How to install a bathtub with your own hands

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

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1. Prepare tools and materials

Here's what you need for installation:

• bath;
• legs;
• mounting kit;
• drain fittings;
• dowels;
• screws;
• silicone sealant;
• metal profiles;
• polyurethane foam;
• White Spirit;
• wooden blocks;
• bricks;
• cement;
• spanners;
• roulette;
• level;
• pencil;
• drill;
• drill;
• hacksaw.

2. Install the legs

The first step is to attach the legs, which usually come with the kit. For this, the bath is turned upside down without removing the packaging from the sides, and the brackets are assembled according to the instructions. The legs and their fastening differ depending on the material of the bathtub.

Acrylic bathtub

Such bathtubs have a special reinforcement insert made of plywood in the lower part, onto which mounting plates are fastened with screws, and the threaded pins of the legs are already screwed to them.

It is necessary to mark the attachment points in accordance with the instructions, then drill the holes for the screws to the indicated depth and screw them in with a screwdriver. In order not to perforate the bathtub through and through, use only complete self-tapping screws with the calculated length.

Steel bath

Analogues made of steel are equipped with a pair of support-lodgments, which are glued to double-sided tape and pressed down by the weight of the bath. Another option for fastening is four separate legs that are fixed with special hooks at the bottom.

In the first case, it is necessary to degrease the surface with white spirit or another solvent and glue the supports. In the second, put the legs on the hooks and pull them together with studs and nuts.

Cast iron bath

The cast iron bowls also have four separate legs, which are attached to specially molded projections on the bottom with holes for bolts.

For installation, it is necessary to align the legs with the projections, fix them with bolts and nuts and tighten with a wrench.

3. Assemble the drain fittings

The siphon and the overflow system have the same design, regardless of the type of bath. As a rule, the fittings are supplied with them. Otherwise, you need to immediately purchase the missing product in the store.

Study the assembly diagram indicated in the instructions. Put the branch pipes in their places and tighten the union nuts, having previously installed O-rings on all connections. Next, a rubber gasket is put on the siphon and the whole structure is pressed against the drain hole with a screw through a protective grid.

In the same way, the upper branch pipe is attached to the overflow hole on the bath. If the siphon has a drain valve, and not a regular plug on a chain, then a rotary handle is installed on the overflow grill according to the assembly instructions.

4. Try on and position the bath

After installing the drain fittings, the bath is ready for installation. But before you finally fix it, you need to align the product and mark the border of the side on the wall for subsequent fastening.

To do this, move the bath to its place and, by adjusting the height of the legs, check the horizontal position with a level. There is no need to make any slopes towards the drain: they are already provided by the manufacturer.

The height of the bath is adjusted according to the location. As a rule, the distance from the top of the board to the finished floor is about 60 cm. The main thing is that the siphon should be 3-5 cm higher than the funnel of the sewer, otherwise the drain will quickly become clogged.

After preliminary alignment along the sides against the wall, you need to draw a line with a pencil. This mark is useful for mounting wall brackets and stops.

5. Mount the wall brackets

Massive cast-iron bathtubs stand confidently on legs and do not require additional fixation. But light steel and especially acrylic for reliability are also attached to the wall.

Acrylic and steel bathtubs

Such baths are most often fixed with brackets in the form of hooks on which the bowl is hung. Also used are home-made stops made of a metal profile for drywall, which perform the same function.

In both cases, the fasteners are installed on dowels, for which holes are drilled. Using the line of the top of the bath, mark the holes for the stops in such a way that they are strictly under the edge of the sides and evenly distribute the load.

Cast iron bath

Cast iron products weigh from 80 to 200 kg, therefore they are reliable and do not need additional fastening.

6. Install the mortgages

If the bathtub is supplied with a factory screen in the kit, then all the necessary fasteners are already provided in the design. If not, you will have to mount mortgages in the front side, to which the screen frame is then attached.

To do this, you need to cut off a piece of a wooden block and glue it on the inside of the bead with silicone sealant or foam. If the bowl adjoins not three walls, but only two, one more bar should be fixed at one of the free sides.

Some acrylic bathtubs already have ready-made inserts in the form of pieces of timber along the perimeter of the sides. If you see such pieces of wood, then you can do without additional inserts.

7. Make thermal insulation

Acrylic and cast iron baths retain heat well and do not need a layer of thermal insulation. Steel ones, on the other hand, cool down quickly and, moreover, are very noisy when collecting water. Therefore, before installation, mounting foam, sprayed insulation or car noise insulation are applied to the bottom and walls of such bathtubs.

To do this, turn the bath over, wipe it with a damp cloth and cover it with foam, moving like a snake from the bottom up. Average consumption per bowl is 2-3 cylinders. The foam curing time is 3-4 hours. After that, you can install the bath.

Sometimes, before applying insulation, the bath is pre-pasted over with automotive sound insulation. The surface is degreased with a solvent, then the protective film is removed from the adhesive base of the sheets. After warming up with a building hair dryer, the sound insulation is glued to the bottom and walls of the bath, and then rolled with a roller.

8. Replace the bathtub and secure

Now you can finally install the bathtub in the prepared place and fix it using the selected fastener option, as well as seal the joint with the wall.

To do this, a silicone sealant is applied to the wall just below the previously marked side line with a snake. Then the tub is gently pushed into place. The boards adjoining the walls are put on the installed brackets or stops from the profile. The bowl is pressed down for a snug fit so that the sealant is slightly squeezed out.

9. Connect to the sewer

After installing the bath, the siphon is connected to the sewer socket using a corrugation or a rigid pipe with corner fittings. The latter option is preferable: on smooth pipes, dirt accumulates much less.

The sealing gum of the fittings is treated with a special lubricant or ordinary detergent, and then simply connected to each other. If there is any doubt about their quality, the joints can be smeared with silicone sealant for fidelity. But keep in mind that it will not be easy to disassemble them in case of replacement.

Do not forget about the slope necessary for good drainage! The siphon should be 3-5 cm higher than the sewer inlet. With a smaller drop, the water will drain, but due to blockages, the drain will have to be cleaned more often.

10. Make a support cushion

Cast iron baths have sufficient rigidity, while light acrylic and steel ones can bend slightly under heavy weight. And although manufacturers allow installation exclusively on legs, for greater reliability, many craftsmen equip a support cushion made of bricks or gas blocks under the base of such bowls.

For this, a full bath of water is collected. Then the floor is slightly moistened, bricks or gas blocks are laid under the bottom. They are attached to the floor and to each other with cement mortar. From the top of the pillow to the bathtub should be about 5–7 mm - this space is filled with polyurethane foam. If the layer is larger, then over time it can sag and the support will stop working.

The complete curing of the polyurethane foam takes about a day. All this time, the bath must be filled with water, otherwise the foam can raise the bowl when expanding.

11. Make sure there are no leaks

Until the space under the bathroom is covered by a screen, you need to check all connections for leaks and eliminate possible leaks. To do this, place a newspaper under the siphon, open the drain and, while the water is draining, make sure that everything is dry. If any of the connections breaks in, you just need to tighten it.

12. Mount the screen

After the completion of the work, the space under the bathroom is closed by a screen. This can be a ready-made complete decorative panel, a purchased universal screen, PVC panels, as well as tiles on drywall mounted on a frame.

The factory screen is fastened to the walls and sides with latches like a bathtub: the holes for the fasteners are marked according to the diagram in the instructions and fixed on the dowels. Then the screen is put on hooks and held on to them.

For homemade versions, a frame is pre-erected from a wooden bar or metal profiles. The upper part of the frame is fixed to the wooden embeddable boards, the lower one - to dowels or silicone sealant to the floor. Further, racks are installed between them with a step of 40-50 cm.

When laying the tiles, the frame is pre-sheathed with sheets of moisture-resistant drywall. A screen made of PVC panels and other molded materials is attached directly to the frame.

If the screen is not removable, it is imperative to install an inspection hatch for maintenance in the area of the siphon. It is important to position the window so that access to it is not obstructed, for example, by a washbasin cabinet.

13. Form the bead joint along the contour

The final touch in the installation of the bath is the sealing of the joints with the help of silicone sealant. It is better to choose a white composition in the color of the bath. Transparent will not look very neat.

Apply a coat of sealant along the tub contour, and then lubricate the sides and wall with soapy water so that the silicone does not smudge when leveling. The surplus is removed with a special spatula or a plastic card with a cut corner.