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r/Plumbing•
OctoberEnd

Recommendations on a high quality acrylic bathtub

I tore out my 500 lb cast iron bathtub. I love the solid feel of a cast iron tub, but there's no way in hell I'm getting a new one up the stairs. Does anyone have a recommendation for an acrylic tub that doesn't feel like, well, a cheap plastic tub?

60 inch, right hand drain alcove tub. No fancy features, just plain white tub.

Edit: I looked at home depot, and those all seemed cheap. I'd have to hire piano movers to get another cast iron tub in there, which isn't out of the realm of possibility.

Posted Sep 25, 2017, 3:17 AM UTC

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Themanateher•

All I can say if you or your wife like to take long hot baths cast iron is the way to go once it gets warmed up it retains lots of heat

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wefallbutoursoulsfly•

Where are you?

Agree with u/Themanateher. Cast iron is an incredible heat retainer. But in terms of cost, they are WAY up there.

Acrylic is a great material; strong and affordable. It's non-porous so bacteria aren't able to get into and destroy it. Acrylic is a vacuum stretched piece of acrylic thats reinforced by fibreglass. Different manufacturers create different strengths, though. Some manufacturers are a lot more liberal with their backing fibreglass. The plumbing wholesaler I work for (in Canada) has had a lot of problems with Mirolin.

If you need a tub with a surround, stay away from Maax unless it's specified the unit is acrylic (even then I wouldn't do it.). Maax primarily manufacturers fibreglass or gelcoat units. These units are fibreglass with a thin coating on top (resins, etc) and they wear pretty poorly over time. Maax also makes cheaper units that use polystyrene walls. These walls are SUPER thin plastic walls that require caulking. They discolor, break, and are really cheap looking. I recommend staying away from polystyrene.

1
spgrst•

American standard makes an "Americast" line of tubs that are not as heavy as a cast iron but not as cheap as enameled steel.

https://www.americanstandard-us.com/parts-support/innovations/americast-technology

http://www.homedepot.com/p/American-Standard-Princeton-Luxury-Ledge-5-ft-Americast-Right-Hand-Drain-Bathtub-in-White-2395-202-020/100008531

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