Thanks -- who is the manufacturer of your tub?

LOL Sometimes I get a bit goofy trying to explain heh heh

I have an Americh and a Jacuzzi. Both are nice, both finishes feel great, but the finish on the Americh is much more durable (the Jacuzzi has three significant chips already which I find very frustrating).

thanks!

I'm also drawn to Englishcast (Victoria + Albert) -- But have no specific knowledge of it's durability, cleanability, or heat-retention. I'd love it if someone would search out online reviews and post them here...

OK, OK, I'll do it! From the Internet - take it for what it's worth:

"Victoria & Albert "Englishcast" tubs are superior to cast iron and acrylic tubs in every way. "Englishcast" will not flex or creak like acrylic tubs and scratches just polish away. They are made with solid one-piece casting, no-iron and insulates better (does not cool the warm water like cast-iron does). 25 year limited warranty."

source: http://www.waterwindfirenh.com/forthebathroom/

And here's a technical explanation combined with what is clearly a sales pitch. But still useful information, I think. According to these folks, Englishcast is a solid surface material made from cruched limestone and resin. It's solid all the way through, which means no top coat to scratch, chip, dent, discolor, wear off, etc. 25 year warranty that is not voided by site-drilling faucet holes. Less susceptible to scratches and better heat-retention than acrillyc; warmer to the touch than cast iron. Any scratches can be buffed or sanded out. In short - the perfect tub material. (According to them.)

Here is a link that might be useful: Englishcast - what, how, why

I'll give a vote for cast iron. Yes, it does feel cold when you're in the showroom, but when you fill it up with hot water, it's wonderfully warm. I've never understood the thinking that cast iron gets colder. Wouldn't your cast iron cookware get warm and hold the heat better than an acrylic salad bowl? I once read a tip to take some fiberglass insulation and put it under and around your tub during installation to help maintain the temp. even better, but I've never felt the need.

I've got a 6' Kohler soaking tub and think that cast iron has the quality feel and "solidness" that acrylic can't come close to matching. Wrestling in a couple hundred pounds of tub into the house is no fun, but worth the trouble for a quality piece.

As gbsim has said - Cast Iron - last longer, holds up better, retains heat better - may be cold to the touch when not filled - but will hold the heat once filled - acrylics can't retain heat like CA - there surface is more delicate so aesthetically they don't have the longevity that CA does
many GCs try to talk homeowners into acrylic because in a lot of cases you will need 3-4 guys to haul the cast iron up the stairs!
We have one orig to our 1930 house looks great!

good luck

Consumer reports has, as far as I can tell, never rated adult bathtubs, but it has rated sinks. Our of 100 points, enamel on cast iron and enamel on steel both rated 80. Acrylic just over 60. "Enamel-on" is clearly the better choice. Probably the same goes for bathtubs.

I have two cast iron tubs. One is new (Sunrise Specialty) and the other intended for upstairs, is an old one, original to the house.

It's true you must make the water a little hotter than you want it because you do have to heat the cast iron but it will stay warm seemingly forever. You should certainly lay down in any tub before you buy. Both of my tubs are comfy.

Now igloochick may have a point. I've only owned cast iron. As a lover of old houses, I try to stay true to the era of our house. Kind of like my aging Navigation system in my car. 'Nelly' doesn't know anything about the new neighborhoods and we're not going to tell. LOL!

Goldy, I have to first say.....I love sunrise specialty :) They made my sexy toilet and I think they totally rock! And you rarely have to steal them back from lazy tub guys :oP

We're buying a big victorian and if I do a quick mental count...I think we'll have five cast iron tubs. I will refinish them all (not using your guy LOL) and maintain the cast iron because it's appropriate to the era of the house and that's important to us. (The design snob may have a solid gold pillow made or something if I let her out of the box) :oP

The key to an acrylic tub is the recirculating water heater...it's bathing on acid...no wait that would hurt...it's bathing in champagne (which would probably feel quite yummy) verses bathing in a wine cooler...wait that's bubbly too...umm nevermind :oP The recirculating heater is gods gift to those who only get to laze in a tub once a year with a lovely bottle of wine....at least this is what my 3 year old tells me...

I'm KIDDING!!!! Sheesh :oP (he prefers scotch)

I wrestled with this a couple years ago. I couldn't stand how the cast iron tub we had would SUCK the heat out of the water for a while, necessitating using a whole lot more to get a warm bath. Mind you, this is in Maine in winter when the house is about 67 degrees. The cast iron may hold the heat better ONCE its warmed up, but it seemed to steal the heat while it warmed up.

Anyway- I also did not want a cheap, flimsy-feeling tub like I had had in some rental apartments.

We ended up with the American Standard Americast.... I went and banged on various tub materials at showrooms and I felt this was a decent compromise.

In useage, it never felt cheap to shower or bathe in. Solid. Much warmer for baths. I was happy and will do it again when I get around to renovating the baths in the new house!

Cast iron first.

Anything water soluble last.

Everything else int e middle.

That comes after dealing with a frantic homeowner who's custom bathtub was dissolving.

Over-the-phone troubleshooting showed that the "artist-craftswoman" (that was on her business card) built up the curves in the tub with...drywall joint compound! Ans then tiled over that with...home depot mastic from a plastic tub! And then grouted with...home depot premixed grout that came in a plastic tub!

The moral of the story is don't let an artist build you a tub using water soluble joint compound, then use a water soluble adhesive to set the tiles and water soluble grout to finish the job.

The good news? Everything fell apart, making the removal and replacement quite easy.

The bad news? They paid the artist $4400 for the temporary tub.

As my then 3 year-old daughter exclaimed many years ago when I told her there was no bacon for breakfast:

"The anguish, the pain....the horror!"

Good idea, igloo. Kidnapping back your bath tub is an experience you want to try and avoid. :+) Please don't use my loser guy for your beautiful new (old) house. Amazing Glaze. Cute name, loser owner. Remember that name. If he's been kicked out of his home and destroyed his local reputation, he may well be coming your way. LOL!

As per your 3 yo, I'd turn him on to a good quality tequila (100% Agave) For his annual bath.

What a story Mongo!
Do you know if those owners ever sued? Not that I'm lawsuit-happy, but a bathtub should be functional for bathing...

The natural stone would be much better. It not only could make you feel more comfortable but decorate your bathroom very well. The website http://www.chinasink.com/stone-bathtub.htm where you can find any kinds of stonetub show you photos. hope you like it

Here is a link that might be useful: natural stonetub

yes mongo, please tell us! if i ever got suckered into buying a tub from an "artist-craftswoman" that failed to hold water you can bet i'd haul her a$$ straight to court! what a nightmare...

They did show me some of the correspondence, much of the writing from the artist was fairly pathetic. A lot of "artistic vision" hooey and "supporting the arts" garbage.

They got the entire $4400 back. I think their interaction with her ended at that.

Oh, and to the question at hand? Personally I prefer cast iron.

I've done several bathrooms where the kids' tub with shower surround was installed on 5' long wall at the end of a typically sized bath, where the tub/shower is surrounded by walls on three sides and the fourth 5' long side of the tub is open to the room.

I've built a wall on that fourth side of the tub with a step-through opening, usually an arched opening/doorway of sorts.

By doing that, the tub is there for good. If the tub needs to be removed, the front wall would have to be demolished. In those instances I've always used cast iron tubs.

I wanted cast iron, but my contractor pointed out that the construction in my townhouse is "stingy" (a nice way of saying "unbelievably cheap") and he was worried about the weight on the second floor. He recommended Americast, and Americast has the advantage of not being water-soluble. :)

My bathrooms are still to be done, but for the one with the tub, I'm going with Americast.

Mongo, my 3 year old said the other day, "I am SAD and ANGRY" and then flung her head down. She is so dramatic.

Anybody have experience with the Swanstone bathtub--good, bad, or indifferent?

I don't believe that swanstone makes tubs out of their solid surface material so it would have to be veritek, which gets universally bad reviews for shower enclosures. I am not saying this is a bad tub as I don't know what you're talking about specifically, I'm saying be wary.

Another cast iron fan here. We ended up getting rid of our old clawfoot tub (I know, the horror) because it had already been refinished once before by the previous owner and was horribly chipped (the refinish job). Almond and navy blue *shudder* but I digress. It was 3/4 the price to strip and refinish the old tub as it was going to be for a new tub with factory enamel finish. It's our only tub and we have a little boy who likes to bang his toys. I didn't want to have to deal with a chippy mess again so we got a new tub. Do I get brownie points for giving the old tub to the woman who grew up in this house (who lives a block away now)???

Teak or hinoki are my preference.