Best inclination for a comfortable bath?

5 years ago

I need to select a bath tub and since we cannot try all the bathtubs available, I need help to select the best one. I know this is a very subjective choice but maybe there are guidelines to go by. So, what is the best inclination, degree of slope for the most comfortable back? I am looking for an alcove bath in acrylic, 66" x 32"? Any insights?

Featured Answer

Peke

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

I spent three weeks this summer researching every brand. I noticed that some companies showed interior angle and some showed the exterior angle. Confused me for a while before I figured out some companies were using exterior angles. Think about a 90° straight up angle. Not comfortable. My tub has a 115° interior slope which would be 65° exterior slope. You would not want 65° interior slope. 180 - 115 = 65. If you know the exterior angle, subtract that from 180 to get the interior angle.

We bought a tub with an interior 115° angle, but it has not been installed yet. Go to showrooms and try sitting in several tubs, even tubs that you don't like, and ask for the interior angles in those tubs. You might even try several free standing tubs just to find the angle you like. Remember, your body will float. In my last whirlpool, my lower back never touched the back of the tub.

With more of an incline, you will use less water because you have less room in the bottom of the tub, and the bottom of the tub will be shorter. Our interior 115° angle tub is 60" wide from flange to flange (stud to stud). The upper part of the interior is 53" and the bottom of the tub interior is 42". A loss of 11". So, if you get a back angle of 125°, your tub bottom will be even shorter. The larger the interior angle, the less room you have for your body. My tub has an exterior height of 21" and 18" depth to the overflow.

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Comments (9)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
5 years ago
Only you will know , it depends on your height and what you find comfortable .
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kudzu9
5 years ago
Just be aware that not all tubs have the same wall thickness from top to bottom, so subtracting the exterior angle from 180 degrees to get the complementary interior angle is not always absolutely reliable. In addition, some interior walls are curved to varying extents. My bottom line is that viewing a tub in person can be important for those who are sensitive to the angle of recline.
Peke
5 years ago
Yes, nothing is more important than actually sitting in one if there are back problems. You can get close to the angle subtracting from 180 though. I eliminated many tubs so I didn't have to go from place to place. I did that at first before I got a little bit smarter! Plus, some tubs were not in any showroom and I had to call the company.
User
5 years ago
Ours has a 120° angle (measured inside) and is very comfortable. The 66" length is great for my 5'4" height while still comfortable for my 6' husband.
PRO
Webb Concrete
3 years ago
Very helpful answer thanks
Richard Paul Junghans
3 years ago
for the original writer, Peke, with the 115 or 65 degree incline, depending on how it is measured...

I would point out that there is perhaps a more useful angle, the lumbar angle. This is intuitive because it is versus straight up (90 degrees). in this case, the 115 or 65 degrees are translated into deviation from straight up. that difference is 115-90 or 90-65, both of which equal 25 degrees.

this answers the most relevant question, how much do i lean back? from this, i see that i lean back 25 degrees. i hope that makes sense.
Tom Miller
2 years ago
I found this topic interesting because I also have an issue with the back slope. I did find a tub I like and it has a 30 degree backslope, a little more than the 25 degree mentioned above. I agree its subjective but I think a great place to start.
Mickie White
last year
Tom Miller - What is the brand and style of your bath with the 30 degree back slope? Thanks.