Clean your Ashbee & Stone taps regularly with a soft cloth and warm, mild soapy water, then rinse and dry the surface to help prevent water spots and limescale build-up. Avoid abrasive cleaners, scouring pads, bleach and harsh chemicals, as these can damage the finish. Ashbee & Stone tapware and showers are cast from solid brass, and some finishes will naturally patina over time, particularly living finishes such as living brass and polished nickel. Where required, polished brass can be restored with a suitable metal polish, but this should be done sparingly and only after cleaning the surface first.

Most freestanding baths require an overflow waste and a bath trap to be plumbed in correctly.

For many of our freestanding cast iron baths, we recommend purchasing the exposed overflow waste and shallow seal bath trap from us. This is because our waste requirements are not always standard, and we cannot guarantee that fittings purchased elsewhere will be compatible with our baths.

Your plumber should always check the bath specification and waste position before installation.

Standpipes are used to support deck-mounted taps for baths without tap holes. They are usually fitted through the floor and secured in position before the taps are connected. Our standpipes our supplied with flexible tap connectors for easier fitting.

First, connect the flexible pipes to your water supply. Remove the top cap of the standpipes and screw this onto the thread of your taps. Slide the standpipes over the flexible pipes and position them upright. Secure the standpipes to the floor, then slide of the support brace (if using) then connect the other end of the flexible pipes to the taps.

Once the taps are connected, tighten the grub screws at the top of each standpipe to secure everything in place.

When standpipes are described as not suitable for solid floors, this usually refers to concrete floors or other floors where pipework cannot easily be accessed or adjusted from below.

If you want to install this type of standpipe on a solid floor, we usually recommend using a suitable timber plinth or raised base. Your plumber should check the installation requirements before fitting.

Some of our cast iron baths are available either with tap holes or without tap holes.

A bath without tap holes has a continuous roll top all the way around. This option is suitable for wall-mounted taps, freestanding taps, or deck-mounted taps fitted on standpipes.

A bath with tap holes is designed for deck-mounted bath taps. Our baths with tap holes normally have two tap holes set 180mm apart, measured from the centre of one tap hole to the centre of the other.

Tap holes cannot be added or removed after the bath has been cast. Drilling into a cast iron bath can cause irreversible damage to the enamel and is not recommended.

Standpipes and shrouds are used for different types of bath and tap installation.

Standpipes are used with baths without tap holes. They allow deck-mounted taps to be installed as freestanding taps beside the bath. If your taps already have legs, you may not need separate standpipes.

Shrouds are used with baths that have tap holes. They cover the visible pipework between the tap threads and the floor. If the bath is positioned against a wall and the pipework will not be seen, shrouds may not be necessary. If the pipework will be visible, shrouds create a neater finish.

All dimensions and technical information are detailed in the item description on our individual product pages. You can also find diagrams under the tab labelled 'Specifications' . If there is anything else you need to know about a product, please contact us and we will endeavour to provide an answer to your question.

Many of our products are handmade and so quoted sizes may vary by plus or minus 3% against the figures stated on our website.

When planning installations where dimensions are critical, we would always recommend you contact us prior to ordering to confirm dimensions.