Soaking Tubs for Small Bathrooms

Inserting a tub in a small bathroom is quite a challenge. However, there is a rising demand for soaking tubs for small bathrooms in United States. This means that the new Japanese tub is something you might want to consider, especially when you have a limited space in your bathroom.
As we all have known, the standard tub size is around 5 feet long, with 14 to 16 inches depth. Meanwhile, the Japanese soaking tubs is shorter, but deeper. The common size for these Asian tubs is 4 feet long, with 26 to 34 inches deep.

Currently, most of the famous manufacturers have started to produce soaking tubs. American Standard, Kohler and Jacuzzi are some of the examples. For American market, some of their soaking tubs are one foot longer compared to the standard Japanese tubs.
Anyway, let’s get down to business. Today we’re going to give you several tips on choosing the best soaking tubs for small bathrooms.

1. First you need to have an estimated measure of your bathroom. As we have said earlier, the common size of a soaking tub is 4 feet long and around 30 to 40 inch wide.
2. After you confirm that you have enough space for the tub, you can go to American Standard or Kohler official site to see the ones that match your bathroom size and your tub specs preference. Looking them up online is generally better because you get to see more option. It is often that the local big box hardware only provides a limited number of models.
3. We are assuming that you have found the ones that interest you and still under your budget. Now that there’s a list of possible tub, you can compare the price from the online store and from the official manufacturer. Don’t forget to consider the shipping and the tax price too.
4. The minimum wide for soaking tub available on the market is around 30 inches. However, you may find it uncomfortable for soaking in. The 32 inches wide soaking tub is usually comfortable enough for American body.
5. That said; try to do a simulation for a few days. Try to simulate the 30, 32, 34, 36 inches wide tub in your small bathroom and see if they are reasonable or not. You don’t want to have too little space to do things in your bathroom. Try to put a coffee table and see whether it is enough or too big.
6. For a small bathroom, we are not recommending a three wall alcove design. It is best to have the tub integrated with the whole bathroom. This means there is no shower curtain or sliding doors.

Remember, when you choose to buy the best soaking tubs for small bathroom you should also prepare for installation cost and decorative cost. While you may be able to cut some budget in the decorative cost (for example, custom tiling or matching front panel), we recommend you to wisely spend your money with a good, qualified plumber. Installing a soaking tub for small bathroom need skills, and having a professional doing it will make you feel at ease.

Images: makdesignbuild.com, ramtco.com, jacuzzi.com.