not sure if I qualify to have an opinion yet on this.... I never had a whirlpool in acrylic or cast. I am working on putting my bathroom together now, and we will be having a 5.5' tea for two tub in it as a soaking tub, not whilpool. I never really liked the idea of a plastic tub. I helped get the tub into the bathroom on the second floor, it took 4 guys and a lift and we brought it in before the wall was up in realitively new construction. It was a pain, it is super heavy. It is probably the biggest bathtub I've seen mainly from sheer depth. I do wonder if it is worth it, and if we will be happy. it sounds like you're unhappy with the acrylic. if you can see the Tea for two, it might help make up your mind. You will have to ease your contractor into it, its definately on the fringe of the norm

My acrylic Bain Ultra air tub was set in a bed of mud with a piece of think plastic between the mud and tub. This was done for the ease of removing the tub if ever the need arises. It's as solid feeling on the bottom as my husband's Kohler cast iron tub. As for cleaning, that's a different story. You're not supposed to use anything abrasive on acrylic. Believe it or not, Scrubbing Bubbles is considered abrasive :( That's been my go to tub cleaner for years. To clean my acrylic tub RIGHT, I use Gel Gloss. It's a pain (literally!). You spray it on, let it sit, buff it and let it dry and then wipe the residue. When I'm in a pinch for time or physically limited, I will use Scrubbing Bubbles. There are very few non abrasive cleaners out there. One Bain Ultra suggested was Lemon scent Lysol. NOTHING works better than Scrubbing Bubbles!

I am replacing 2 bathtubs as part of a re-tiling project for 2 kids' bathrooms upstairs with tub/shower combos. Right now there are the tubs the builder put in 20 years ago. I think they are steel. While I like the idea of cast iron (Kohler Bellwether), for durability, I also like the acrylic tubs. Are there wear and tear considerations that should discourage me from choosing acrylic for kids' bathrooms? Or are they more slippery, or any other cons about acrylic that I should consider?

It looks like you want a tub that is wider, longer and possibly deeper than your current one. There is a good chance that you will need a larger conventional water heater or an on-demand water heater to fill it properly. If you use a pocket door anywhere, be sure it is a solid core door to reduce sound transfer. If this were my bathroom, I'd remove the closet but leave a partition wall against which the door would open. Then I'd move the toilet far enough toward that wall to put a new tub roughly where the current one is. I'd put any money saved on extensive channeling toward a Toto Neorest toilet.