www.Clawfoot.com stopped building its handmade claw foot tubs from cast iron years ago. But we’re still asked why did we switch to acrylic construction and how can we build an authentic clawfoot bathtub out of anything but traditional cast iron?

Simple – as technology has moved on so have we. Acrylic is now the best material for traditional clawfoot tubs for five reasons. These are

  • Clawfoot design,
  • Clawfoot Tub structural integrity,
  • Lower cost installation of  clawfoot baths,
  • Clawfoot tub thermal effectiveness, and
  • Clawfoot tub lifetime maintenance.

Let’s discuss each of these further:

The first advantage is design. Clawfoot baths are seen as beautiful today – but they were traditionally very basic and utilitarian. Celebrating the bathroom as a key room in the home is a very recent trend. Cast iron worked well when clawfoot bath tub design was limited to simple troughs (and sometimes actual feed troughs!), but creating flowing, organic designs is only possible with double skin acrylic construction.

The second advantage is structural integrity. Acrylic claw foot bath tubs are hand built using a double skin acrylic technique. It’s the same way high end boats are built, allowing skilled bath builders to put extra strength where it’s needed – and not where it’s not. This results in a much stronger claw foot tub but at a much lower weight.

This then drives the third advantage: Lower cost installation of clawfoot baths. The lower weight – but same strength – of an acrylic claw foot tub means that fewer people are needed to manoeuvre the bath when installing it, saving on contractor costs. In addition higher storey installations need low or no reinforcement, saving thousands on structural modifications.

The fourth advantage, better thermal effectiveness can be summed up simply as: Acrylic clawfoot baths keep hot water hotter for longer! Acrylic is an insulator but cast iron is a conductor (and a very good one at that). That’s why cast iron makes great radiators, but a very poor bath. Acrylic clawfoot tubs cost less to run, keep the bather warmer longer and are more environmentally (and financially) effective than cast iron bathtubs.

The fifth advantage only becomes clear years after a clawfoot tub has been installed. Acrylic clawfoot bath tubs keep a showroom finish longer. This is because when an acrylic clawfoot tub gets chipped, or marked, most minor imperfections can be simply polished out using custom www.clawfoot.com buffing compounds. But a cast iron bath needs expensive resurfacing – or if it rusts often complete replacement.

To find out more about the advantages of acrylic clawfoot bath tubs contact us at help@clawfoot.com or see and buy acrylic clawfoot tubs at www.clawfoot.com