Did you find an alternative or go with the Bellwether? Facing a similar choice and curious to know how the quality turned out!

Hi Abigail. I decided not to go with the Bellwether, for a few reasons. And actually, my renovation hasn't been done yet - yay pandemic!

However, I *have* picked out my tub (by going to a place that had some in their showroom and actually sitting in candidate tubs), and my contractor says he has installed the tub I chose multiple times before and that it's an excellent choice — though it is fiberglass-reinforced (underneath) acrylic (top layer) and not cast iron. I never found a cast iron alternative that I liked the design of, and ultimately, I decided I didn't want cast iron after all (more on that at the end if you're interested/if it's helpful).

The tub we are going with is the Fleurco Motif 6030: https://fleurco.com/bathtubs/motif-6030

It meets all of my requirements:

• Nice clean lines with no superfluous and busy swoopy stuff.
• Great size for soaking, but not so tall as to make it caregiver-unfriendly if kids need assistance in the bath.
• The interior width is very spacious as well - one of the most spacious I've found for the 60" x 30" size alcove tub.
• It doesn't have that crappy non-slip surface texture built into the bottom – you know, the kind that ALWAYS gets grungy, and you can't ever quite get white again. If I ever truly need non-slip, I'll buy a pretty mat that I at least can change out if it gets gross.

I thought I wanted an enameled cast iron tub for durability, and for retaining the heat of my bath water. And while enameled cast iron may ultimately win in the durability department, I later learned that it loses in the heat retention department. Like, WAY loses. The same properties that make cast iron great cooking pans also makes cast iron tubs lose heat very quickly.

I have a friend who has an antique claw foot cast iron tub, and he says that they used to add coals, or some other means of heat under the claw foot tubs (maybe that's why they were elevated to begin with?) to keep the iron hot so that your water stayed hot. He said unless you are bathing in a really warm (REALLY warm) bathroom, you're going to loose heat WAY too quickly to enjoy a long soak.

As for durability, I backed off of that, just in terms of... I am replacing a one-piece builder-basic fiberglass shower-tub-combo that was installed when the house was built...in 1974. So, what? 50 years ago? Aside from a ding here or there where something sharp was obviously dropped and gouged the finish, and aside from really dated lines, that thing is in perfect shape. And the dings that are in it were there when we bought the house (from a family with children). No knew dings have appeared in the last 18 years of owning the home (though, no children in the house - dunno if that matters). So, I'm thinking that the fiber reinforced acrylic should hold up equally well, as long as we're not showering with butcher knives with soapy handles in our hands. If it lasts another 50 years, I might not even still be alive at that point - lol.

Anyway, I thought I would be thorough with my response just in case my thought process and "figuring" helps you or anyone else.

This tub is absolutely gorgeous, super comfy & roomy to sit in and with super clean lines that should make cleaning a breeze. I can't wait to have it installed!

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! Super helpful for me and I know others will also appreciate it.

That's a *beauuutiful* tub. I'm sure the whole room will be gorgeous. So sorry to hear about the reno delays... hope you can enjoy it soon!