I've heard acrylic will age badly with hard water though. i currently have hard water, but i plan to add a softner and filtration system in the next 3 or so years. Will that cause issues?

Clarke Products makes the Sparta 66" solid surface alcove bathtubs.

Don't forget you've gotta get that beast inside.

When they overhaul the Detroit Diesels powering yachts, they unzip the side of the boat with a Sawmill and yank out the motor with a forklift, then reverse the procedure. You may end up doing the same.

Start with hotter water, and get cast iron. Truly , there is nothing wrong with a good acrylic: ) Nothing at all. You can use any non abrasive cleaner, and you'd want a clean tub anyway. For every bath. Use a daily shower cleaner and you will have no worries. Live in the present within reason, because lot can happen in thirty years. Such as you may not want a tub at ALL.

thankfully the bathroom is fairly close to the front door so transportation isn't a huge issue.

Starting with hotter water is not easy in that bath. the water heater in 60ft from the bathroom -_-*. It takes a long time for the water to get fully hot. I sometimes boil water in a kettle to warm up the cast iron.

good point about the stone. I guess I figured it would warm up faster than cast iron. I liked that it seemed to be more durable than acrylic, and i like the idea of a solid stone surround.

I was thinking acrylic would be good as it would stay warmer. I am just torn with the longetivity. I plan on making this shower solid white so it never has to be changed. The master has a walk in shower, but this is my bath oasis. lol I would rather just remodel this once, except for maybe changing the pain color and vanity.

Also i Love that clarke tub! it looks beautiful and I love the clean lines :).

The FIRST thing you should do is post the plan for the bath. With ALL dimensions of everything. You don't need a tub/shower if you already have a separate walk in shower. You need a hand held for the tub. or a large terry robe to get from one to the other :)

You are missing a lot of information that could get you help.

That Sparta solid surface tub from Clark is nice. The rim is not very wide to step over. Solid surface is supposed to mean that the surface is renewable if needed, since it is the same substance through-and-through. No surface finish is used on a solid surface product, so sanding and buffing can take care of any surface scratches if you have some kind of accident that damages the surface.

Solid surface also makes a wonderful shower wall surface that cleans easily and feels thick and durable to touch. See if Clark offers matching shower wall kits.

I am thinking there might be some issues with installing a solid stone tub that size are you on a slab ? Those puppies weigh a ton literally and if you have trouble keeping a cast iron one hot those will take twice as long. Get an on demand water heater for that bathroom get a nice acrylic tub and you will never have an issue with hot water and the money you save with acrylic will pay for the on demand. I had an acrylic shower in Calgary where the water is really hard never had an issue with cleaning.

The Clark Sparta 66" solid surface alcove bathtub weighs 287 lbs. In contrast, the Kohler K-848 Bellwether 66" x 32" cast iron alcove bathtub weighs 400 lbs.

We're on a slab foundation. Lol it's why we have to tunnel under the house. This will go directly on the slab. I don't like the idea of the stone taking a long time to warm up at all!

I meat solid surface, not solid stone. Lol if only I had space and unlimited money.

This is the current bathroom Layout

And this is the proposed bathroom layout. I'm going to have a pocket door instead of a swing door.

No one tunnels under a slab. You better first find out what your limitations in terms of placement might be.

You may have to place your tub in the exact location of the existing tub or you might be able to move it a few inches and channel the slab to receive the drain pipe.

Who told you "tunnel under" !!!? That is absurd. It will be noisy as hell., but it is ROUTINE to channel into a slab. Find a new contractor! and a set of earplugs.

MTIbaths has beautiful acrylic tubs with all kinds of features and options (Designer Collection); they have a stone composite tub in the Boutique Collection, but I don’t see an alcove option. However, it’s worth contacting them because they do custom work. Here’s a link: https://mtibaths.com/about-products/tubs/

It looks like you want a tub that is wider, longer and possibly deeper than your current one. There is a good chance that you will need a larger conventional water heater or an on-demand water heater to fill it properly.

If you use a pocket door anywhere, be sure it is a solid core door to reduce sound transfer.

If this were my bathroom, I'd remove the closet but leave a partition wall against which the door would open. Then I'd move the toilet far enough toward that wall to put a new tub roughly where the current one is. I'd put any money saved on extensive channeling toward a Toto Neorest toilet.

You really want to turn a standard 20K hall bath into a 30K one? Leave the plumbing where it is.

I second what beaniebakes suggests about MTI Baths. I bought an acrylic free standing tub from them and love it. In the search option type in alcove and alcove and drop in options show up, but definitely call if you see one you like. They are very customer service friendly and pack your tub really well for shipping.

in terms of tunneling under, i might be using the wrong term. But I talked with 8 different plimbing companies and they all said that they need to dig under the house to replace the lines. and they all said moving the drains and water lines should not be a problem. this is a rare oppurtunity to change the configuration of my bathroom.

Also, we had plumbers use fhe video cameras to check out our sewer lines. I told them my ideas. they said should be pretty easy to change things around.

Moxie - there are plans to add an on demand water heater on this side of the house, it might just have to wait a uear or two.

the trenching has to happen regardless, beciase we have to completely replace our cast iron sewer pipe. The sewer line runs through the middle of the bathoom under where the sink is currently located. Where the tub is currently there is a sewer drain vent that prevents using the full length. to move it we'd have to mess with a load bearing wall. the toilet fits there though.