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I have been working on remodeling my bathroom. As part of the renovations we have decided to replace our old tub with an acrylic claw foot tub. The tub is extremely light weight. I am assuming that it needs to be anchored some how so that there isn't constant strain on the plumbing for the drain. I talked to the plumber who helped me move the plumbing when I first started the remodel, but he did not have any answers for me. My floor is ceramic tile, and there is basement below the bathroom so I can get underneath the floor if needed. What is the best way to anchor this tub?

Here are a couple of pictures of the tub: Claw foot tub

And from underneath: Under side

Under side of feet

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What are those legs made out of? Are you sure this thing is designed to be functional? I can't believe one small bolt per leg can support a full load of water + a person! –  Tester101 Oct 14 '11 at 20:32
There should be holes or notches for screws in the feet - can you post a photo of the bottom of the inside of the leg? –  ChrisF Oct 14 '11 at 20:56
@Tester101 the feet are metal and it feels pretty sturdy once the tub is sitting on them, but I was a bit leery of them as well. –  heavyd Oct 14 '11 at 22:48
That tub looks like it can hold quite a bit of water, so keep in mind water weighs ~8.33 lbs/gallon. I'm guessing that tub holds at least 600 lbs of water, plus the weight of the tub + a person... That is a lot of weight on those legs (and the floor). I'm no engineer (@Doresoom is the resident engineer), but I wouldn't trust that kind of weight on those feet. –  Tester101 Oct 15 '11 at 0:38
There is going to be a lot of force pushing down, and I'm thinking those (tiny) bolts are going to act like a hinge and allow the legs to deflect out. Too much weight, and the tub will look like Bambi on the frozen pond. –  Tester101 Oct 15 '11 at 0:41
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I believe you just set it on the floor and let the weight of the tub and connected drain pipes keep it from moving.

If you are really worried about it moving you could mount some sort of small block to the floor behind where each leg will sit. It would not be attached to the blocks but with for of them the tub would not be able to move. But that may not work well with your tile floor.

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The weight of the tub will definitely not be enough. The 2 pictures above I took by holding the tub up with one hand and holding the camera with another, and it was not a strain to take. As it is the tub would move if you bump into it. –  heavyd Oct 14 '11 at 23:48
I would contact the manufacturer and see what they say. –  Craig Oct 17 '11 at 16:20
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