Acrylic in Sunlight

[JTlikestobuild]

I'm installing a 3'x6' tub in a corner below 2 South/South West facing windows.

I have been looking at acrylic tubs thinking the sunlight wouldn't be a problem because acrylic hot tub are in the sun all day. Then someone mentioned hot tubs have covers to hold the heat in as well as protect them from UV.

Are hot tubs made from a UV protected acrylic while indoor baths may not be?

Should I be concerned with the sunlight on the acrylic enough to be looking at installing a cast iron tub instead?

Don't want to be pulling the bath out for at least 10 years.......or longer.

[jadnashua]

Unless you leave the windows open most of the time, they will block a fair amount of the UV, and if you have fairly modern windows, those block even more. I'd ask that of the manufacturer, but I do not think it would be a problem. There are some window films (3M has some great ones) that don't block much of any visible light, but block almost all UV, if your windows aren't low-E.

[kreemoweet]

Vancouver doesn't get all that much sunlight anyway.

[JTlikestobuild]

Hey KreemO

Are you saying I should worry more about the bathtub filling up with rainwater if I leave a windows open....

JT

[kreemoweet]

Acrylic by itself is pretty UV-stable, I've seen clear acrylic glazing with full sun exposure looking good after 10 or 15 years, so its more a question of how
the pigments in the tub will hold up. If the tub is going to be warmed up significantly by sunlight, you will be seeing some pronounced thermal expansion
effects, so you should take particular care with providing flexible expansion joints (e.g. caulk) wherever the tub meets hard stuff (e.g. tile or metal).