Its an alcove tub which will be a combo tub and shower, and I think the weight etc was part of the issue. He also said his experience is people going against replacing with cast iron. We have a 40 yo house and on other remodels there have been surprises, so that might be another concern of his. Its also for our kids bathroom, so not looking necessarily for a super high end tub. Likely it will be used a lot more for showering than actual bathing. I came across a few that seemed decent, and within our price range: Kohler Expanse (no available glass doors for this tub) Kohler Archer Mirabelle Edenton There was another at Lowes that was quite a bit cheaper, but a glass door is available with it, which is appealing: American Standard Saver.

Me, too! I've been looking at the Tea for Two, but I want a tile flange and I really need a tub that's 60"long x 30" wide, (not 32") and prefer 14"+ water depth (at least 12") and cast iron. I would love any suggestions people have in addition to the suggestions above, which didn't meet by specs for depth or are over-mount drop-ins (or similar). I would also like to comment on the above recommendations so people don't order the wrong thing. Most clawfoot tubs, including the ones mentioned above such as the Cheviot or Sunrise Specialty, have a water depth that is around 11" at most. They are comfortable, but not deep. The Cheviot alcove tub is an over-mount drop-in with a water depth of under 11". It would have a calk line around a drop off on the deck. Oh, heck no! The Toto is an over-mount drop-in also. Dang! The Waterworks Minna sounds promising, and it has an apron, but what's with that moulded raised ridge at the top? It makes it look like a top-mount drop-in and have similar problems. I guess you wouldn't need calking, but you'd have that ridge water could get over and a lump under your head if you lean back. Has anyone installed one and has pictures? I'd love to be proved wrong on this one in spite of the price! It could be the perfect tub for me if it weren't for that top detail.

" if you can deal with the AS logo on the face plate." Meh, I could make another faceplate. I do strange stuff like that. Today I measured the "Style Selections" tub at Lowes. It is 12 1/2" soaking depth, not 15" as stated online. (Which makes sense with a 16" overall heiaght). It is obviously a store brand made by Sterling/Kohler for Lowes to meet a lower price point. The Sterling brand acrylic tubs are molded in a single polymer. The Style Selections are fiberglass and coated with acrylic. Sometimes a coat over fiberglass is a POS, but I peeked underneath and found the Selections to be rock-freaking-solid. The front skirt and tub are very thick, rigid, and reinforced. The fiberglass may not look pretty under there but it really does the job. The tub has four points of contact with the floor, four short legs of plastic pipe molded into the fiberglass. I would rather bed the thing in mortar if the mfg installation instructions permit. The acrylic coating is quite thick over the fiberglass, it looks to be 1/8 inch instead of a millimeter. IMO, something that can gouge 1/8 inch into plastic would probably damage porcelain over cast iron. All in all, I think it is pretty good quality for a house brand. And it costs just $205 in 2013. The 12.5 inch soak depth is nowhere near a deep as the Mirabelle at 16" and we may still go with that. However, it is as deep as the top ledge of our current tub. We'll see if DW goes for it.

enduring, we ordered the 30" Bellwether today. I was really hoping he'd change his mind and decide on the 32". We would have had a lot more options. The 32" I saw today had a really bad case of the "dimples" :o The entire outside surface was very dimply. I'm hoping mine won't be as bad. Is yours like that? Ohhh, turn the overflow upside down! Thanks! My plumber will do anything I ask (at least he has so far) :) roadrunnerrita, I considered having his tub refinished but learned that that has it's own issues. As grungy as he gets, I'd be concerned about the finish getting scratched and what I could and couldn't use to clean it with. He said he didn't want a "plastic tub". I like my acrylic air tub but I can't use abrasive cleaners (like Scrubbing Bubbles) and it can scratch pretty easy.