I can't speak for the really tall, but one thing I know is that an oversized tub is not good for us regular folk (I'm 5'7"). If you can't plant your feet against the end of the tub, you float up and it is very awkward and uncomfortable.

I have a friend who is convinced her acrylic free standing tub is just as good as cast iron. I have two cast iron tubs at home. One is an antique claw foot and the other is a relatively new Toto. The feeling is quite different than acrylic. We are currently housed in a condo with an acrylic tub while our house undergoes restoration. I might sound like a prima donna, but I miss the feel of my cast iron tubs.

Are you looking for a claw foot? Would you consider an antique?

Hi Daisy, thank you for your input. So what size tub do you have that you find comfortable? In our family, we have heights from 5 ft 3 inch to 6 ft 2 inch in the family. Just trying to figure out if one tub size accommodates all those heights.

I haven't thought about whether I would be open to an antique tub. I have to limit the amount of shopping I do, and finding an antique tub might represent a lot of shopping trips, wouldn't it?

Also, I wonder, don't you have to renovate the older tub somehow?

I'm pretty sure Daisy meant an "antique style" tub. Like a claw foot. Regarding size, I think you should find a showroom that carries a variety of tubs styles and sizes where you can actually SIT in them (Ferguson near you?). I found many (most) to be very uncomfortable. The back was too straight, the sizes were too narrow, etc. I think its too much $$$ to spend on something that you havent tried out.

Very good suggestion, Numbersjunkie, thanks! Definitely will go try them out and might try to bring the gang with me too. :-) Not sure about Ferguson. Is that a retailer?

Free standing tubs are pretty but not cheap As for acrylic/fiberglass vs. cast iron, I have one of each. The fiberglass one was already in the house, the cast iron we put in ourselves. Advantages to both - the fiberglass is light and easy to install, that cast iron tub was heavy! But, my fiberglass tub now has hairline cracks, something a cast iron tub will never get. But we were younger when we hauled that baby in, now that I am older, and thinking of replacing the fiberglass, I may just go for another one, as its so much easier to move.

Lam702, I have heard about how heavy the cast iron is. I had a landscaper that was in his 60s, and did his own bathroom over except for the plumbing. He did the demolition with a sledge hammer and broke the old tub in half to get it out of the bathroom.

We're hiring so we're not gong to be dragging any cast iron tub into the house, but once it's here, it's here for good. lol

Not only do I prefer something that lasts for decades, but I hate adding any more plastic if I can help it.

Very sorry to hear your acrylic tub has a crack!! I say order a cast iron and hire someone else to lug it into place. :-)

Yes, a cast iron tub is a lifetime tub. We are remodeling our upstairs bath and keeping the tub. Its 30 yrs old, because it still looks new, and its white, which is what we are going for anyway. Cast iron is made to last. When we first put the tub in 30 yrs ago, we were in our late 20's so we, with the help of a friend, hauled that tub up a flight of stairs and into place. No way could we lift that now. We could, and probably will order another cast iron when the time comes and have it put in place. Right now we are in the middle of our DIY upstairs bath renovation, so I haven't hit my DH with the idea of remodeling the other bathroom, I can imagine the reaction I will get. All in good time...............

Lam - That is great that your tub is still in good shape after 30 years. I think our cast iron tub [not free standing] is original to the house from the 60s and it's a mess and we don't like the height and shape of it any way.

And timing is everything when broaching the subject of a renovation, Lam, yes? [g]

We did a remodel for some nice folks and put in a cast iron slipper tub, some Kohler product. It went very well, it's really stable and substantial unit. *Edit: it was the Kohler Ironworks clawfoot, not a slipper shape, sorry for my bad memory.*
Here, OTOH, is a very recent (ongoing) discussion of an acrylic clawfoot tub install that did not go according to Hoyle, yet the manufacturer is telling the homeowner that it is a normal situation regarding the mounting of the feet:
https://advice.thisoldhouse.com/showthread.php?127166-Problem-with-feet-on-acrylic-claw-foot-tub
The Kohler we did looked nothing like that.
Casey

Lam, what do you clean your tub with?

Sombreuil - A rose grower I see. :-) That is a beauty too.

What a horrible job they did on that acrylic slipper tub. Which leads me to ask, how do they usually install a claw foot tub? Obviously they can’t just set it on the floor and that’s that. Do they all get secured to the floor in that manner? It looks awful with the bracket and screws.

Those slipper tubs are such a nice shape, but I suppose they don’t make them in cast iron.

They do make them in Cast Iron: Strom Plumbing/Vintage Tub.

They are very heavy, 400 lb. -600 lb. empty and 800 -1000 lb filled.

http://www.vintagetub.com/bathroom/bathtubs/cast-iron-tubs.html

Palimpsest - that is really heavy! How the heck do they get that from the truck to it's final position? I can see having some kind of equipment except going upstairs. And is the average house structurally capable of holding all that weight?