand, if you’re using your bath for more practical purposes, you can find shallower tubs so you don’t have to bend over as much to bath the kids.  Modern built in baths are generally made from acrylic but you can also get them in other materials such as stone, wood, and cast iron.