Choosing and purchasing a bath is only half the battle. The end result will depend on the quality of the installation of the product. Proper installation will allow you to use plumbing fixtures for a long time with maximum comfort. But if even the slightest mistake is made during installation, this can cause a breakdown. Sometimes it can be fixed with a repair, but it also happens that an improperly installed bathtub needs to be replaced.
Performing preparations
Instructions for installing an acrylic bath at the first stage provides for the preparation of the room. To do this, remove the old device, dismantle the drain and clean the sewer pipe. A piece of corrugated hose is inserted there. All joints are treated with sealant.
It is recommended that the floor be leveled or taken care of only in the area where the bath will be installed. It is recommended to turn off the water before starting the preparatory work, and after completionpreparations to remove debris from the room. The place where the bath will stand should be covered with shock-absorbing material to provide protection from damage. Experts recommend buying a bath immediately before installation. Long-term storage of the product in unsuitable conditions may cause deformation of the material.
Compliance with security measures
Instructions for installing an acrylic bathtub with your own hands provides for compliance with safety regulations. You can do the work yourself, because the weight of the device is low. However, this feature of acrylic has a drawback. The material is quite fragile, so they must be handled with care. Even if the product falls from a small height, it may cause cracks and chips. The same result is possible if a heavy object is dropped into the bowl. Acrylic surface may be scratched by rough handling.
Before installation, you should study the recommendations. They are included with the product. The bottom must be attached to the frame or legs in the places indicated by the manufacturer. If the position of the tub changes over time, it may cause deformation or breakage.
Before you start installing an acrylic corner bath with your own hands, you should once again make sure that the product is of good quality. To do this, you need to look at your passport. Then proceed to inspect the device. To do this, click on the walls. If they bend or the product emits an unpleasant odor, this indicates that the product was used in the production process.poor quality acrylic. This bath is better to change to another.
Walls should not be translucent. You can use a flashlight to check this. Make sure everything you need for installation is included in the package. It is also important to pay attention to the number of supports. The fewer of them, the stronger the product.
Installation order
Do-it-yourself acrylic bath installation can be carried out using one of several technologies. One involves the use of legs as supports, while the other - a frame made of bricks. You can carry out installation on the factory frame with legs. In order to ensure maximum strength of the bath, some masters use a combined installation method. At the same time, the product rests on legs and a brick frame.
The easiest way to deal with installation is when a frame or legs are supplied with the structure. But to work with bricks, you need to have certain skills, since the laying will need to be done smoothly and accurately, accurately observing the dimensions. Regardless of which installation method was chosen, access to communications should be provided. It is easy enough to achieve this goal when mounted on a frame or legs. However, if brickwork is being performed, then a gap of several bricks should be left in order to maintain communications.
Foot-mounted
Do-it-yourself installation of an acrylic bathtub on legs is carried out according to the following algorithm: first, supportsinstalled in their designated locations. After the bath is mounted in its place, and the legs are adjustable in height. The position of the plumbing fixture is fixed, then finishing work is carried out. To screw the legs on an inverted bathtub, you should find places for fastening. They will look like holes or mounting pads. The legs are fixed in these places.
If the installation is carried out on a platform, then the legs must be installed on rails attached to the bottom of the room. The installation of an acrylic bathtub in the bathroom should in no case be accompanied by drilling holes in other places yourself. This can cause deformation of the material, and in this case the bowl may turn over, because the place for the legs is selected taking into account the distribution of the load.
An empty bathtub can stand almost level on improperly installed supports, but when it is filled with water, you may experience cracks and leaks. Once the legs are in place, the bathtub can be turned over and placed on the supports. The bottom is covered with soft material so as not to spoil the surface.
The next step is to adjust the legs. First, you should align the position of the sides in contact with the wall. After the position of the outer sides is corrected. For adjustment, you can use the building level, a screwdriver and a set of keys. Installation of an acrylic bathtub at this stage is carried out as follows: one of the corners should be raised to the desired height by rotating the leg screw. The level is placed on the adjacent corner, and the position is leveled. By the sameprinciple, it is necessary to correct the location of the remaining corners. If errors were found, they must be corrected.
If the bathroom is already tiled with ceramic tiles, the adjustment process may be more difficult. In this case, you will have to adjust the height of the bead to match the bottom edge of the trim. Experts advise to first install the bath and only then proceed to the finishing work. The installation of an acrylic bathtub is sometimes carried out with a slight slope towards the sewer. To do this, the height of the legs changes with a difference of 2 cm. However, most often the slope is provided in the design by manufacturers. At the next stage, the sewerage and water pipes are connected.
Additional work
Since acrylic bathtubs do not hold heat very well, experts recommend laying a layer of thermal insulation. For this, mounting foam is used. The bath is turned over, its outer surface is wetted with water, and then the base is treated with foam. Material is dispensed in a thin stream to prevent the foam from sliding off the sides as it dries.
This processing is carried out after the position of the frame and legs is adjusted. The legs also need to be foamed to strengthen them. Once the thermal insulation layer has been applied, the plumbing fixture is left for 8 hours to dry. After that, the bath is turned over and set in place. It can be covered with a decorative screen or finished in any way.
Installation on frame
Installing an acrylic bathtub on a frame with your own hands is almost no different from mounting it on legs. However, the volumethere will be more work. The frame elements at the first stage should be unpacked, and then turn the bowl upside down. Now you can mark the outer side of the bottom, marking the attachment points of the frame elements.
Holes are drilled for fasteners, brackets are screwed to the bottom. It is necessary to attach legs and other elements to them. After the lower and upper drain holes are connected, the siphon can be assembled. All connections are sealed. The bath is turned over and installed in its place. Its position is aligned, and the horizontal is checked by a level.
Hooks should be marked on the wall to prevent the bowl from tipping over. Holes are drilled for fasteners, then you can proceed to install the hooks themselves. The bath is hung on them, and the position is checked by a level. The installation of an acrylic bathtub on the frame is completed by connecting the siphon to the drain. Then the tightness of the connections must be checked. The bath is filled with water, and after a while you will be able to inspect the connections. If a leak was detected, then the problem area is treated with a sealant.
About drilling features
Be careful when drilling the case. It is necessary to go deep by 6 mm, otherwise you can make a hole through the case. Specialists wind tape around the drill to indicate the depth to which it will plunge into the thickness of the material. Self-tapping screws must be installed on the body, places are provided for their installation, inwhich the thickness of the acrylic is thicker than on the steel case.
The fasteners supplied with the frame are not recommended to be replaced. Their dimensions are selected so as not to spoil the surface of the bowl. The fasteners can be replaced with items that match the fasteners supplied by the manufacturer. A screwdriver is used to tighten the fastener. It is better to refuse to use a screwdriver, as this can cause the thread of the self-tapping screw to break.
Installation on masonry
Installation of an acrylic bathtub on bricks is more often carried out if it is necessary to implement non-standard design solutions. Such supports can also be used for some features of the room. Sometimes the bath is delivered without a frame at all, in order to reduce the cost of the buyer. But the use of bricks allows you to achieve increased strength.
The structure will be ready to serve for many years, and it will take more time to create it than to install a factory frame. To make the base, use:
- metal profile;
- solution;
- brick;
- self-tapping screws;
- trowel;
- hammer;
- sealant.
The frame is formed as follows: the position of the lower edge of the bowl rim must be marked on the wall. According to the marking, several holes are drilled for installing fasteners. The metal profile can be fixed in the next step. On the floor, the places where the brick bases will be located are indicated. According to the markup, laying is carried out. Once the solution is dry, you can install the bath. The next step will be the connection of communications and the processing of joints with sealant. Installation of an acrylic bath includes checking the correct installation and tightness of the connections.
How to avoid mistakes
A metal profile located at the bottom level is used to improve the reliability of the foundation. The step from the profile installation site to the floor should be 0.6 m. It is no longer worth doing this value. The brick base can be formed in the form of two supports or a rectangular frame. It is important to maintain the same distance from the brick supports to the ends of the plumbing fixture, while the drain should remain free.
The installation of an acrylic bathtub may involve the use of a rectangular frame. If you decide to use this technology, then you should take care of the hole. It will guarantee access to communications. The difference in height, if necessary, giving the bath a slope towards the drain can be provided by laying a metal plate between the bricks. Its width should be 1 cm. If you have experience, then you can achieve a drop by laying more mortar.
Features of installing a corner bath
Before installation, you need to prepare the walls. They should form a right angle. It is necessary to carry out these works at the stage of rough finishing, when the base is leveled with putty and plaster. Compliance of the angle with the standardchecked by a construction triangle.
Do-it-yourself installation of an acrylic bathtub is best done before wall cladding. Before carrying out the main work, you will need to dismantle the old tank and turn off the water supply. It is important to follow a certain sequence. It provides for disconnecting the device from the sewer. After that, mono turn off the drain. The old bath must be removed from the room, and the drain hole must be wiped and covered with rags.
Then the bottom is formed. The best material for this is brick. Before the solution has completely dried, it is necessary to leave the supports for 12 hours. The installation of the corner acrylic bath is carried out in such a way that the device is firmly pressed against the wall. It is important to provide access to the pipes. Before installation, the corner of the walls should be leveled. The need for this is possible only where a new plumbing fixture will be installed. The floor must also be leveled.
It is also important to remember the need to remove construction debris. If you are still undecided about whether or not to provide a slope, then you can heed the advice. Some provide it. As practice shows, catastrophic consequences should not arise in this case. In addition, the bath will always remain dry. If you are mounting with legs, then you can give a certain angle with the help of clips.
