Stone Material Guide for Bathtubs
Nine stone families are carved into bathtubs at this factory. They behave differently in a bathroom so this guide sets out how each one looks how it is finished and how it should be cleaned.
| Stone | How it looks and behaves | Usual finish | Where it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marble | Marble reads as a soft ground colour crossed by veins. Because every tub comes out of one block the veining runs around the rim and down the outside instead of stopping at a seam. | Polished for a reflective surface Matt for a quiet contemporary look Fine picked for texture on the outside face. | Suite bathrooms master bathrooms and spa rooms where the tub is the focal point of the room. |
| Granite | Granite is a dense even grained stone. It resists staining and weather better than most bathroom materials which is why it is the usual choice for outdoor and high traffic installations. | Polished honed flamed or chiselled on the outside face for grip and shadow. | Outdoor bath decks resort villas gym and wet areas and any project where the tub has to take daily use. |
| Italy Marble | Italian blocks carry strong colour movement. Block selection matters more than anything else here because the pattern on the finished tub is decided when the block is opened. | Polished to bring out depth of the veining. Book matched layouts possible when the block allows. | Penthouse bathrooms signature hotel suites show apartments and photography sets. |
| Travertine | Travertine has been used for baths for a very long time. The stone carries small natural voids that can be filled or left open depending on the look you want. | Honed or polished inside Filled or unfilled outside. | Spa suites wellness rooms and warm toned bathrooms. |
| Sandstone | Sandstone gives a matt low glare surface with visible bedding lines. Landscape vein blocks produce a wood grain effect that runs around the body of the tub. | Natural matt or lightly honed. Sandstone is normally not polished to a gloss. | Garden bathrooms resort villas and rustic or biophilic interiors. |
| Limestone | Limestone and bluestone give a calm surface with very little pattern which suits rooms where the architecture rather than the stone should lead. | Honed for a soft matt face or bush hammered outside for texture. | Minimal bathrooms hotel standard rooms and wellness areas. |
| Onyx | Onyx is translucent. Backlighting the outside face turns the tub into a light source which is why it appears in spa and signature suite projects. | Polished. Wall thickness is planned with the lighting design when the tub will be lit. | Spa treatment rooms signature suites and show bathrooms. |
| River Cobble | Each tub starts as one river boulder. The outside keeps the shape the river gave it so no two pieces are identical and the sizes follow the stone rather than a drawing. | Polished bowl with the natural weathered skin left on the outside. | Outdoor bathing decks garden villas onsen style rooms and jungle resorts. |
| Terrazzo | Terrazzo gives an even chip pattern with a consistent colour across the whole tub which makes it easy to match with floors and vanity tops in the same room. | Polished or matt. Fluted outside faces available. | Contemporary hotels apartments and design led residential bathrooms. |
Choosing between them
Start with the room rather than the stone. An indoor suite bathroom cleaned by housekeeping every day and an outdoor deck in a tropical climate ask for different material even when the shape is identical.
- Daily commercial cleaning suits granite and the harder marbles
- Outdoor exposure suits granite and river boulder
- Backlit features need onyx and a wall thickness planned with the lighting
- Warm neutral rooms suit travertine sandstone and beige limestone
- Strong pattern for a signature room comes from Italian marble blocks
Porosity and sealing
All of these stones are sealed after installation. Sandstone travertine and limestone are the most absorbent so they need the sealing schedule your installer sets and immediate wiping of spills. Granite is the least demanding. Marble sits between the two and dislikes acidic cleaners more than it dislikes water.
Weight is part of the specification
A full size tub in any of these stones is normally 750 to 850 kilograms empty. Add roughly 200 to 300 litres of water and a bather before checking the floor with a structural engineer.
Questions about this guide
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Ask about your own project
Send the room the stone and the size. Written answers come back with a quotation if you want one.