seat, lid, drain, maintenance etc.

Dear Iacopo,

Thank you for your quick follow-up! For discussion purposes, please find below a few pictures showing the setting in which the Ofuro would be installed.

There is a drain present at the moment in the space which would seem to arrive at mid length in the Ofuro. The interior dimension of the drain under the blue capping seem to be approximately 45 mm. Do you think that could work?

A few other questions :

  • do you recommend a seat inside?
  • do you recommend a lid?
  • could you send me a link for information on how to maintain and use an Ofuro?
  • the Ofuro would be installed on a floor of Carrara marble mosaic. Do you recommend putting the Ofuro directly on the mosaic or should we install something in between the wood and the marble?

Best regards,
L.

Dear L.

I suggest you use the drain as a floor drain and let the ofuro evacuate onto the floor and from there towards the floor drain.
Consider the ofuro like a large baby bath that can just be placced onto the floor without plumbing connections.

We usually do not recommend a seat inside: it would make it feel smaller and more difficult to clean (wipe occasionally with a towel)
A seat may be convenient if you want to alternate periods of deep soaking (up to the shoulders) with periods of half-body-bath (water line below the heart)
The seat itself does not make the tb more comfortable, as the hydrostatic thrust acts in such a way that the water itself is like a soft cushion adapting to your body.

You can use a lid if you want to hold the hot water for other family members or possibly for the next day.
That said, because the ofuro is not so large, I think it will be more convenient to empty and refill.

Mainenance info:
download documents 3) and 4) from this page: https://bartokdesign.com/download

We recommend placing some packing under the 4 corners of the tub.
This is meant to:
1) avoid direct, prolonged contact between the wet floor and the wood.
2) adjust the tub to make it flat even if the floor has a gradient.
3) adjust the height under the tub for piping etc.
As packing material, you can use slices of tiles, stones, bricks, concrete blocks, plastic wedges, etc.

Please let me know if this answers your questions.

Best//

Bartok design Japan Co.
iacopo torrini