Cast Iron vs Acrylic roll top baths

[paul]

About to decide whether to purchase and install a traditional double ended cast iron roll top bath or an acrylic one. There seems to be plenty a selection on Ebay but all the acrylic ones look fake - anyone know of any decent makes which look ok ? Apart from the obvious heat loss problem - is this really a big problem with cast iron ? What are the other comparables or problems with either ? Any installation gotchas to watch for? - Will the feet crack a tiled floor which has been laid on floorboards? Paul

[The Natural Philosopher]

I've only ever been involved in smashing up and removing a cast iron bath, not installing one, and I never want to be.

I would say damaging tiles on wood is extremely likely, as is chip damage when you drop stuff in.

In the victorian and edwardian era, cast iron was just about the only way to create a complex shape. As pine was the only way to create large carpentry structures at sensible prices.

Both have been superseded by better composite materials. I suggest you look around - some very good roll tops in acrylic exist.

Old hand crafted stuff is a joy. Old mass produced stuff is as much crap today as modern mass produced stuff.