Steel or acrylic bath tubs?

golden_eagle

I posted a question last week about bathrooms and have received a lot of helpful information. One of them was about steel bath tubs. I went to one of the local bathroom show rooms this weekend and spoke to the guy there. I asked whether there was any benefit in getting a steel bath tub and he didn't seem to think so. He told me that if we were to get thicker acrylic bath tub and provided it was properly installed than it would be just as sturdy as any steel bath. The advantage buying an acrylic bath tub would seem to be the price (it is cheaper) and also the fact that if it got chipped/scratched it could be polished out unlike steel baths. Any views? Thank you.

planetclaire70

We had the same dilemma recently. I wanted a strong bath as we will be using it as our main shower, but was a bit worried about having steel as apparently the water cools down more quickly. In the end we have gone for Carronite reinforced acrylic. The bath isn't in yet though, so I can't comment on it. Ideal Standard do their own version of this too, called Idealcast.

Meepster

A 7mm thick Acrylic bath, if installed correctly, can support up to 1.5 metric tonnes...

Carronite or Idealcast are better quality, but they obviously come at a premium...

Inactive

Meepster wrote: »

A 7mm thick Acrylic bath, if installed correctly, can support up to 1.5 metric tonnes...

Carronite or Idealcast are better quality, but they obviously come at a premium...

Spot on, the secret is in the installation, proper support is vital.

WillowCat

Steel all the way for me - we use bath as a shower too and I hate it when getting into a plastic bath you can feel it flex.

We've got a 3.5mm thick steel Kaldewei, it sits on it's four feet and is siliconed to the wall on two sides. You'd need a bomb to shift it - no messing with complicated frames to make a flimsy bath feel stiffer.

The last one we had, also a Kaldewei in our old house was installed ten years before we sold it. The original silicon was still firm - never any leaks which proves the bath was rigid, even with a mini elephant (me) showering every day.

The other benefit of a steel bath is they keep looking good longer. The ten year old one mentioned above looked newly installed. They don't scratch or fade when you clean them. I didn't get any chips at all in it, in fact I didn't realise they could chip until my new bath got a chip when it was being carried up the stairs!

BrokeButWorkingOnIt

I've replaced an acrylic bath with a steel one. The new steel bath was a comparable price ie about £110, it was also a UK make, which I'm happy to support as long as it don't cost me, and has a much better shine on it after its (infrequent) cleans. Been about four years now & it still buffs up like new. Speaking of support, I can also stand on the corner of it & change the bathroom lightbulb when necessary. As for the water cooling down bit, if i can turn on the hot tap with my big toe so can you! If its boxed in & you were really concerned about the water losing heat you could just whack some insulation in around it? Tho probably more an issue with cast iron baths than steel. My steel bath sure isn't 3.5 mm thick tho!, think that ones in a bit higher price range, Regards

IronMaidenFan

WillowCat wrote: »

We've got a 3.5mm thick steel Kaldewei, it sits on it's four feet and is siliconed to the wall on two sides. You'd need a bomb to shift it - no messing with complicated frames to make a flimsy bath feel stiffer.

We have exactly the same - solid as a rock!