Freestanding Tubs: Space, Floor Loads and Faucet Choices

A freestanding tub looks simple: a vessel on the floor. Behind that look are four decisions that have to be settled before the floor goes down: where exactly the tub sits, how the faucet is mounted, where the drain comes through, and whether the floor can carry it full. This page covers each, so the tub you choose in the showroom works in the room you have.

Space around the tub

A freestanding tub only looks right with floor showing around it, and it only stays clean if you can reach around it. Plan for three kinds of space.

• Behind and at the ends. Enough to reach in with a cloth or mop. A tub set a hand's width from the wall leaves a gap that collects dust and is hard to clean. Either give it real room or choose a back-to-wall model that sits flat against the wall.
• The side you step in from. Clear floor for standing, drying off and a towel within reach, plus a mat that will not slide.
• Circulation. The tub should not narrow the path to the toilet, shower or door.

These are design judgments, not code numbers. The plumbing code does set clearances for toilets and lavatories, and those still apply to whatever sits near the tub; see the bathroom plumbing code page. A designer will usually draw the tub to scale in the plan before anything is ordered, which is the easiest way to see whether it crowds the room. Our bathroom layouts page shows how the tub fits into the overall plan.

Faucet options: floor, wall or deck

Whichever you choose, the valve, the spout and the handheld are bought as a matched system, and the in-wall or in-floor part is installed long before the trim. Tub and shower fittings are made to ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1; the spec sheet should list it. If the bathroom has a separate shower, the tub filler can share a finish with the shower trim without sharing a valve.

The drain

A freestanding tub drains straight down through the floor, through a drain and overflow assembly that is usually visible or partly visible. That has three consequences.

• The drain location is fixed by the tub's design, and the tub can only sit where the drain is.
• Below a wood floor, the trap and drain line run between or through the joists, so the joist direction limits where the tub can go without extra framing work. Over a crawlspace that is usually straightforward. On a second floor, the ceiling below may have to be opened.
• On a concrete slab, the drain needs a trench cut into the slab and patched after. It is a known job, but a bigger one.

If the tub is not going where the old one was, this is a plumbing relocation. Our page on moving bathroom plumbing explains what is involved.

Floor structure and filled weight

A freestanding tub puts the tub, the water and the person in it on a small area of floor. How much that matters depends on the material.

• Acrylic tubs are light. The water is most of the load.
• Stone resin (solid surface) tubs are heavy, and the weight sits on a solid base.
• Enameled cast iron tubs are much heavier than acrylic, often on four feet that concentrate the load.

With the heavier materials, have the framing checked before you commit. The questions are joist size, spacing and span, the condition of the subfloor, and where the tub sits relative to the joists and any bearing wall. Sometimes the answer is that nothing is needed. Sometimes it is added blocking or sistered joists, which is far easier to do with the floor open. Material differences are compared on our bathtub materials page.

Hot water and filling time

Many freestanding tubs are deep soakers, and a deep tub can use more hot water than a tank water heater delivers before it runs cool. Compare the tub's capacity to the overflow with the water heater's size before you order. A filler with a high flow fills faster, but it does not create more hot water. Our page on soaking, whirlpool and air tubs covers depth and capacity.

Cleaning and daily use

• The tub's outside is a finished surface that gets splashed. Matte finishes show soap and mineral film differently than gloss; ask the maker what cleaner is safe.
• There is nothing to set a shampoo bottle on. Plan a small table, a niche in the nearby wall or a tub caddy.
• Splashes land on the floor around the tub, so the floor should be tile or another water-tolerant surface.
• There is no wall for a grab bar beside the tub. A floor-mounted support or a tub with an integral handhold are options, but if someone in the house needs support getting in and out, an alcove tub is usually safer.

What to check before you buy

1. Outside dimensions and the floor space you planned around it.
2. Drain location on the spec sheet, and whether it suits the joists or slab below.
3. Material and what that means for the floor framing.
4. Capacity to the overflow against your water heater.
5. Faucet mounting: floor, wall or deck, and that the spout reach lands inside the tub.
6. Back-to-wall or fully freestanding, depending on how close it sits to the wall.
7. The route into the room: doorways, stairs and turns.
8. Whether the drain and overflow trim come with the tub or are bought separately, and in which finish.

Who should choose a freestanding tub

• A primary bath with floor space to spare, where the tub is for soaking and a separate shower handles daily use. Our primary bathroom page covers that layout.
• A wet room, where the tub stands inside the waterproofed shower zone and splashing does not matter. See wet rooms.
• Not a hall bath that has to work as the family shower, and not a bath where someone needs help getting in.

What it costs with JDI

In JDI Construction's published bathroom cost calculator, a freestanding soaking tub is an add-on with a planning range of $2,500-$6,500, on top of the base range for the bathroom. That range covers the tub and its installation as part of a remodel; it is a planning range, not a quote. Floor framing work and relocating a drain are part of the overall project scope. See bathroom remodel cost in Vancouver, WA for how the add-ons fit, or try the bathroom cost calculator for your own room. When you are ready to plan the tub in place, our designers can draw it in a 3D layout at a free in-home consultation.