I’m looking to do a bathroom remodel – trying to decide what material to go with for a 3 wall bathtub; cast iron, acrylic or stamped steel. Using tile for walls/shower
Thanks for any help,
TJ
I’m looking to do a bathroom remodel – trying to decide what material to go with for a 3 wall bathtub; cast iron, acrylic or stamped steel. Using tile for walls/shower
Thanks for any help,
TJ
Source control, ventilation, and filtration are the keys to healthy indoor air quality. Dehumidification is important too.
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
Fine Homebuilding
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
© 2024 Active Interest Media. All rights reserved.
Get home building tips, offers, and expert advice in your inbox
Become a member and get instant access to thousands of videos, how-tos, tool reviews, and design features.
Start Your Free TrialStart your subscription today and save up to 81%
SubscribeGet complete site access to expert advice, how-to videos, Code Check, and more, plus the print magazine.
Already a member? Log in
Replies
Cast iron. If you treat it halfway decently (and don't have really hard or iron-rich water) it'll last 50 years -- long enough for you to get REALLY tired of the color.
Ditto. I would never want fiberglass or plastic bathroom fixtures of any sort, but expecially the bathtub. And the tin can tubs... well, they're just plain cheap.~ Ted W ~
Cheap Tools! - MyToolbox.netSee my work at TedsCarpentry.com
iron will out last the two together many times over...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
While iron is the most durable choice and certainly will sit firmly in place it is expensive and difficult to work with on the install. I concure with the above on plastic, acrylic and fiberglass as being flimsy and the surfaces are much less durable.
However the stamped steel, if you buy a good one, is a viable alternative. 15-20 year life, a true baked on porceline finish and if you live their long enough and get tired of the color affordable to change next time. Most people today don't live in a house that long so they are changing even the most traditional stuff out every 10 years or so anyway.
My choice for a tub is an American Standard Solar model bath tub. About $300 for white and colors are $100 more. We used to stock these and probably installed 120 of them. Use a bag of mortar under them and a good 2x4 back rail and you have a great finish, durable unit at about half the cost. DanT
You install it one time, and then it's done. You use it the rest of your life. Go with the iron. It retains the heat.
Actually, a composite or insulated steel unit probably retains the heat in the water better.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
You might could be right.
Interesting...I have clients who complain about the initial cold with iron tubs so they don't want them.
From time to time we would have a tub install on an outside wall. We would take the steel tub I described and stuff the perimeter with insulation. No complaints about cold on any of them. DanT
"It retains the heat". Exactly! If the tub's going to be used more as a tub and less for showering, cast iron is the only way to go. If you'll only rarely "bathe" in the tub, consider the lighter, cheaper alternatives.
I prefer cast iron for a shower because it's much firmer underfoot.
As I stood before the gates I realized that I never want to be as certain about anything as were the people who built this place. --Rabbi Sheila Peltz, on her visit to Auschwitz
I would agree with you with the exception of something like the Americast product.
My opinion is to get a six foot tub that an adult can actually fit into unless it is for little kids only.
John
I have no problem, as an adult, standing in a standard five foot tub while taking my shower. Anything outside of standard is sure to be more expensive, plus bathrooms tend to be designed for a standard tub. Mine, for instance, would require relocating the toilet and moving a wall to have the larger tub. Not a good idea.
Cast iron beats the others hands down, for quality, longevity, and long-term value.
If you do get tired of the colour before it dies (say, 50-75 years from now) a CI tub is worth having refinished. None of the others are.
Me, I'd go for white. Never goes outta style and goes with any other colours you put in the room.
BTW a 'standard' 5 foot tub is a waste of money. If you're not going to put in a 6 footer, nobody but a midget or a child will ever use it to bathe in. Take the same dough and put in a big stall shower instead.
Unless you plan on manufacturing bathtub gin or something, of course....;o)
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
foolish men call Justice....