Cast marble bath — design, disadvantages of artificial cast marble

Marble baths are not only a necessary, but also a luxurious detail of the interior of a modern comfortable home. The appearance of marble bathtubs will never offend your aesthetic taste. It will serve you for a long time, so the bath will justify the cost of acquiring it. After all, as the English say, we are not rich enough to buy cheap things.
Marble bath
The marble bathtub is an important part of the bathroom design. A sophisticated look, luxurious forms, a variety of shades can satisfy the needs of the most sophisticated sybarite. The only thing that can upset a connoisseur of beauty is the relatively high cost of a bath from this mineral. An acceptable replacement for it can be a cast marble bath. In the manufacture of such baths, natural stone chips, acrylic resins, dyes and hardeners are used.
To opt for natural or artificial stone, first decide what is more important to you: unconditional environmental friendliness, naturalness, exclusivity of a natural mineral with its high cost and huge mass, or a rich range of colors, shapes, elegance of thin walls, lightness and not too sky-high price of bathtubs made of artificial cast marble. The service life is guaranteed by the manufacturer for at least five years, however, the actual service life is about 45 years.
Natural marble bath
Bathtubs made of marble can be gray, black, beige, green. There are shades of pink, ivory, honey. For baths, as a rule, marble with veins of different colors is used. One of the most expensive is black with golden veins. The natural mineral is rich in a variety of shades, while you can be absolutely sure: your marble bath is a unique acquisition, because nature prefers to avoid patterns. So the pattern will never be repeated on the surface of any other product!
Natural marble bathtubs are made by craftsmen who carve a shape from a block of stone that the customer prefers. The weight of a bathtub made of natural stone is truly gigantic, it reaches a ton. Transporting such a giant is not such a simple matter, and the problem is not only in the mass of the product, but also in its fragility. Impacts, falls during transportation are unacceptable. The installation of such an object has its own difficulties, because not any overlap can withstand the load of such a mass of stone. So you need to make sure in advance that the location of the bathroom meets the necessary technical conditions.
The surface of natural marble after processing becomes amazingly smooth, it is pleasant to touch it. The interior of the bathtub is easily cleaned of dirt, does not absorb moisture, does not change its color. However, you can not use abrasives, acids for cleaning. It is undesirable to drop solid objects into the bath, for example, large glass shampoo bottles, as this can damage the mirror perfection of the walls or bottom.
Faux marble bath
The costs of mining and processing natural stone, alas, are high. Modern science and production offer him an excellent replacement — artificial marble. This material is not much inferior to the natural mineral, even surpasses it in some ways. For example, cast marble retains heat longer and warms up faster than natural marble. A marble effect bathtub can have a significantly thinner wall thickness and still be durable and resistant to abrasion. Due to the sleeker design of the bowl, the cast marble bathtub is lighter and easier to install. And finally, it’s cheaper.
marble bath design
In fact, natural marble baths are for every taste, from deliberately rough, natural, to exquisite, decorated with carvings and mosaics. However, a cast marble bathtub has the potential to outperform its rival in terms of the variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and design exclusivity. Let’s try to understand all this variety of cast marble bathtubs.
Cast marble corner baths
For bathrooms of modest size, a marble corner bath is the best fit. It is quite roomy, comfortable, compact. Since a corner bath made of cast marble takes up less space than a free-standing one, you will have the opportunity to place other necessary pieces of furniture and plumbing in the room (lockers, sink, bidet, etc.). It is convenient to wash in such a bath. Just the angle gives an increase in the volume of the bowl compared to the usual rectangular baths. Those who like to soak up the water longer will appreciate the comfort of hygiene procedures in the corner bath.
Oval cast marble bath
More than ever, an oval marble bath will look the center of the bathroom. All attention will be focused on her. At the same time, a stylish, chic look of the bath will create the necessary accent, give the room individuality. At the same time, such an arrangement will take up a significant piece of space, and communications will have to be hidden under the floor. Consider how much you can afford it. The oval bathtub is roomy, but it is not designed to be washed in the shower. Due to the streamlined shape and the absence of corners, it is safe to use.
Cast marble hot tubs
The combination of positive qualities of cast marble puts it in first place among all suitable materials for the manufacture of whirlpool baths. Imitation marble is perfectly workable, while a hot tub requires a certain number of holes in order to install special equipment. The low vibration level and excellent water noise absorption are also an important factor influencing the choice in favor of cast marble. A marble hot tub can be of various colors, shapes and sizes.
Bath white marble
The most gentle, clean, flawless color for the bath is white. A white marble bath goes well with any shade of wall decoration, furniture, plumbing. The shape of the bowl will help an oval or round bathtub look airy, fans of monumentality will suit a rectangular bathtub standing without legs. Actually, it is not necessary to be limited to strict geometric shapes. Cast marble products do not hold back your fantasies.
Bathroom black marble
Black is always noble and very beautiful if used sparingly. This color dictates its own rules of the game, it requires impeccable taste, balance. It is preferable to use black as a piquant detail, which will be a black bathtub made of cast marble. The subtle contrast between white walls and a black tub can be the highlight of your bathroom. Do you want more color? No problem — a black marble bathtub will look luxurious against a bright wall.
Colored bathtubs made of cast marble
Manufacturers keep the mass dyeing technology a secret, because it is not easy to get an even deep shade or beautiful stains that look like veins of a natural mineral. An amazing result is obtained by adding original dyes to a mixture of initial components. Thanks to this know-how, the cast marble bathtub features a rich color palette. Combining the exquisite design of the marble bathtub with the meticulous decoration of the entire room, you will receive a truly private mansion of purity and bliss.
Cast marble bathroom disadvantages
In order to form an objective opinion about cast marble bathtubs, one should consider, so to speak, the “reverse side of the coin”, what can upset the owner of cast marble? A bath, the shortcomings of which you suddenly discover during its operation, will cease to give pleasure from its possession. As a matter of fact, you will know one of the disadvantages even at the time of purchase — the high cost of the product. However, if you already have a bath in your house, then you are ready to put up with this drawback, right? Some of the other problems include:
- Large weight (transportation will require the help of loaders).
- Poor resistance to aggressive environments, chemicals and cosmetics (if you drop a vial of brilliant green in the bath, you have big problems).
- Instability to mechanical stress (chips from falling objects, scratches when cleaning with abrasive products, hard washcloths).
- The need to periodically restore the surface.
- The need for mandatory rinsing and thorough wiping of the bath bowl after bathing or washing (we must not forget to drain the water after bathing).
Given all the positive and negative sides of marble bathtubs, you can easily conclude for yourself whether you need this thing or not. In fact, who doesn’t have flaws? Whatever you say, a thrifty owner can serve such magnificent property for decades without chips, cracks and stains from any muck. But what a beauty, you must agree! Even the most sophisticated interior will be decorated with a marble bathtub.