Composite baths

In addition to acrylic, cast iron and steel, so-called composite materials are used today for the manufacture of baths – polymers with the addition of natural filler (stone chips).

Cast marble (or polymer concrete) is similar in appearance to natural stone: the most popular samples are malachite, onyx, marble. Cast marble bathtubs are durable, resistant to external influences, stains, bacteria, but, like other polymers, cast marble is afraid of abrasives. Products of any color are made from it. As for the shapes, the market offers from standard rectangular models to angular and multifaceted bowls. For such a bath, you can immediately pick up the entire set of plumbing made of cast marble. Domestic products, subject to their purchase from the manufacturer (there is a wide choice here), cost from $ 250, but foreign copies are much more expensive and, depending on the model, will cost $ 600-1500.

As if seeking to reconcile fans of solid steel and warm acrylic bathtubs, Laldewei has designed bathtubs from a material called Starylan. The working surface of such products is high quality acrylic, and the bottom is a steel mold made of a single sheet of steel. Both “shells” are pressed through a special backing made of composite material with an effort of 500 tons for several hours, and the result is a quiet, perfectly keeping warm, durable body – a godsend for those who love a soft, warm to the touch acrylic surface and at the same time appreciates stability and good quality. Prices for bathtubs made of oldlan are 20-30% higher than for conventional steel.

One of the latest developments is the invention of Villeroy & Boch – Quaril (or Quaril), which is a mixture of acrylic with quartz powder, which is cast into a mold (the heated mixture is pumped into a steel mold, polished to a mirror shine, and after the mass has solidified, the finished product is removed). Quarila bathtubs are heavier than acrylic, but lighter than cast iron and cast marble, which simplifies their installation and reduces the risk of damage during transportation and installation. Thanks to the addition of quartz, the quaryl bath does not need reinforcement, like acrylic, and it surpasses it in thickness. Quaril has a very low coefficient of thermal conductivity, and therefore is warm to the touch (the bath cools slowly). Due to the fact that the cuaril body itself has high strength, it is permissible to make its walls almost vertical, so that the sloping side surfaces characteristic of cast iron and acrylic bathtubs are not required here. This implies a fundamentally different internal volume of the bath. In a model with dimensions of 180×80 cm, it will already be possible to sit down with legs stretched out (in the case of acrylic, this is possible with a bathtub length of 200 cm). That is, with an average outer dimensions, the quaril bowl turns out to be much more spacious from the inside. Baths from kuaril cost at least $ 1000. Instances supplied to the domestic market are usually the result of cooperation with famous designers, so the buyer will have to pay not only for a complex production technology, but also for a big name. However, toilet bowls and sinks are not made from Quaril, and therefore, the selection of the rest of the plumbing, suitable in color and design, will cause some difficulties.