How to install a cast iron bathtub

Taking a bath can never be compared with an ordinary shower, because it is an ideal way to feel relaxation after a busy day and even improve your health. The modern plumbing industry offers an impressive selection of bathtubs, among which are acrylic, kvarilovy, from an artificial stone, steel and cast iron. But ageless classics are cast iron bathtubs. Consider the question: how to install a cast-iron bathtub.

The reason for the love of such material is not at all that someone is too lazy to change the Soviet bathtub to a modern one, from innovative materials. In fact, such a font is valuable in that heat is optimally distributed in it, which also remains for a long time. However, this element of plumbing has its own characteristics, which make its proper installation quite problematic. What is the specificity of this work?

Preparation for installation

Before starting the installation, the key point is to measure the size of the bath and the dimensions of the room so that they correspond to each other. All indicators to be measured can be viewed in the figure below.

How to bath properly

The main problem with self-assembly of a plumbing device is that cast-iron products differ sufficiently large mass - from 100 and more kilograms, in this regard, transportation and installation should be carried out together. That is how many people are required to lift and carry the cast-iron bathtub, and three loaders will only interfere with each other when the product is transported.

If there is no elevator in the house, lift this device to the desired floor by draining holes in the direction that is opposite to the direction of movement. They are brought into the bathroom in an upright position for a more convenient location, because this is how it occupies a minimum of space in the room, freeing up space for loaders to maneuver. It is better to close the jamb and the threshold in the process with soft material so as not to damage the new bath.

Tip: in order not to damage the walls of the bathroom itself when skidding, they also need to be protected, for this tarp, cardboard, rolled insulation material, etc. will come down.

Finishing the room before installation

The key point before installation is the proper preparation of the room for such a bulky item. Firstly, a concrete screed should be present in the bathroom, which is covered with thick ceramic tiles on top. In the case of low strength of the floor and the impossibility of strengthening or replacing it, it is advised to place steel plates under the legs, the minimum width of which is 5 cm, and the thickness is at least 0.5 centimeters.

Wall decoration is also an important issue due to the difficulty of moving the bath. You can go in two ways. First of all, tiled the entire room before the bath is brought into it. Secondly, to lay the tile only above the bathroom, as if "drowning" its upper part in the wall. This allows you to reduce the gap between the wall and the sides of the bath, achieving a decrease in the amount of leaking water. A similar finish is made only after the installation of the bathroom, which is pre-covered with some kind of protective coating in order to protect it from tile adhesive.

The room should be waterproofed, otherwise spilled water can cause serious trouble to you and the residents of the apartment below.

An approximate installation diagram can be seen in the following diagram.

Features of mounting a cast-iron bathtub on legs

First you need to turn off the water in the apartment and, in addition, by opening the taps, remove it from the system. After making the bath, it is laid sideways, turning the bottom to the wall, from which it will then be installed. The distance to the wall should be approximately 70 cm. Then they begin to mount the first pair of legs.

Tip: it is better to fix the screws for height adjustment in advance on the bath supports before installation, while the nuts relative to the legs should be located on the floor side.

Mounting bathtub supports

The legs can be mounted in two ways:

• Mounting with wedges. Supports put on special fastenings on the bottom and fix there, driving in the wedges which are available in a complete set. This should be done extremely painstakingly, without extra effort. As a result, the supports of the bathtub should be fixed so that the elements dock with the maximum density and do not move with any physical impact.
• Fastening with screws. The legs are fixed in the grooves with the available bolts. As in the first method, the main thing is not to overtighten the bolts, otherwise you can damage the bath itself and break the thread. The only thing left after this is to put the device on a brickwork. After fastening, the supports should be fixed.

Tip: To avoid excessive force when tightening the bolts, a torque wrench is acceptable.

To fix the rear supports, the cast-iron product is turned upside down, installing in such a way as it should be when using it. Then, one end is placed on the floor, for example, a board with a length of 60 cm (or another object that acts as a stand), after which the edge of the bathtub without legs is placed on it. The main thing is that the lifting height allows you to conveniently mount the product supports.

When mounting, a safety net by another person is highly desirable in order to avoid being crushed by a cast-iron “colossus”. The rear legs are installed in a manner identical to that of the front legs. If the floor of the room has a smooth coating, it is advisable to put gaskets. It is better to pour in polymer glue in them and under them. These measures are necessary so that the bathtub is securely fixed in one place.

Tilt the bath and fix it against the wall

When tilting the bathtub from cast iron, please note that the manufacturer already provides the necessary slope towards the drain. You only need to adjust the sides of the product horizontally using the level. The level should be taken as long as possible so that the measurements are most accurate. Correction must be done very carefully, since the legs fixed on the wedges can change their position. The stiffness of the bathtub made of cast iron determines that the location is adjusted only from those sides that are adjacent to the walls.

The distance from the wall to the bath during installation should be at least 1 mm. After the final installation, it can be completely pushed against the wall by tapping on the supports adjacent to these walls. After that, the existing slots are sealed with a special sealant. And it is advisable to buy a special sealant for additional fixation of the bathtub to the wall and separately silicone sealant to seal the seams from above. If the walls differ in curvature and the gap between them and the bathroom is very large, you can close it with a special baseboard, also covered with a layer of silicone-based sealant.

Tip: the bath should be at least 4-5 cm from the bottom row of tiles to facilitate its removal during dismantling.

Connection to the sewerage

At the final stage, connect the bath to sewer system. It is best to use plastic components for this, as they are easy to operate and most practical. They can be bought separately, although sometimes they are included. The lower drain hole is connected to the siphon, and the upper one to the overflow drain, also leading to the siphon. Using pipes, the siphon pipe is connected to the sewer. All communications are connected to the bath with rubber gaskets. Such a cast-iron product must be grounded, and qualified electricians should entrust this work.