I've had my eye on a Toto Clayton tile-in airbath for a while. I can't say they are any better than a kohler or other brand; we just stumbled on it because we'd already bought a toto clayton toilet and thought we might stay in the same line as we redo the bath. As for the step depth, I remember reading about the design work of Shusaku Arakawa and Madeline Gins, who believe that we can defy death through architecture. They believe that houses that are physically challenging to live in are better, and their designs are frankly crazy by any standards we are accustomed to. I rolled my eyes when I first read about their work. One of their designs required crash helmets and hiking boots to tour, and some visitors broke bones. (I couldn't make this up if I tried!). But as bizarre as their designs are (you can check out their website at reversibledestiny.org), it did make me start to wonder, what if our houses required us to move and stretch a little more than they do now? So while I don't want to live in a house where visitors regularly fall and break bones, it seems to me that a navigating a deep step into tub is not asking for that much, especially if you have grab bars in the right places and a non-slip floor next to the tub. I suppose an indigenous hunter-gatherer would roll their eyes at our sedentary coddled lifestyle and think we're crazy to live in a way that allows diabetes and heart disease to become epidemic. So go ahead and get that airbath. Maybe you'll live a little bit longer :-) Here is a link that might be useful: toto clayton airbath.

Just a quick update. I spent days reading material on air tubs and whirlpools and got my decision down to a 36 x 72" Jason and Purebath. To get an outside opinion, I called an online bath dealer in the Richmond, VA area where I used to live (Whirlpooltubs.com, Steve) and after discussing a lot of models, which he sells as well, he steered me to Mansfield, an UN-fancy company that offered a ton of features and everything I was looking for, at a nice price. I ended up with the Baywood 6 Ariance GentleTouch (air bath version) which has back jets with heated neck/back rest, heated silent air (all offer this), included neck pillow, chromatherapy. This combined the features I thought my husband might benefit from (back jets) with the surround air jets, in a quiet system, as we will put the motor on the other side of the wall with insulation. Mansfield offers the Ariance in 3 models: HealthTouch (whirlpool), GentleTouch (air bath) and DualTherapy. I would love to tell you what I think about this bathtub, but we are still building our home and are months' out yet. This dealer was on the ball and very helpful.

The unit I used when I had an injury had larger plastic or rubber feet on the ends of the legs. With the weight spread out among 4 points, I would think it would be much less pressure than a person stepping into the tub or shower and having all their weight on one point. I honestly wouldn't worry about it as long as the legs had some sort of feet or cap on them. Now, if it were just a metal tube, that would be a different story.

What do you think of stone bathtub for your bathroom? Someone shared experience that he spent US$300.00 for Kohler Villager Cast Iron Tub, so I think it is too expensive for Bain at the price about US$3000.00, which definitely could be available in stone too. Actually, the producers would be able to custom make different design for you too. You could select design from their website or provide picture or drawing for duplication. Here is a link that might be useful: Stone Bathtub Producer