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Lower floor for more height


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Hi there

 

Sorry if this is a very ignorant question, but I'm new to the possibilities of what can be done on a boat!

 

I have an old (1894) Dutch barge, and I've got to the stage of the bathroom refit.

 

I was wondering if it would be possible to lower the floor where the bath will go, by around a foot or so, to have a slightly sunken bath, and therefore allowing more head height to fit under a shower in that area - my boyfriend is over 6ft and wouldn't be able to fit underneath.

 

Not sure if that's possible, but if it is, is that a job for a boatyard, or would a trades person be able to do that?

 

Thanks so much in advance!
 

Anna

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4 minutes ago, Vrouwe_Johanna said:

Hi there

 

Sorry if this is a very ignorant question, but I'm new to the possibilities of what can be done on a boat!

 

I have an old (1894) Dutch barge, and I've got to the stage of the bathroom refit.

 

I was wondering if it would be possible to lower the floor where the bath will go, by around a foot or so, to have a slightly sunken bath, and therefore allowing more head height to fit under a shower in that area - my boyfriend is over 6ft and wouldn't be able to fit underneath.

 

Not sure if that's possible, but if it is, is that a job for a boatyard, or would a trades person be able to do that?

 

Thanks so much in advance!
 

Anna

Boats are not like cars and houses - in that there aren't too many variations...

There are many variations on Dutch Barges which means that it's difficult from a distance to see where a cabin floor is in relation to the hull shape. Each conversion is different - and it also depends where in the boat the bath is to go (I had a Physics master at school who had a sunken bath in his barge in Chelsea..). His floor was high throughout, thus plenty of space below into which to sink the bath. How to get the water out may need more consideration than whether you can sink it...

 

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Most baths have legs, so you could possibly gain around 6" by fitting the bath without them. That way you would only need to drop the floor 6" to achieve your desired headroom which may or may not be possible. You'd still need to deal with the drainage. 

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In short, nobody knows how much space there is below the flooring so you’d have to lift a section of floor and have a look underneath and then you can tell US how much space there is. If you take some photos at the same time then you’ll probably get a flurry of suggestions too. 

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In the same vein as 'there is no standard Dutch Barge", there is no standard bath either.

A proper / traditional cast iron bath will stand 'high' on elegant legs and if you are one  is  of moderate stature, you / they will have to jump to get in...

On the boat I have a more modest plastic (ugh) bath which I have sunk into the floor as you suggest - the result of which is than the top of the bath is about a foot off the floor. It doubles as a shower and somewhere to put the caravan style twin tub.

Thus there is a potential solution for your question - the result depends on your particular requirements and bath location.

 

If your question was about a bath in "bricks and mortar" , a sensible solution is easier to suggest. On a boat there are more variables, making more details needed... 

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Our first boat had a shower (no bath) where the tray was made "sunken" by simply cutting a hole in the floor so it sat on the bottom plate. As the boat had a wet bilge, there was no need for a fancy drainage setup, the plug hole was simply left as an open hole, with no fitment at all, and the water just ran to the stern where the bilge pump dealt with it.

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44 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

Our first boat had a shower (no bath) where the tray was made "sunken" by simply cutting a hole in the floor so it sat on the bottom plate. As the boat had a wet bilge, there was no need for a fancy drainage setup, the plug hole was simply left as an open hole, with no fitment at all, and the water just ran to the stern where the bilge pump dealt with it.

The Good Lord knows how you dealt with the grease, hairs and whatever. A more sophisticated method is to have a pump fitted with a filter - but yes it works. For us as a shower, bath with 'knees tucked up to  chin' or a twin tub, and of course somewhere above which to hang the washing's as a result of the TT....    

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In our last boat we were able to drop the bath/shower a useful 2-3 inches by sitting the feet direct on the baseplate. Had remove a section of floor and a couple of bits of ballast. Still had room for a waste fitting below it and the bath emptied via a Whale Gulper.

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Lift a bit of floor, have a look, If the boat is that old chances are its an old sailing barge, maybe a tjalk or one of the many varieties of the type. Beautiful, lovely boats but seldom blessed with much depth of hold, flooring is usually laid on, or just above, the iron ribs that run across the bottom. I fear you may have to find a shorter boyfriend.

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There is a photo or two in here that show the floor and sub-floor congifuration on our old barge (1904).

We could set the shower tray down about 4 inches but were restricted by the iron bearers.

https://renovations.abargeatlarge.co.uk/#collection/4

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Is it not a bit uncomfortable bathing in a twin tub?

 

If you build up a 4 sided "tub" deeper than the water line, you could cut the bottom out and have a bath as deep as the canal/river would allow. Or something like a plastic manhole built in to the floor if you prefer a round tub.

You would need a large well fitting plug for when under way, no bathing whilst moving.

Would take an unbelievable amount of hot water too.

 

Drill a hole in the floor to find out how deep it is.

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