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How did you insulate and support your drop in tub?

14 years ago

How did you insulate your acrylic tub for keeping water warm in tub? How did you support your drop in tub? Did you put something between the tub bottom and floor or does it touch the floor? When those large tubs are full of water and me, it's heavy and I want it supported very well.

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Comments (4)

MongoCT
14 years ago
mollie,

If your tub didn't come with a manual, you can go on most any manufacturer's website to see how they want their tub installed.

Some want them set in a bed of mortar, some choose their tubs to be glued to the subfloor with construction adhesive.

Some people recommend foam, but foam flexes and it's something I'd never use.

I almost always set tubs in a bed of mortar. It does two things: It gives absolute support, and it allows me to level the tub if the floor is slightly out of level.

For a drop-in, you want to set the tub so the rim of the tub just touches the deck of the tub. You don't want the tub hanging by the rim, or it can lead to the tub eventually cracking, as their isn't enough reinforcment in the tub to support it by the rim.

Ususlly no additional framing is needed to support the weight of a tub.

If you wanted to elevate the tub, you could build a platform for it to sit on. Then the weight of the tub would be transferred to the fdootprint of the larger platform, reducing the "pounds per square foot" lod placed on your floor framing.

As far as insulation, you can use canned foam, commercial spray foam, or wrap it in fiberglass. Or if it's a circulating tub, you can add an aftermarket in-line water heater for about $250.

If you use canned or spray foam to insulate the tub, if it's a jetted or circulating tub, be careful where the foam goes. You don't want it to screw up your tub's plumbing.

Mongo
qdognj
14 years ago
Just installed mine today..as Mongo pointed out, it was set in a bed of mortar-like product..It is elevated, so it sits on a "deck" which is topped by CUB and then granite..I didn't insulate it any further then the walls nearby which ahve insulation..Funny, the jetted tub i removed had no additional inuslation either..
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thanks for the suggestions & support (keep em comin if you have any!) i will run casey's by my friend - it makes me sooo nervous to think about 2x4's or 2x6's resting on my new tile with the tub's weight on them... monica - the deck itself is so skinny that it really isn't strong enough to hold much weight. it does fine with what i've put it through so far, like pushing myself up from the floor & other stuff, and my friend said it will be fine to "sit" on the edge if need be when getting in & out of the tub (though the edge would take maybe a cheek, as bill puts it), but putting all the weight of an adult standing on it in one small space just wouldn't be wise. just wasn't built to handle that. i had an idea to do a sort of see-saw with a board (or 2 or 3) through the open part of the deck & rest the tub on it & then lower the tub down from above & by letting up on the see-saw so as to gradually let it down... but my friend shoo'd that idea off. i may bring it up again now that he's more focused on it. i'm sure glad we don't have to do mortar or anything like that!
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I'll usually foam tubs when I have access from below, I usually tack plastic sheeting in place against the tub and then spray foam (I have a spray rig, not talking about canned foam) against the plastic. That way the foam isn't sticking to the tub. I know people have used canned foam, but you'd need quite a few cans. You could build a "box" out of rigid foam insulation. Sort of like the "box" being a burial vault, with the tub being the casket that gets lowered in. The sides can be straight or slightly sloped to match the rough contours of the tub. Polyisocyanurate (polyiso) is about R-7 per inch, a 2" thick, 4' by 8' foil-faced sheet would run maybe $40 retail. Expanded and extruded styrofoams have lower R-values, in the 3-5 per inch range. You can add lightweight framing under the deck to hold the sheets in place, or use canned foam to "glue" the sheets together at the butt joints and reinforce with duct tape. Or you could just stuff the cavity full of fiberglass batts, leaving space for the tub, and drop the tub in place. You can gauge how much FG you can place in the hole by sloping the sides to match the rough slope of the sides of the tub. Realize that an insulated space is an insulated space. The insulation doesn't necessarily have to be in contact with the tub to insulate the tub. Obviously the closer it is to the tub the better, but sometimes jobsite limitations force you into a work-a-round. There's no one "true" way to do it. In your case you have limitations, so just have at it and have fun.
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Three years ago, I replaced a Kohler Tea for Two tub with a Bain Meridian 55 (47 gallon) and was able to go from a 75 gallon Bock oil-fired water heater to a 50 gallon Bock oil-fired water heater at the suggestion of our plumber with no hot water problems. I don't think the tub is insulated, but the GC who did our master bath remodel re-insulated the master bath exterior facing wall and attic facing ceiling which improved our winter master bath experience.
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we would like to do a tub downstairs because or kids are still young and will likely be using a bath for the next several years. their bedrooms are also downstairs, it's a daylight basement with their big play space and access to outside for them. second reason we would like to put a bathtub down there is because that would give us more flexibility to remodel our bath upstairs and take out the tub to put in a nice walk in shower. so if we can figure out a way to get a bathtub shower in, that would be ideal.
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Linda Ross
Original Author
14 years ago
I had no idea you could sit an acrylic tub in a bed of mortar. It is a soaker tub, no jets. I am trying to decide between the Maxx Living 36x72 or Maxx Palace (approx same size). Any suggestions? I am older and need arm rests, grab bar so looking for something like that.

Mongo, you mentioned you installed one for your mother earlier, which tub did you choose? How did you set it?
ccc123
14 years ago
For insulation we sprayed Icynene around the tub at the same time we did the walls. Besides insulating, it also deadens the sound & is a good environmental product: no formaldehyde, no petroleum ingredients, & no fiberglass. (great in the attic too)

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