Bath installation in Batumi

What we check before the bath is brought in

A bath goes onto a waterproofed floor, and the membrane must run under the whole bath and up the walls behind it. Once the seal along the rim ages, water gets under the bath every time someone showers, and without waterproofing it goes into the floor slab and down to the neighbours. How this layer is applied and tested with water is explained on the page about waterproofing wet areas.

Before a bath installation in Batumi, we check three dimensions. The recess must be a few millimetres longer than the bath, no more: a wide gap at the end can then only be filled with a thick bead of silicone. The drain outlet must be placed so that the bath trap reaches it with a fall, without running uphill. In our experience, the outlet for a wall-mounted mixer should be 15–20 cm above the rim, so that a bucket fits under the spout.

Frame and legs

We assemble an acrylic bath's frame to its manufacturer's instructions and adjust the legs so that the bottom rests on all the cross bars rather than hanging on two. The check is simple: we stand in the empty bath, and the bottom must not flex. We don't use brick or foam supports instead of the bath's own frame: the manufacturer designed the bottom for its frame, not for point supports.

A steel or cast-iron bath stands on its own legs directly on the tiles, with rubber pads under the feet so that the glaze doesn't chip and the floor doesn't drum. Under each leg of a cast-iron bath the tile must have no voids in the adhesive, otherwise the point load will crack it, so we tap-test the floor at these spots in advance. We connect the body of a metal bath to the equipotential bonding, and the conductor for this is put in at the rough stage.

Level rim and waste

The bottom of the bath already has a fall towards the plughole, so we set the bath itself dead level, along and across the rim. A tilt “for better drainage” shows on the tiles: the grout line above the bath rises at one end, and the eye catches it at once.

We assemble the waste and overflow before the bath goes against the wall, while there is still room to get at them with a spanner. We check the overflow seal separately: water rarely reaches it, and a leak there is usually found only when a stain has already appeared on the neighbours' ceiling. We connect the trap to the drain with a fall and leave access to it.

The joint with the wall

The joint between the rim and the wall is what leaks most often, so we try to install the bath before the walls are tiled. We tape the rim and the wall above it with tape from the same system as the floor waterproofing, and lay the bottom row of tiles over the rim. Water then runs down the tiles straight into the bath and hardly ever reaches the joint.

If the tiles are already on, we push the bath tight against them and seal the gap with sanitary silicone. Before that we fill the bath with water so that it settles under the weight, and we apply the seal with the bath full: when it is filled later, the silicone won't stretch. We don't stick a plastic trim strip on silicone in place of a proper seal: damp lingers under it, and it darkens.

Bath panel and access to the trap

We build a tiled bath panel on a frame of metal profile and moisture-resistant board, and tile it with the same tiles as the walls. At the bottom we make a toe recess, so you can stand right up against the bath when washing a child or cleaning the bath itself. Opposite the trap we cut out a tile-ready access hatch.

The panel must not press on the rim. We leave a silicone joint between its top and the bath, otherwise a full bath settles onto the panel and the tiles on it crack.

Replacing an old bath in a resale apartment

We decide how to get the old bath out at the site measurement. Steel and acrylic baths are carried out whole. With a narrow staircase or a small lift, a cast-iron bath is often easier to break up on the spot under a heavy cover, so that chips of enamel don't fly about. The pieces go out in bags along with the rest of the construction waste.

Under an old bath there is often something that couldn't be seen at the measurement: a cast-iron outlet in the floor, wet screed, no waterproofing at all. We replace the cast iron with plastic, dry out the base and only then apply the waterproofing. If you are keeping the tiles around it, we choose a new bath to fit the old recess and refit the mixer and shower head; that work is in the section on fitting mixers and other sanitary ware.

How we sign off an installed bath

• the rim is level in both directions;
• water filled above the overflow hole goes into the trap, and the seal stays dry;
• a full bath drains without gurgling, and it is dry under the trap when you look through the hatch;
• you can stand in the empty bath, and the bottom doesn't flex or creak;
• the seal at the wall is continuous, with no bubbles or gaps.

We record the models of the bath, frame and waste in the handover file. If we are doing the whole bathroom, the installation is one stage of the bathroom renovation and is signed off together with it.

How much bath installation costs in Batumi

Bath installation costs from 175 to 240 ₾ for labour: assembling the frame or legs, levelling, fitting the waste and overflow, connecting to the drain and sealing the joint. The bath itself, the panel and the mixer are not included in this price. A tiled bath panel on a frame is priced separately, at 300–420 ₾, and removing the old bath and carrying it out costs 155–240 ₾. If there is no waterproofing under the bath, we price it by area, at 30–42 ₾ per m².

The price moves towards the upper end with a cast-iron bath, a corner or asymmetric shape, or moving the outlet to suit the waste of the new bath. A standard-size acrylic bath in a ready recess on the developer's outlets comes out lower. The final cost is set after the site measurement and once the estimate is agreed.