PERRYSVILLE, OHIO – The land is cleared and the concrete is being poured. As a soon-to-be homeowner, you’re faced with a multitude of decisions. Carpeting or wood floors? Granite or tile countertops? As you make your choices, don’t forget to focus on the bathrooms.
While many new homeowners rely on their builders to select their bathware products, that can be a mistake, say the experts at Mansfield Plumbing.
“Your builder isn’t the person who will slide into your bathtub at the end of a long day,” says Haley Davis, product manager with Mansfield Plumbing. “As a homeowner, you should research and make the product choices for the type of bathware that goes into your master bath and other bathrooms in your new home.”
Davis points out that bathware choices abound for consumers. From traditional bathtubs to air massage baths to soaking tubs to whirlpools, consumers get only one chance to select bathroom pieces that will last for decades in the home.
“The bathroom is the private oasis in the home where you want to unwind and recharge,” says Davis. “For some people that means a good, long soak in a deep tub with quiet music in the background. For others it means a vigorous whirlpool experience with pulsating jets of water to soothe your muscles.”
Different Bathing Experiences
Davis recommends knowing the options available before meeting with your builder. From these descriptions, determine what bathing experience you prefer and discuss your preferences with your builder before any bathroom fixtures are ordered.
Soaking Tubs – Ergonomically designed and significantly deeper than standard bathtubs, a soaking tub allows full body support and deep immersion into comforting waters.
Whirlpool Tubs – Precision aimed jets of water can relax and rejuvenate the body in a whirlpool bath. Strategically-placed jets target different parts of the body for deep tissue massage.
Air Massage Baths – While whirlpools circulate water from the bathtub to massage the body, air baths inject streams of air into the bathing well, surrounding the body with millions of therapeutic bubbles. Choices include vigorous hydrotherapy massages and softer, more soothing baths.
Walk-in Tubs – If getting in and out of a tub is a challenge now (or you think it might be in the future) a tall walk-in tub with an inward swinging door is the ideal solution. Created with an ADA-height seat, the tub provides a deep well for bathing with options for air massage and whirlpool jets.
“Don’t forget to research the options available with each of these bathing experiences,” says Davis. “From chromatherapy mood light systems in whirlpool baths to in-line heaters that keep the bath water warm no matter how long you soak, there are many enhancements that can be selected to create a luxury bath. And, if you’re selecting a tub with air jets, make sure to determine how many jets there are, where they are located and if they are adjustable to maximum comfort.”
What to Ask Your Builder
To make the bathware selection easier, Davis recommends new homeowners sit down with their builder with a list of questions. Based on the answers provided, then a consumer can make a smart decision on which bathing experience to incorporate into different rooms of the home.
Questions to discuss with a builder include:
1. What is the maximum sized bathtub that will fit into the allocated space in each bathroom?
2. What is the minimum and maximum gallon capacity for the bathtubs in our bathrooms?
3. Do we have enough room for a two-person tub, or should we have just a one- person tub?
4. How much leg room will I have in the space allocated for the tub?
5. What type of tub are you recommending and why?
“The answers to these questions, matched up with visits to bath showrooms and online research, will prepare homeowners to make bathware decisions that they can live with for many years,” says Davis. “Finally, always select bathware from a company with a long, solid industry reputation that offers a strong warranty. These tips will have your resting comfortably in your new tub!”
Mansfield Plumbing precision manufactures millions of pieces of sanitaryware and bathware each year at its facilities in Perrysville and Big Prairie, Ohio and in Henderson, Texas. Founded in 1929, Mansfield Plumbing, which is owned by Corona, is a leading producer of top-quality, high-design, performance plumbing fixtures and fittings for use in residential, commercial and institutional markets. For more information, visit www.mansfieldplumbing.com or call 877-850-3060.
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