I am looking to purchase a TOTO alcove cast iron bath tub (modeL FBY1525). My problem is there are no showrooms near me to actually see the tub before buying. Is the apron on the tub just has smooth as inside the tub? I am asking this question because I have seen several Kohler cast iron tubs which their cast iron tub's apron (the front panel of an alcove tub) does not have the same smooth finish as the inside of the tub. I can only describe the apron finish has the appearance of an orange peel effect. Could any of you who has a TOTO alcove cast iron tub (looking like what I just described), please provide me with any feedback to help me in my decision. Brenda H

Does anyone know if the Kohler Devonshire tub has a sloped backrest similar to the one in the Archer? I can't really tell from the website. Thanks!

marie-louise, after agonizing over the decision for months, and having as recently as last week been sure that I would order cast iron, I am about to order the Archer (soaker; no jets) tomorrow. You are lucky to have a place like Tubz. I have dragged around to more than half a dozen bath showrooms, and each had only a few tubs for me to try. I tried the Archer on Friday, and went back and tried it again on Saturday. It is, as you say, very very comfortable. I have found that I don't usually like lumbar support (strange lump at bottom of tub slope), and the reason I went back was that I saw the drawings and noticed the lumbar support. I went back to make sure that it was comfortable. Somehow the lumbar support doesn't bother me, maybe because it is minimal. For those who are wondering, I am 5'8" tall, and my feet don't quite meet the end of the 5' long Archer. The width is something like 32" and that is plenty for me (and I am not, alas, thin!) I was, at one point, on the brink of ordering a 24" deep tub. Then I learned how difficult it is to get in and out of. The Archer is a good compromise - the high overflow slit means that it fills up more, so you get a good DTO with a low tub height. It is also very inexpensive - I was quoted under $300 for 5' long. Oh, and I somehow became sold on acrylic in the last week - a combination of reading posts here, looking at the tubs, and learning from salespeople. Hope your reno goes well, marie-louise. My contractor started Friday, and demolition is almost done.

As Nancy in Mich said, tubs should be installed on a wet mortar bed to support the entire bottom of a tub. The OP says they had special access cut in the closet wall order "to do that mortar"...but that does not sound like a thick mortar bed, which is what is needed. The mortar bed would be put down under the tub before it's installed, which after removing the old tub or shower base should not be a challenge. Some of the comments mention that their tub cracked even though sitting "directly on the concrete basement floor", so that would be what cause the problem in that situation. Tubs are heavy, tubs filled with water are heavier, tubs filled with water and a person are the heaviest of all.