Clawfoot Tub Buying Guide

Clawfoot tub materials

Cast iron or acrylic? That's the question most shoppers start with when browsing our selection of clawfoot tubs. Though a cast iron clawfoot tub is the more historically authentic choice, an acrylic clawfoot tub offers unique advantages that are worth considering. Here's a brief look at the pros and cons of each material.

Cast iron

Cast iron clawfoot tubs offer vintage beauty for the modern bathroom. A typical cast iron tub features a porcelain enamel interior which is highly resistant to stains, wear, and scratching. The exterior of a cast iron clawfoot is commonly painted in a solid color or decorative motif. For strength, durability, and authenticity, cast iron can't be beat.

On the negative side, cast iron is significantly heavier than acrylic - about twice as heavy depending on the model and size. If you're worried about installation, or the ability of an upper-story floor to support a 3,000-pound tub, then cast iron may not be your best choice.

Acrylic

Acrylic clawfoot tubs combine vintage style with the advantages of modern materials. Acrylic tubs are lightweight, which makes for easier installation and less floor strain in apartments or upper floors. Acrylic warms quickly, unlike cast iron. Acrylic clawfoots also tend to be a little more affordable than cast iron claw foot tubs.

The downside of acrylic is that it's not as strong or as durable as cast iron. For example, tub wall mounted shower enclosures are best supported by cast iron. Acrylic can pick up scratches, but these can usually be buffed out.

Clawfoot tub styles

Classic/roll top

During the heyday of the clawfoot tub in the first decades of the 20th century, the standard design was a 5-foot cast iron tub with a roll rim that extended as a curved, protruding lip on the back end. The front wall had a straight edge and drillings for a tub wall mount. The overall tub profile was flat, i.e., no high backs. The roll top or roll rim is the classic clawfoot tub style.

Slipper

The coziness of the slipper's name matches the intention behind its design. A slipper claw foot tub is built much like a roll top, except the back half of the tub inclines upward toward a high-backed end designed for leaning back and resting one's head.

Double ended

Double ended clawfoot bathtubs are rounded on each end, and usually have a center drain with a rim-mount faucet midway on the tub's side. This style places the faucet conveniently out of the way so that a bather can rest against either end.

Double slipper

With a high slipper back on each end and a center drain with side-mount faucet, the double slipper clawfoot bathtub is designed with couples in mind.

Pedestal

Pedestal bathtubs began appearing in the 1920s as Art Deco superseded the Queen Anne/Chippendale styles of claw foot tubs. A pedestal bathtub is legless, resting instead on a solid base.

Freestanding

Freestanding bathtubs refers to pedestal tubs or legged tubs other than clawfoots. Our selection of freestanding tubs includes the additional materials of copper and stone.

Clawfoot tub faucet mounts

Claw foot tubs may or may not come with pre-drilled faucet holes known as drillings. The location or absence of these drillings determines which type of clawfoot tub faucet is required for installation (as does the distance from the center of one hole to the other). These are the three primary drilling types or faucet-mount configurations:

Tub wall

Tub wall drillings are located just above the overflow hole on the end or side of the tub. This is the most common clawfoot faucet mounting type. In most cases, the distance from one drilling center to the other is 3 3/8 inches, i.e., 3 3/8 centers.

Rim/deck

Rim-mount drillings are located on the rim/deck/edge of the tub. Rim mount tub faucets usually have 7-inch centers, but 8 inches and 3 3/8 inches are also used.

Floor/wall (none)

If your clawfoot tub does not have drillings (drain and overflow holes excluded), then you'll need to purchase freestanding faucets, i.e., floor-mount tub faucets or wall-mount faucets (wall mount in this case means the bathroom wall, not the tub wall).

With all faucet types, the standard centers are 3 3/8 inches, 7 inches, and 8 inches. Non-standard measurements require clawfoot tub faucets with adjustable centers. The type of supply line must also correspond with the roughed-in pipe at the floor. If the rough-in is aligned with the faucet holes, then a single offset supply line (i.e., straight) is used. If the rough-in is for 8-inch centers with 3 3/8-inch tub drillings, then double offset supply lines (i.e., bent or angled) are used.