Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 1999 10:38am | #1

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   I too, dislike jet and pumps and prefer a simple soaking tub. While not hugely larger than a normal bathtub (72x36 versus 60x30) I'm installing a Ameritech "Monet" tub w/o jets - $1,040.

   For ourdoor hot tubs, I've always just built the tub myself from surplus tanks. But the next one will be stitch-and-glue marine plywood (very pretty with all the wood grain, protected
   by epoxy). Cheapest, materials-wise, is to spray/trowel concrete over chicken-wire like they do to make in-ground swimming pools. -David

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 1999 12:25pm | #2

   *we used to have a spa bath that fitted two, but my wife wouldn't let me in when she was in it as she didn't like where I put my toes..

1. 
   Guest_ | May 21, 1999 07:26pm | #3

   *Great Lakes Plastics manufactures shower and bath modules under the name Warm Rain. They make three acrylic steeping tubs - 72 x 36, 72 x 42 and 72 x 48 - all 20 inches deep. They are priced about $1K, give or take a little, depending on the size.I've installed a bunch of Warm Rain products for customers and have never been dissatisfied or had callbacks on them. The steeping tubs are designed for drop-in installation with no support required except suspension from the rim on all four sides.

2. 
   Lisa | May 21, 1999 10:35pm | #4

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   I love soaking tubs too. When it came time to rescue the master bath, I put in a clawfoot tub from my local arch. salvage yard for all of $75. It is nearly 20 inches to the overflow, and I added a bit to that by installing the overflow cover plate upside down (so that the slot was in the top). It works great!

   I also had a friend who built one for his cabin out of a 4'x4' cylindrical stock tank. He lined it with cedar slats screwed to pvc pipe rings and a duckboard style floor. He could remove the "inner" drum for cleaning or winterizing.

1. 
   Stu_MacDonald | May 22, 1999 07:37am | #5

   *I've recently installed a large soaker for some clients on a remodel I've been going at for a while. The tub they chose after a lot of sampling may be something to look at, it's called the Orential Soaker, the overall dimensions are 54"wx44"lx42"d, it's made by Sunset Plastics, Inc. of Anderson CA. phone 916.365.5494 (they don't like to talk anyone other than supply houses). So the info you need to bring to your supply house is for an Oriental Soaker T-54-44-OR, 210 gallon capacity by Sunset Plastics. I know that my cost for this tub in Central Oregon was about $750 (but we have an account with the supply house) Now there are several things to remember when considering a unit like this. First of all, water weighs about 8.3 lbs /gal and then add in two people (this is a two person tub) and your are looking at over a ton of wet weight focused in a small area, talk about a point load. So you may need to consult an engineer(hey and if it fails you've got a hard copy with which to point a finger), especially if you wind up hanging supporting joists from a stairwell header as I did, for a second floor installation. Another thing to remember this unit does not go simply or easily through most doors or up most stairwells, fortunatly for me this remodel involved lowering a portion of a garage ceiling to create a room sized closet so I had ample space to get it close to where it now resides( the building inspector got a good chuckle from my request for a partial framing inspectionof this tub). Also you need to think about water supply 210 gals is a hell of a lot of water to heat. And even though I live in a place where electricity is cheap, I wouldn't even consider a unit like this with any thing other than gas. And in my situation it will take two fifty gal high efficency tanks in series. Mechanicals in this part of the world are either in the crawl space or in the garage, and on this job every thing is in the crawl space so I had height limitations that demanded two heaters. So now all I have to wait for is the tile and the trims to be installed to see how wonderful this soaker is. I've been assured that I get the second test run with my wife, I'm sure all the anxieties will wash away.Hope this helps.

3. 
   dcowan | May 22, 1999 07:37am | #6

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   i'm looking for a large, built in tub that does not have jets or any of that stuff. all i want is a large, deep bathtub. who makes these things, how much are they and is there a website where i can get dimensions, etc.