Stone and Resin Baths, Weight, Floors and Fitting

Stone resin and cast stone baths look superb and keep water warm for a long soak. They are also far heavier than acrylic, and in an older house that weight has to be planned for. This guide answers the questions we hear most about getting one installed safely.

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Why weight is the first question

The empty bath is only part of the load. Add around two hundred litres of water and a person, and a filled cast stone bath with a bather can exceed 400kg. That load also sits on four feet or a narrow plinth rather than spreading across the floor. For comparison of materials in general, our bath types guide covers acrylic, steel and stone side by side. This page is about what happens when you have already fallen for stone.

Can it go upstairs?

Frequently, yes. It depends on what is holding up the floor. We check three things:

• Joist size and spacing. Older terraces and semis often have smaller joists than a modern home, sometimes notched by decades of plumbing and cabling.
• Joist direction. A bath running across several joists spreads its load. One sitting along a single joist does not.
• Condition. Soft, damp or cut timber near an old leak needs putting right regardless of the bath.

Where the floor needs help, the usual fixes are doubling up joists under the bath, adding noggins, or laying a stiffer deck to spread the load. It is structural work, so it is decided at survey, not on the day the bath arrives.

How a heavy bath is fitted

1. Floor checked and strengthened where needed.
2. Waste position fixed before delivery. Freestanding baths often drain through the floor, so the pipe must be exactly where the outlet lands.
3. Taps planned: floor standing, wall mounted or deck mounted, each with its own pipe route.
4. Bath moved with enough hands or lifting kit to protect stairs, walls and people.
5. Set level on a rigid base, connected, filled and checked for leaks before sealing.

Living with stone resin

Once the bath is warm it holds heat well, which is why people choose it. The surface is the part that needs a little care. Use non abrasive cleaners, avoid dropping heavy bottles into it, and deal with any chip promptly so water cannot get behind the finish. Treated sensibly, it is a very long lived bath.

Access and practical checks

• Will it fit up the stairs and round the landing? Measure the tightest turn.
• Is there room to clean behind a freestanding bath?
• Does your hot water supply fill a large bath before it runs cool?

Stone resin or cast stone?

The names get used loosely. Stone resin is usually crushed natural stone bound with resin and finished with a smooth gel coat, which keeps it lighter than solid cast stone while still feeling dense and warm. Solid cast stone and cast iron sit at the heavy end. Ask the supplier for the empty weight and the capacity in litres, then send both to us. Those two numbers tell us far more about your floor than the product name does, and they let us plan the lift, the base and any strengthening properly.

Before you order

Before you order anything heavy, we will look at the joists and tell you what is realistic. The survey is free and the quote is fixed and in writing within 24 hours, with any structural work shown on its own line. Arrange a floor check or call 01782 901390.

Common questions