I dragged MrDinks (almost literally) to some bathroom showrooms a few weeks ago and made him sit in tubs to see what fit him. He was unenthusiastic. As far as he's concerned, we're only adding a tub for resale. He would prefer a tub he fits in, on the off chance he decides to use it once. But the shape and features are completely up to me. The caveat is that if I go crazy on the price, I'll have to give up something else. Like the heated floors or stone counters.
I did learn that he fits in 60" tub as long as it's got a slim profile. Tubs are sized from the outside edges. So if a 60" tub has a 4" lip all around it, it's actually only 52" on the inside. A slim profile tub might only have a 1.5" lip on it, leaving 57" on the inside. So I'm looking for either a slimline 60" tub, or a regular 66" tub.
I went to the Mirolin showroom, which I mentioned in this post. MrDinks didn't come because they are only open when he's at work. I asked about the jets and air bubbles and heated back rests. They don't make heated back rests because they only do acrylic tubs, which don't transfer heat very well. Not only do they feel it wouldn't work very well, it's not necessary because the water doesn't get as cold as a cast iron tub does. Upon further research, Kohler and Maax make acrylic tubs with heated backs. But Kohler is out of my price range for a tub, and Maax is just a pain in the ass to buy. We purchased a Maax shower door for our current house. We could see on their website that they made what we wanted, but when we call stores that carry their product, they don't have exactly what we want. And the website only lists stores that carry their stuff. No help finding stores that carry specific products. I won't be buying Maax unless I happen to walk into a store that has something I want. I won't bother trying to track down something I saw on their website.
Anyway, it looks like the heated back rest is out. But the guy at Mirolin suggested a whirlpool tub with a heater. As I said, I didn't think whirlpool tubs even existed anymore because they get icky. But if you add a heater, you could theoretically bathe indefinitely and never get cold. The Chaise tub I was originally looking at can't have bubbles or jets added to it, so I started looking around at other tubs. I also got their catalogue with suggested retail prices in it. That's where I learned that the basic tubs are around $800-1000. The air bubbles or whirlpool with heater are an additional $1500.
Hmmm. Am I going to take enough jacuzzi baths to justify $1500? Will the jets affect resale? I asked around, and most people don't care about jets in resale. And I haven't used our current jacuzzi tub in years. So I guess that's money we don't need to spend.
A couple of weeks ago, I also investigated quartz surround for the tub.
Here's an inspiration pic for the tub/shower.
I like how the solid surface creates an edge for your bubble bath bottles and wine glass, and then continues on to become a bench in the shower.
A big concern for me though is the cost of the quartz. Do I need to pay for a full sheet and then discard the piece that gets cut out for the tub? That would increase the cost of the tub unless I can reuse the piece cut out somewhere else. I went into Granite Transformations. They do thin sheets of stone over cheap substrates, for the look of granite for a lower cost. Their main target market is kitchen updates. Get granite counters in a day for a fraction of the cost! But they will build new structures using MDF or plywood if you don't have an existing counter to cover. They actually had a tub set up in their showroom just like what I want (minus the shower). I asked them to quote that, and they gave me a price of $1300. Ouch. I knew it wouldn't be cheap, but that doesn't seem like "a fraction of the price". And that price doesn't require me to buy a whole slab. So that's just the tub, there's no extra piece I could consider using for the counter.
One of the biggest countertop companies has a showroom right next door. So I went in there to compare. They definitely require you to buy the whole slab, and quoted me $100-130/square foot. For a 6' tub deck, I'm looking at $2400-3120. So, Granite Transformations is cheaper, but not drastically. But I guess half is a fraction. Either way, I'm over $1000 for just the tub deck. Add in another $1000 for a simple tub, and that's over $2k for our tub. That doesn't include a faucet, installation or plumbing.
Since I'm just looking for a simple tub now, I decided to look at Kijiji. There weren't many listings for a nice, basic tub. Lots of small, apron front tubs, lots of used jetted tubs, and lots of clawfoot tubs. Clawfoot tubs. Interesting. The average price for the clawfoot tubs is about $300. One guy had a listing for resurfacing for $600. I asked around, and there's another place that does it for $800-1000. And that fits into the reclaimed, salvage theme I have for the house.** And kind of looks like the $22k Waterworks tub.
So, the new plan is an old, cast iron claw foot tub. $900-1300 vs $2100-$2300. It'll depend on what's available used once we actually start building. I have no interest in storing a cast iron tub for up to a year. Maybe when I actually go to buy it, there'll be an acrylic tub available that suits my needs. Maybe there will be nothing available at all and I'll have to order an acrylic tub. There's a few options that I'll decide on when the time comes.
**Apparently I haven't discussed that here yet. Since we're looking at a modern industrial style, while trying to be cost effective and environmentally friendly, I'd like to use salvaged materials where possible. I don't want to go overboard. I'll be ordering new, matching kitchen cabinets instead of random mismatched cabinets picked up from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I'd love hardwood floors taken out of an old factory or grain elevator. But that's so trendy right now, they cost more than new floors. So I'll probably get something new that looks old. But I've been a regular visitor to the very few used building material places in town. I'll probably be picking up some used sinks for the bathrooms. Maybe some old light fixtures, etc.
I did learn that he fits in 60" tub as long as it's got a slim profile. Tubs are sized from the outside edges. So if a 60" tub has a 4" lip all around it, it's actually only 52" on the inside. A slim profile tub might only have a 1.5" lip on it, leaving 57" on the inside. So I'm looking for either a slimline 60" tub, or a regular 66" tub.
I went to the Mirolin showroom, which I mentioned in this post. MrDinks didn't come because they are only open when he's at work. I asked about the jets and air bubbles and heated back rests. They don't make heated back rests because they only do acrylic tubs, which don't transfer heat very well. Not only do they feel it wouldn't work very well, it's not necessary because the water doesn't get as cold as a cast iron tub does. Upon further research, Kohler and Maax make acrylic tubs with heated backs. But Kohler is out of my price range for a tub, and Maax is just a pain in the ass to buy. We purchased a Maax shower door for our current house. We could see on their website that they made what we wanted, but when we call stores that carry their product, they don't have exactly what we want. And the website only lists stores that carry their stuff. No help finding stores that carry specific products. I won't be buying Maax unless I happen to walk into a store that has something I want. I won't bother trying to track down something I saw on their website.
Anyway, it looks like the heated back rest is out. But the guy at Mirolin suggested a whirlpool tub with a heater. As I said, I didn't think whirlpool tubs even existed anymore because they get icky. But if you add a heater, you could theoretically bathe indefinitely and never get cold. The Chaise tub I was originally looking at can't have bubbles or jets added to it, so I started looking around at other tubs. I also got their catalogue with suggested retail prices in it. That's where I learned that the basic tubs are around $800-1000. The air bubbles or whirlpool with heater are an additional $1500.
Hmmm. Am I going to take enough jacuzzi baths to justify $1500? Will the jets affect resale? I asked around, and most people don't care about jets in resale. And I haven't used our current jacuzzi tub in years. So I guess that's money we don't need to spend.
A couple of weeks ago, I also investigated quartz surround for the tub.
Here's an inspiration pic for the tub/shower.
I like how the solid surface creates an edge for your bubble bath bottles and wine glass, and then continues on to become a bench in the shower.
A big concern for me though is the cost of the quartz. Do I need to pay for a full sheet and then discard the piece that gets cut out for the tub? That would increase the cost of the tub unless I can reuse the piece cut out somewhere else. I went into Granite Transformations. They do thin sheets of stone over cheap substrates, for the look of granite for a lower cost. Their main target market is kitchen updates. Get granite counters in a day for a fraction of the cost! But they will build new structures using MDF or plywood if you don't have an existing counter to cover. They actually had a tub set up in their showroom just like what I want (minus the shower). I asked them to quote that, and they gave me a price of $1300. Ouch. I knew it wouldn't be cheap, but that doesn't seem like "a fraction of the price". And that price doesn't require me to buy a whole slab. So that's just the tub, there's no extra piece I could consider using for the counter.
One of the biggest countertop companies has a showroom right next door. So I went in there to compare. They definitely require you to buy the whole slab, and quoted me $100-130/square foot. For a 6' tub deck, I'm looking at $2400-3120. So, Granite Transformations is cheaper, but not drastically. But I guess half is a fraction. Either way, I'm over $1000 for just the tub deck. Add in another $1000 for a simple tub, and that's over $2k for our tub. That doesn't include a faucet, installation or plumbing.
Since I'm just looking for a simple tub now, I decided to look at Kijiji. There weren't many listings for a nice, basic tub. Lots of small, apron front tubs, lots of used jetted tubs, and lots of clawfoot tubs. Clawfoot tubs. Interesting. The average price for the clawfoot tubs is about $300. One guy had a listing for resurfacing for $600. I asked around, and there's another place that does it for $800-1000. And that fits into the reclaimed, salvage theme I have for the house.** And kind of looks like the $22k Waterworks tub.
So, the new plan is an old, cast iron claw foot tub. $900-1300 vs $2100-$2300. It'll depend on what's available used once we actually start building. I have no interest in storing a cast iron tub for up to a year. Maybe when I actually go to buy it, there'll be an acrylic tub available that suits my needs. Maybe there will be nothing available at all and I'll have to order an acrylic tub. There's a few options that I'll decide on when the time comes.
**Apparently I haven't discussed that here yet. Since we're looking at a modern industrial style, while trying to be cost effective and environmentally friendly, I'd like to use salvaged materials where possible. I don't want to go overboard. I'll be ordering new, matching kitchen cabinets instead of random mismatched cabinets picked up from the Habitat for Humanity Restore. I'd love hardwood floors taken out of an old factory or grain elevator. But that's so trendy right now, they cost more than new floors. So I'll probably get something new that looks old. But I've been a regular visitor to the very few used building material places in town. I'll probably be picking up some used sinks for the bathrooms. Maybe some old light fixtures, etc.
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