Looking ahead to the autumn one of the projects I am considering is to make a wooden bath. You could ask the question why? for which I struggle for an answer. I don’t particularly enjoy a bath, I struggle to sit still for that length of time, having said that I do really fancy having a bath tub in the Garden – Is that weird?

Putting that aside its a wood manufacturing challenge which has occupied my thoughts during many long sleepless nights – maybe I need to start having baths before bedtime. Now if I had a bathtub in the Garden ….

When you look online there are a couple of wooden bath manufacturers, and they tend to adopt a very traditional shape. This could be for a myriad of reasons, shape of the bathroom, manufacturing ease, or just tradition and customers are happy with it.

Recently I have been playing with steam bending and laminating strips of wood which makes it possible to create very interesting shapes, so a bathtub could work, but first you need a mould to work with , and that’s the issue I am working on right now.

In order to make the mould I need to know what shape is the perfect bath?

There are plenty of bath manufacturer’s out there and they seem to adopt a couple of basic shapes, but have they got it right? and more importantly can we do better?

So what I need your help with is what is the perfect shape for a bath?

The traditional shape seems to be rounded at one end, and squared off at the other to allow for the taps and an overhead shower. This may be the optimum shape for a family bathroom, but this is a statement piece. Would it be better with two rounded ends, in which case where does the plug hole go?

Having considered the shape how long should it be. As a 6ft man I am used, when I have a bath to wedging myself in, so I would like a longer bath ( whether that fits into the bathroom is a different question), but my wife who is shorter than me would find a longer bath difficult.  So therefore would it be sensible to ask who has the most baths? and build the bath accordingly. Is there any advantage to making the bath wider?

There is a  question as to the height of the sides? If you lean back in the bath do you want the top of the sides shoulder height? or level with the top of the head? Would you prefer top of the head, so it supports your head at the end but lower at the sides? Should there be a seat moulded in?

The final question, and one I hesitate to  mention in polite company, but I get an impression that sharing a bath is on the increase. I have no real evidence to base this on beyond a conversation in a pub with a plumber. Obviously the position of the taps and plug hole then makes a considerable difference. A wooden bath is for someone for whom having a bath is an important part of life. Do they share it and if so what adaptions do I need to make?