I also like the stain color.

tub

I was dead set on a cast iron tub until I realized that all of the cast iron tubs manufactured now have a non-slip bottom. I found out that this non-slip bottom is challenging to clean. I even went and looked in the showrooms, and sure enough they were all gray. My research on gardenweb and talking to contractors/plumbing stores also confirmed that they were difficult to clean. Not impossible, just difficult and I just wasn't up for the challenge.

I was very reluctant to go with fiberglass since our current fiberglass tub looks yellowed and horrible. However, I've been told they are built much better now, and we went with a thicker model. I also wanted one with a built in flange.

Next, came the height. I wanted one deep enough to take a nice bath, but not 20 inches high because it is higher than I want to step over as we age. Why don't more manufacturers make tubs 18 inches deep? Why are most 14 or 20?

We considered:
Kohler Bellwether - did not like the nonslip surface, but like the shape
Mirabelle Edenton - saw some complaints about chipping and not draining properly. I visited Fergusons, and the salesman did not deny it and said it was up to my contractor to test the tub. My contractor said he has installed these tubs without a problem, but it was higher than I wanted and decided it wasn't worth the risk.
Hydrosystems Lacey and the Sydney - both 20 inches high or higher
Americh Turo - after much research, went with this tub. Our contractor said these are good tubs, and the Plumbing store said another contractor installed it in his own house. It's only 18 inches high, 32 inches wide (also comes 30 wide), but has a deep bath. We purchased the non-airbath model. It has arrived and we're very happy with how it looks. Here is a picture of it. I'll post better pictures after its installed, but thought this may help someone else out who may be looking for 18" height tub.

Every week to two weeks I clean-clean the tubs (we wipe ours out with a paper towel after showering to get rid of loose hair, or errant blobs of shaving cream, or conditioner). I spray with Lysol aerosol bathroom spray, let sit (for however long it takes me to clean the sink, toilet, tub surround), re-spray if needed, and then clean it off with hot water from the tub filler faucet, and a wet microfiber cloth. That's it.

If the no-slip grips do happen to look grimy (very dirty bare feet will sometimes leave smudges, as will the bottoms of rubber soled work boots worn by someone working on the plumbing or tile), I will take a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, dampen it, and go over the floor of the tub with it (usually a light rub is all it needs, occasionally it takes a slightly stronger touch).

To address the height/stepping into the tub "issue", you can have the tub "recessed" into your floor. Our plumber told DH to use thicker plywood for the second layer of sub-flooring, after the tub went in, so the sub-floor under the tub ended up being a little lower than the floor surrounding the tub when all was said and done. This way, the step into/out of the tub is easier.

HTH!

Reading this forum proved to be enormously helpful, as I was overwhelmed by having to make decisions!

Use 4 inch, solid pipe, not the 3 inch stuff and glue your joints, not just friction fit them.

Ah, well that's the big question. I don't think there's any definitive answer to that. Even the Maximum Performance (MaP) tests you may read about online, which aim to be unbiased, have built in biases in the size, shape, and consistency of the dummy waste they use for testing. So I don't think there is a clear-cut answer.

G-Max came first, and was the first in the industry to use a 3" wide flush valve instead of the industry-standard 2"; that design allowed water to get into the toilet more quickly and to exit more forcefully. E-Max came next, as the industry needed to respond to demand to create High Efficiency Toilets, particularly in some areas of the country; the EPA WaterSense standard established the threshold of 20% less water use, or 1.28 gallons. The E-Max used the same technology as the G-Max, with some tweaks to optimize performance with 20% less water. Double Cyclone is Toto's latest, using the same 1.28 gallon flush but with a different approach of two wide nozzles pushing water under the rim into a cyclone motion instead of the traditional rim holes.

When I several times contacted Toto to essentially ask "which is best", I got some non-committal "it depends what you are looking for" replies, but also got one customer service rep who said unequivocally: "Our double cyclone flushing system is our best system. It is more powerful, even though it is a 1.28gpf, and it cleans the bowl better. G-max is a good system as well but our double cyclone is the best." (Of course, Toto can't officially state this as gospel, since they are still selling all three types of toilets, but if you look on the Toto web site page explaining flushing systems, it's interesting to note that Dual Cyclone is at the top, followed by E-Max and Dual-Max, with the older G-Max at the bottom.)

But can 1.28 gpf really be better than 1.6 gpf? How? According to toilet manufacturers, improvements in toilet design permit newer 1.28 gpf toilets to to save water without loss of flushing power. Some 1.28 gpf toilets are as good as, or perform better than, older 1.6 gpf toilets because of improvements achieved through computer-aided design which wasn't available in the past.

Unfortunately, my conclusion was that this is about as definitive as you can get. Some toilets may do slightly better at volume of waste removal, while others might excel at washing debris from the bowl -- and different consumers may value these things differently, without one toilet being clearly "better than" another. The feedback from most Toto owners is very positive, which I found very helpful in making my decision, but we have to bear in mind that the owner of a 5-year-old Toto cannot compare/contrast the current models we new toilet purchasers are considering today.

-- Eric

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Add your kitchen to the FKB!

The 5 foot Archer is acrylic but nice Kohler quality and available with an apron. It is 19 inches high with a 15 inch water depth.

I've been fascinated by the cast iron Kohler Highbridge which is not a big tub but is displayed in the Kohler showroom with a small custom storage cubby under each end of the apron lip. More of a modern look.

I mention Kohler because we live near the showroom and we have been testing out tubs (fully clothed, no water!) for our build. We do not work for them.

Good luck with this. A bathtub decision is one of several that have slowed down our build. Hence too much time in the showroom. I hope you find something that you enjoy.

Liz

There is this "Tribal" tile, have no idea how much it costs.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/test/gal080858233293.html