I've never had a porcelain tub that chipped. Ever. It's all I'll have, if I have a choice in the matter.

My 2 kids (boy and girl) had a Kohler porcelain enameled tub in their bathroom for 20 years or so. Not a single chip. 7 of us (2 adults and 5 kids) used a single porcelain tub in the house I grew up in. When my parents sold the house there weren't any chips. I would always select porcelain for a secondary bath. The cost difference is a few hundred dollars for a basic alcove tub.

Even the ancient porcelain tub in our 1939 house did not have chips in it. It did have acid burns where the previous owner had used something horrible, but no chips.

You can get lined and unlined tubs. Get one that is lined. Unlined sound hollow when you touch them. I would go farther and spray a coating of foam on the underside of a lined tub to deaden the noise even more.

Cast iron is what I think everyone means by porcelain. There is also steel with a porcelain coating which is not as durable. A cast iron tub that non abrasive cleaner is used should last several generations of use.

I've never met a cast iron porcelain tub I didn't like.

porcelain over cast iron. shiny, sanity, robust, holds heat. all the good stuff.

I guess I had just been looking at Lowe's and HD to see that a porcelain tub is $255 and acrylic is $250. I figured that was pretty darn cheap and don't see a reason to not go that route.

I'll have to look into cast vs regular steel to see what the price difference is. If it's big I'm not sure that I'm willing to spend a big chunk but I'll have to discuss it with my wife.

One of the reasons porcelain over cast iron is my favorite is that it's solid. Putting it over steel increases the likelihood that the steel will flex, causing the porcelain to crack.

A good cast-iron porcelain tub cannot be beat. It holds the heat of the water, is easy to clean and is just the best choice. There is a reason that there are still 100 yr old tubs such as this still working quite nicely so long as the faucets are newer.

I would stick to cast iron, not steel. I can see how steel flexing could result in enamel cracking. Penny wise and pound foolish. Once and done, Kohler enameled cast iron would be my choice.

Thanks for all the feedback, I appreciate it.

60 something yr old cast iron tub in our temp house built by my mil and fil. The tub looks flawless. Six kids raised here.

To wrap this up we talked to the builder and are getting two cast iron tubs. Thanks for the info and details. I really didn't care whether the tubs ended up being stamped or cast but they went with cast so thats good I guess.