Comparison Besco Continea 140x70 cm vs Kaldewei Saniform Plus 140x70 cm

The working volume of the bath is usually indicated by the amount of water that can be poured to the level of overflow.

In general, the larger the volume - the, as a rule, the more comfortable the bath, the higher the likelihood that it will be able to lie down or even dive into the water almost entirely, up to the neck. However, it should be borne in mind that models of the same volume can differ markedly in size and shape (both external and internal). This means that large capacity does not yet guarantee convenience for a particular user. In addition, filling the volume bath will take more time and require more water, which can be critical if there are meters or limited water supply (for example, hot water from the storage boiler).

— Acrylic. Polymer material, very popular in modern baths due to the combination of relatively low cost and good reliability. Another important advantage is the ease of processing, allowing you to create bathtubs of almost any shape, incl. quite bizarre. Pure acrylic is quite wear and durable; true, it is relatively easy to scratch, but such a surface is restored without much difficulty. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that inexpensive bathrooms can use a combination of acrylic with ABS-plastic. This material allows to reduce the cost of the product, but negatively affects its resistance to wear - the bath can quickly lose its commercial appearance.

— Acrylic with glass. This category includes acrylic bathtubs (see above) with transparent glass wall. This solution is solely a design approach. It is worth noting that it looks like "glass" bath really stunning.

— Kvaril. Modification of acrylic (see above), combining actual acrylic with quartz sand. Its main advantages are its high strength and reliability, due to which it is possible to give baths any shape (incl. and with many bends), and the probability of damage in impacts is much lower than that of acrylic. In addition, the quartile for a long time retains «commercial appearance». On the other hand, it is somewhat heavier than acrylic, it is more expensive, and in the restoration is quite c...omplex (if a scratch or crack does appear).

— Cast iron. Classic material, quite widely used to this day. Cast iron is characterized by good strength and durability, and its great weight in this case is rather a virtue - it is very difficult to move a similar bath from a place, even if you do it on purpose. In addition, thick cast iron walls have high heat capacity; this should be taken into account when filling (for example, warm the bath in advance), but the heated bath holds heat well and cools slowly. The coating usually uses high-strength enamel, which further increases the reliability and durability of the product. The main disadvantage of cast iron, in addition to the cost, is unsuitable for complex forms, in the end almost all baths of this material are made rectangular. It should also be noted that modern technologies allow to make cast iron walls quite thin - but this reduces not only the price, but also the strength and heat capacity.

— Steel. Steel baths are notable primarily for their high strength and relatively low weight; they are significantly cheaper than cast iron. However, the walls of steel have a small thickness, because of which such products do not keep heat and are quite «noisy», they make a lot of noise when collecting water. In addition, although it is almost impossible to break the bath itself, but the enamel coating is usually not very reliable and durable, and cracks in it lead to rust. In addition, this material is not suitable for complex forms.

— Artificial stone. The material is similar in most respects to natural stone, but obtained synthetically and therefore more accessible and easy to process. However, engineered stone bathtubs are still very expensive and usually belong to products of the «luxury» class, designed for design interiors, expensive spa salons, etc. However, this material has practical advantages, and very significant. So, the stone has a pleasant appearance, and in addition, it practically does not lose it as used. It is durable, not deformed, not prone to the appearance of difficult to remove contaminants, and also resistant to scratches; and even with the appearance of scratches, they are relatively easy to remove. Low thermal conductivity combined with high heat capacity contribute to the retention of heat (however, the bath before filling does not hurt to heat well). In addition, the stone bath is almost silent under the stream of water. The main drawback of this material, besides the price, is a large weight. In addition, from a strong blow, which on cast iron or steel would leave only a dent, the stone can crack (however, the probability of such a «accident» is extremely low).

Wall thickness indicates not only the thermal conductive properties, but also the durability of the product. However, the same parameter affects the price of the device. Accordingly thick-walled baths makes no sense to acquire for rare use. It is enough to make do with 5 mm .

Country of origin, officially declared in the characteristics of the bath. Note that this parameter may not correspond to the actual place of production - the “homeland” of the company selling bathtubs is often indicated as the manufacturer, and the production may be located in another country. This is done for advertising purposes: for example, the products of European and American companies are considered by many to be more reliable and of higher quality than those of Asian firms. However, the actual quality of products today depends not so much on geography, but on the integrity of a particular company; therefore, when choosing, it makes sense to focus not on the country of origin, but first of all on the reputation of the brand. In this niche, in addition to the domestic manufacturer, the most popular manufacturers are Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy, China, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Turkey, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland.

The warranty period declared by the manufacturer for this bathtub model is the period during which the manufacturer guarantees the quality of the product. Particularly with bathtubs, the guarantee mainly covers the coating and indicates how long, with proper care, the appearance of the bathtub will remain in good condition.

The longer the warranty period (and it can be different, both 5 years and 10 years ; even there are bathtubs with a guarantee of 30 years) - the more reliable the bathtub is, the higher its overall quality, all other things being equal, but the more expensive it will be cost compared to peers.

Size of the bath in length, width and height. When choosing, it should be borne in mind that the length and width are specified on the outer dimensions - this allows you to estimate the place required for the installation of the bath, but its internal dimensions are inevitably obtained less. But as a height it is customary to indicate the depth - the distance from the top edge to the bottom. Here we note that the high altitude allows you to dive deeper into the water, but may cause some people (for example, elderly or suffering from leg diseases) problems when entering the bath.