It's not cast iron, but we had the Kohler Mariposa tub with integrated tile flange and apron and really liked it. It is wider and seemed deeper than most standard tubs.

I've been saying that we need that exact type of tub (we need it in 60") -- or maybe lighter than cast iron but just as tough. A *deep* cast iron or as-tough soaking tub with tile flange. I don't feel comfortable using acrylic in a bathroom with kids. Maybe I'm being silly/overbuilding...

Toto makes a cast iron soaking tub that's deeper than 16", both in 60 and 66, but it has no flange and no apron.

The kohler tea for two has a flange but no apron (and is cast iron). Also the kohler katherine (cast iron, flange but no apron). The flange is critical to use it for a shower, the apron is not (just simplifies installation).

We just finished a remodel and used the Kohler Tea for Two in one of our bathrooms. It is 66" and has a flange. It is also a whirlpool, but you can get it without a whirlpool. It doesn't have an apron, but we tiled the front with the same white subway tile we used for the rest of the tub area. It is so beautiful. We also use it as a shower, as it is the bathroom for our three kids. We're very happy with it. I am very impressed with the quality of it, although the jets are not as strong as I would have thought. Needless to say, almost no one uses it to bathe (we have three teenagers plus my husband and myself).

Don't know if you're a DIYer, but I have to tell you every contractor we talked to was reluctant to use this tub as a tub-shower combination, but it does work well for this use, and with the flange we feel that it was designed for this purpose. FInally talked one contractor into it, and it looks nice. It's got a real lasting quality to it.
I've been meaning to post pictures since it was finished two months ago.

hmsweethm -- would you mind posting pictures of the tub and tile? I would really like to see how it looks. Was it very difficult to get the tub into the house? Thanks very much!

I will post a photo now. It was really hard to get the tub in, particularly as it went to the second floor. I bought it as Expo design, and they only promised delivery to the front door. I talked them into bringing it into the living room, and even then the contractor grumbled about him and his guys having to take it up the rest of the way. It took four or five of them, and I went and hid, it was so awful. But it's in, and it's great. It's also a very deep tub, by the way.

It looks great -- I especially like the shelf area about the tub. Really really nice!

brooklyn
"16" deep" - Make sure to look at the "basin" specs as you may find tubs that have 16" dimension only to find that it fills only to 10"(to overflow) -

I searched a lot for replacing the awful acrylic whirlpool tub that was in our master - It was super wide & I liked wide - but not too wide as you literally had to get in it to clean it.

I ulitmately opted to go w/a standard 5' tub as it seemed that the Steeping tub, tea for 2 jumped way up in pricing did not really offer that much more of a bathing experience imo - their internal basins were not all that different than the 5' Memoirs we ended up with - The internal basin is 45" x 25" x17 7/16"

We did a really nice custom niche at the end of the tub

Tea for 2 - notes a 66"x36" x24"
The Basin is 45"x25" x 19 1/2" ** It does not give "depth to overflow" which is likely less than 19.5" **
Tub costs 2K +/- Weighs 440lbs! and needs to be supported on flooring that can handle 2,000 lbs
funny the whirlpool model is only 40"x20" internal basin for over 3K! to start up to 8K

So, make sure to see internal dimensions - & factor in costs related to model, delivery, installation, and prep prior to install

Good luck!

hmsweethm. I love what you did with the bathtub and have been hoping to do something similar. However, I just did a simulation of stepping into that 24" high Tea for Two by using a 24" high bar stool. It was a real stretch for me at 5'5" tall. Are all of your family members tall or is this something that you just get used to over time?

Hey, Flseadog -- I just answered your other question. Thanks again for your props! As for the Tea for Two, this is in a bathroom used by our three daughters, ages 13, 14 and 17. The tallest one is 5'6", and they use this as their shower almost daily. I asked them if it was too high, and they said no. My husband and I have used it on occasion too, as it's such a cool tub, and it didn't seem as awkward as I had feared to get in and out of it. I told our youngest that I could build a little platform for her to help her get in and out of it, kind of a modified step-up like you all probably used to have for your kids when they were little. She said she didn't need it. Our oldest says she loves how roomy it is in there when she showers. And to answer a question everyone always has when they see our shower and the partial frameless glass shields: Water leaking out has never been an issue. We love the set up. Hope that helps.

Oh, and by the way, I am 5'2" (and shrinking!) and our youngest daughter is slightly shorter than me, and we both manage to climb in easily.

If you have older guests often, maybe it would be an issue. But here's why we chose it: This bathroom is in an 1890s house, and what we replaced was an old cast iron pedestal tub, which also weighed a ton and was very big and tall. That's why we knew our floor could handle it. We bought the house from a couple in their 70s who used this as their primary family bathroom. They didn't even have a shower in it. They managed to get in and out of it for 43 years, as did the three boys they raised here.

I was torn about not reusing the old tub (it wasn't in great condition), and once I decided we wouldn't keep it, I wanted something to maintain a period feel. We wanted a sumptuous tub, like the pedastal tub it was replacing, so this Tea for Two seemed to fit the bill. But I agree with everything that jejvtr said. This tub was a) expensive, b) really really heavy and difficult to bring into the house and a staircase that turned twice, c) tricky to clean (not hard, but so big that you do have to get inside it).

But it is so cool! It's a great soaking tub, two people do fit in there (don't ask!), and it sparkles all the time. As my daughters say, it is a great place for a shower.

I've been considering that Tea for Two tub - or something similar - with a shower screen just half way across. I have a tub this length now and want similar length but deeper.

I thought it came in a model for a three walled - one side open type tub/shower arrangement. Do you have to have tile on the exposed side -or did you just add that? It comes in just a soaking version without jets - right? And you can sit at either end without having a faucet or other piece of hardware jabbing you in the back?

I was envisioning that you could just sit on the edge and swing your feet over - rather than stepping over the tall/deep tub. I see you have a hinged door. I need to give some careful consideration to how wide my door is - if it's not hinged - and how much space there is to swing your legs in if you're seated at the edge of the tub - rather than stepping in.

Gibby3000 - The model we have has flanges on three sides, which made it ideal for a three-wall installation. It says it can also be used as a drop in model. It does not have an apron, so you have to put something in front, tile or whatever. We originally thought we'd do beadboard, like we did around the walls, but somehow we got talked out of it by tiler and contractor. I think our tile placement created a bit of a lip, but you can run the tile/beadboard right flush with the edge of the tub itself, for a sleeker look.

This is admittedly a boxy looking tub, and Kohler makes other softer-edged tubs/whirlpools that are still as big. And as you can read here on GW, lots of people have gotten fine ones made by other companies.

As for the shower enclosure: We have a friend who did a shower 'shield'' about 2/3 or halfway across her tub. It doesn't open or close as it is stationary. It's a different kind of tub. She says there is a little bit of water running onto the floor, but she's still happy with it. We decided on the hinged one because it allowed us to run the glass along a bigger stretch of the tub opening, thus preventing more leakage, and with the door opene, it makes it easier to get in and out. It also gives us the option of leaving the door open when bathing, and enabling us to sit at the edge of the tub and swing our legs over, as you say. It's working out well that way.

As for the price of this tub, it's always less anywhere than the list price on the Kohler website. We got ours at Expo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler Tea for Two

Gibby3000 - I didn't answer two of your questions: While we have a three-walled flanged tub, we chose to put that part-wall, shelf at the right hand side, because we had the room. The other option was to build a wall all the way up the ceiling at that point, but in my opinion that would have made the whole room look smaller, and would have wasted space. I'm all about using every square inch that you have for storage, etc. And visually I thought the shelf/step idea made the room more interesting. Once we decided to do the shelf, our next question was how high up to make it both to prevent water leaking into the wall while showering and to make it useable for bathers. This was the compromise. The shower water actually doesn't make it that far.

As for sitting at either end when you're bathing, yes, you can do that, but the faucet will be somewhere near your head depending on where it is placed. (I think we could have placed it higher). The rectangular metal thing you see on the left side of tub is the drain opening. Very comfy.