Jason allows you to connect the blower remotely -- up to 15 feet from the tub, so we could put it in the attic space above the bathroom. It will involve running a hose down the wall, I'm sure. We have access to the attic space there and we have available space right above the tub, but it might not work for everyone. They appear to be of comparable quality. The ones I have seen were in shops that sell Bain, Hydro Systems, Victoria and Albert -- and one of them carries some German and Italian lines that are even more exclusive. They all looked and felt to be of very fine quality and no one steered one one or another on quality -- just size, shape, air choices, etc. I was looking at Victoria and Albert (ruled out because we would like some kind of water movement) and Bain when I went in. The only Jason I was at the store where I first heard of them was a air/whirlpool combination with molded armrests -- very different from the clean line free standing tub I was thinking of. I wasn't too impressed, but I started thinking about the MicroSilk feature they also offered and wanted to find out more. When I researched Jason online, I found out they are the Jacuzzi family. The Jacuzzi name brand was sold some time back (think I had heard that and that Jacuzzi brand wasn't what it used to be). After a while, the family got back into the business under the Jason name (JA for Jacuzzi and son for the sons). They have been making tubs under the Jason name since the 1980s and on another thread some folks who have their soaking tubs (as long as 13 years, I think) have responded about being very happy with them. I can't remember if anyone had air, but no one actually had the Microsilk installed yet. Seems they make very good tubs, but until they released the MicroSilk, they were just another quality tub brand trying to squeeze into the marketplace. I think of them as possibly being like my Perlick refrigerator drawers. I heard of them on the kitchen forum here, but they were pretty much an unknown. They had been in the commercial market for years and make a superior product -- we couldn't be happier with them. We are planning on getting a Jason tub when we figure out what we can do about our shower and are ready to redo our bath,. I'm really looking forward to it.

I recommend against the Kohler Underscore Bubblemassage acrylic bathtub. My experience indicates Kohler has a high defect rate with these tubs. I've had *three* 60" x 36" Underscore jetted tubs sent to me in a 2-1/2 month span and ALL have been defective. The first and third tubs leaked. The first tub leaked heavily in at least six places, despite the shipping box and the tub itself appearing pristine. The third-party repair company Kohler sent could not fix all the leaks. Kohler explained this as a "rare" defect in "channels" within the tub, a flaw that cannot be caught through mere visual inspection. Apparently, the flaw also does not show up in Kohler's quality control checks at the factory. Kohler said this happens because the factory fills and drains each tub within minutes, and sometimes it takes hours for these leaks to appear. The second tub Kohler sent me was so poorly packaged that it arrived scratched and with interior stains. The distributor said that was a common occurrence with Kohler's "express ship" program, that they don't spend the time to package the tub in the typical way. The third tub also leaked, this time through a factory-installed tube connecting the body of the tub to the air jet motor. I am awaiting a Kohler-appointed repair person to come out a fix it. We hope the defect can be corrected so I don't have to pay for installation a third time. Each time I call, Kohler's representatives reassure me these defects are "rare" and they apologize for the inconvenience. Inconvenience aside -- my bathroom project has gone from a 3-week timeline to a 3-month timeline because of the delays incurred by waiting for replacement bathtubs -- the cost of ripping out and disposing of the first defective tub and reinstalling yet another defective tub has *almost doubled* my costs for this bathtub. Kohler has paid for the replacement tub and shipping, but that does not approach the personal cost of these delays. Kohler claims defects in this tub are rare, but I've had 3 delivered to my home, and my experience indicates their defect rate is 100%. Furthermore, Kohler's people, while polite and apologetic, have done NOTHING to expedite either the attempted repairs or the shipping of replacement tubs. This is what is most unacceptable: I understand that mistakes happen. No manufacturing process is perfect. But Kohler's customer service has been equally disappointing: lengthy remediation processes with no follow up, empty apologies with no expedited assistance and all costs borne by me. The tub looks beautiful, but I wish I never bought it. So much trouble.

I actually feel kind of stupid or perhaps I should be kinder to myself and say I am very surprised! When working on the spare bathroom choices I gave some thought to using all of the available space, knowing I could fairly easily fit in a 66 inch tub if I were willing to do some framing work. I went back to Mirabelle as I wanted to keep costs as minimal as possible (noot cheap just not wanting a Kohler Underscore price unless I were willing to drop the Kallista in Master. I wasn't :) I looked at the 66 inch Mirabelle Edenton and did not at first catch the width. Only 36 and that won't fit in the spare. Without making a short story long I looked at the alcove versions but the Edenton required access from the side, something that for my home would be very messy. The Bradenton series offered a removable skirt but I had seen one before and wasn't sure I liked the look. But the Bradenton had decent leg room. So my duh huh moment. I looked at the 32 inch wide Edenton drop in tun and lo and behold it was 44 1/2 inches. I revisited the 36 inch wide Edenton drop in and sure enough its legroom was 37 or so inches. This was main reason I had dropped this from my short list. Had no idea the 36 inch wide version would be that much shorter. Now I see why Kevin had no trouble fitting in his tub! It has nearly as much legroom as the Kallista ( 1 1/2 inches less). The 32 inch will fit with a small deck in the alcove spot for my spare and I probably will do the air option. The spare has rapidly become an upscale room anyway and having a nice relaxing air tub there won't be worst thing. My son will love it when he visits and he won't invade the Master. Moral of story.. if any given dimension is important to you be sure to check every tub and size as internal measurements can be grossly different that external measurements. I thought I had already learned that but alas i quickly forgot it if I did. This may be a win win for us though as the wiring for spare will be simpler.

Thank you guys! Polly your bathroom is beautiful and is pretty much exactly the look I am going for except I think I want soapstone instead of marble on the countertop. What do you have on the floor? And it looks like there are cabinet doors or something on the tub surround -- what are those? Do you have any other pictures? I never even thought to look on ebay for my tub -- I'd imagine shipping that was interesting! So I took zookeeper's suggestion and stopped into a showroom Friday with the express intention of sitting in all the tubs! (It was kind of embarrassing, but I'd imagine the "toilet-shopping" version of that trip is worse, LOL!) They had a 36 x 72 model of the drop in I want and a 30 x 60 Victoria and Albert clawfoot. I sat in both and decided the clawfoot was too small -- I felt very squished. (Though it was one of the stone resin ones and it was EXTREMELY beautiful -- sniff!). A larger clawfoot won't work, I think, because I need room for a cabinet on the end to house a laundry chute that is currently hidden in our tub deck. So drop in it is, I think. But interestingly, the 36" width of the tub I want also felt kind of odd -- it was 21.5" wide at the bottom and really long. I'd go with the 36 x 66 so that would fix the too long problem, but it was still very skinny from side to side -- not bad while I was in there but hard to get in and out (there wasn't really any way to roll to your side to stand up). I'm 44 years old and I work out pretty much every day so if I am having issues getting out of it now, that doesn't bode well for how I'll be doing in 20 years. So now I am torn between 4 Jason models - the RE553, the KT553 or the RC553 or RD553 which are both center drain tubs (our drain is currently on the end but could be moved to the center if necessary). All these tubs have the same outer dimensions (36 x 66) but they vary a lot in interior space. All the R series tubs are 22" deep/high -- the RE553 is similar to the one I sat in and it is very narrow at the bottom (21.5") and 48" long on the inside. The 2 center drain tubs are the same depth (22") but are wider and shorter at the bottom - the RC is 23" wide x 42.5 long while the RD is 21" wide in the center but flares to wider at the ends and 45" long. (The RD must be a new model because it is not in the catalog I have, only on the website -- and it claims to have room for 2). And finally the K model is 24" wide x almost 49" long but less deep (20.5). I am leaning toward the K model because it's shallower and wider and I think it would be easier to get in and out of....but like I said above, I am not currrently a "bath person" so maybe there's a reason the R series is better? (It's way more expensive so obviously the manufacturer thinks it's better!) It was a little hard to tell at the showroom because they had the tub in what seemed to be an abnormally high deck -- so I wasn't sure how much of my difficulties getting in and out was the tub and how much of it was that the deck was super high. (Then again, undermounting a 22" high tub is going to make my deck 23+ high at least anyhow.) So anyhow, if you've managed to read this far without falling asleep, any opinions on whether the a 22" tub is just right or too deep or opinions on and of the interior dimensions? Will I even notice a difference of an inch or two in height or width? Is length the most important - I'm guessing maybe because you need room to stretch your legs out right (one tub is 42" long at the bottom -- does that seem oddly short)? How bout capacity -- the tubs all seem to have an 48 gallon "operating capacity" (whatever that means!) but the overflow capacity varies: 71 for the RC, 75 for both end drain tubs, and 88 for the RD. I don't know if that even matters but I do know that our current tub uses our entire hot water heater to fill which is a pain, so I definitely don't want that problem in the new tub or I'll never end up using it. Also, are there other factors I am not considering - like if I go with a center drain, do I also need a center faucet? And if so, does that go on the front or back of the tub? In back seems like it would be hard to turn on but in front i seems like it would be in the way. Ack! Who would have thought picking a tub would be so complicated!!! Thanks so much for all your help so far!