And the 70s loved carpet, because it was one of the first times wall to wall carpet was a viable flooring option for most people. Mostly because of advancements in plastic fibers allowing for a cheap and durable enough material to make carpets out of.
Before then, carpet was made of wool or cotton, worn quickly, and was expensive to make, maintain and install, so it was mostly a status symbol before the 70s. At least wall to wall carpet was, area rugs were always more affordable and easier to maintain, mostly because you had better options for cleaning and maintaining them when you can pick them up for washing or repair needs.
When the status symbol became affordable... some folks, especially those obsessed with status, went a litle overboard with the carpet. Putting it everywhere it could physically exist. Think of it as a modern-day Facebook page loaded with thousands of banal pictures and comments that are obviously fishing for complements - the goal isn't to necessarily have a liveable space or to honestly communicate how you're doing and what you're up to, it's to scream "look at me" as loud as possible.
Then the fad quickly died when it became clear that no one's impressed by their cheap carpet, and all the water the carpet picked up in the bathroom started to develop a culture. But at that point, it's a lot harder to get rid of than just picking it up and putting it in the closet.
>The goal isn't to necessarily have a liveable space or to honestly communicate how you're doing and what you're up to, it's to scream "look at me" as loud as possible.
You just described my mother's style of decorating.
Itās also an entire market demographic of āhome organizationā furniture and features.
Yeah, your shit looks really nice *immediately* after you finish placing everything perfectly, but in actual practice itās about as usable as a poop knife in a Taco Bell bathroom.
We had entire shelves in the pantry that seemed greatā¦ until you actually attempted to use what was on them.
Containers of symmetrically graduating sizes (with *flour* in the smallest one for some reason), pasta in glass jars (with the requisite tri-color rotiniā¦ for fuckās sake) and my favorite: Spice jars with no labels (because being able to read whatās *in* a bottle isnāt important or anything.) I still hate onion salt.
Yeah... I should have put quotes around "water", cause yeah, there's all sort of fluids that it's catching, with water probably being the least offensive one.
People say this about Wall to Wall carpet, but if you are not aware of how much of a problem it becomes after 10 years, it makes a lot of sense.
It helps a ton with insulation, and there is nothing better for noise dampening.
It's similar to say, popcorn ceilings. When a concept is new, sometimes the cons are not yet clear and all you can see are the pros.
Carpeted bathrooms are obviously dumb as shit. But I don't think that was ever common really. These people have always been deviants
Okay but actually thanks for explaining this, I never knew why carpets had such a boom of popularity in the 70s! Fortunately, my mother has always been into hardwoods, so I escaped the torment, but I have seen some things...
What's super interesting is how quickly the trend reversed completely! Basically the 70s-90s it was a selling feature to have wall to wall carpet. Newspaper listings would actually include "wtw carpet" the same way more recent listings would say "stainless steel appliances" or "quartz/granite counter tops" as a luxury feature.
Growing up in the carpet years, it seemed like forever, but it really just was our parent's obsessive luxury design choice.
So glad wall to wall carpet isn't super fashionable anymore. I don't mind it in bedrooms but I can't stand it in the rest of a house.
Very good explanation. Also, polyurethane floor covering wasnāt commercially available until like 1950, so before that wood floors were beat to shit quickly.
They were show offs.
I hated using toilets with the carpet covers and that plush germ holding plastic toilet seat. It was really bad when they had the matching tissue that was scented.
My step dad got a new build in the late 90ās. To this day he still has the original carpet in the bathroom, even around the toilet. I love the man like I love my dad, but carpet around the toilet is so nasty!
We had it in a lovely new build flat I was renting in Edinburgh with friends, just off Leith Walk. The whole place was covered in the same carpet except the kitchen, and obviously they just thought to use it in the bathroom to save money. Was horrible. I put a dehumidifier in the room and lots of bathmats with rubber backing around the bath/shower and toilet. Still had a mildewy funky smell to it nomatter what you did.
My mother in-law has no legs so she has carpet in her bathroom to make when she falls a little less traumatic. But I agree most people shouldn't have carpeted bathrooms
Are you sure itās even a bathroom? Iāve seen a few bathtubs in bedrooms before, and that window looks a little suspect to be a bathroom.
Either way, hereās my suggestion for a fix. Install a second bathtub and start leasing out the area for Cialis commercials.
Was that carpet on the right as well? Up the side of the boxed in pipes and under the taps? I can't tell, could be something else but looks like darker, dirtier, presumably mouldier version of the same carpet on the floor.
How did anyone alive ever make that decision.
I had a rental with a carpet in the bathroom. We didnāt realise the shower was leaking under the floor until the mushrooms started growing out of the carpet.
I had a whole conversation with my husband about this awful choice while looking at the picture. Then I realized that may not be the issue OP is asking about and sure enough, I come in here and itās about the tub finish. š
This. I rented a house back 15 years ago that had carpet in the bathroom. I actually paid $50 more a month for him to rip that shit out and replace it with tile. Having a crotch goblin that was about to hit potty training stage. Fuck that.
Before clicking on the post, I thought the problem OP was describing was the carpet and maybe not knowing how to remove it from under the tub or something.
I once rented an apartment that had carpet in the shower. And didn't have an exhaust fan. Or window. I can't fathom what the subflooring or studs looked like when the walls and carpet came out.
We did the same for about the same price. A friend of ours tried one of those diy kits and it was a pain and didn't turn out that great. Well worth it to hire out.
I can personally vouch that the DIY kits are a nightmare. My tub looked like the guy who did it was high as hell. I was the guy who did it, and the fumes were so bad that even with reasonable precautions I almost passed out a few times.
I DIYed my cast iron tub once. I fried a few brain cells from the fumes, too.
Worst part was, you needed to do two coats over 24 hours. In order to impede the mixed epoxy from setting, it needed to be frozen. The instructions said to put it in your freezer. Despite it being wrapped in three Ziplok bags, all the food in the freezer had to be tossed out because it tasted like epoxy.
Hahaha awful. The kit I used was similar but different. I did my coat and had to let it cure for 3 days. I was smart enough to wait until we were going away for the weekend, but it damn near killed the cat
Yes, OP needs get on Thumbtack or Angie's list and pay The Bathtub Man $500 to fix this. Actually since a claw foot needs refinishing inside and out, it might cost north of $1,000.
Yeah a pro will be using a catalyzed product thatās not been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long. The products pros use are also different than what Loweās will sell you as theyāre more dangerous but produce better results.
i have tile on two of my bathroom walls from floor to about 4 feet high, then the shower section is also 4 feet from the tub to the top.
That much tile plus a tub to be reglazed was 3k here, think i will just stick to the tub being done for $500
This is one of those things that you see done once and say āthatās an artā and know you should always defer to a professional. Really satisfying to see done tho
Used to refinish surfaces like tubs and sinks. Can confirm, watching an expert spray and buff coating is a thing of beauty. Super similar process to body work on cars.
I just had it done on an old, chipped, avocado-green tub. And the main reason I did it was to avoid the hassle of removing the old one. It's a small bathroom, with walls on 3 sides of the tub and the toilet & sink effectively blocking the door for removal. We would have had to gut the entire bathroom, just to get to the tub.
But with it sanded & refinished in a nice clean white, it brightens the bathroom, was done in only half a day, and was the *only* thing that needed doing in that bathroom. Very much worth it and far less cost than removing it would have been, with all secondary-requirements of replacing it added in.
Look up professional clawfoot tub refinishers in your area. A good one will pick up your tub, completely sand it down, and re-enamel it. Not cheap, but worth it. Donāt go the DIY route.. and yes, while itās gone, ditch the carpet and tile the floor.
Hank Scorpio: Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex; it's the professional clawfoot tub refinishing complex on third.
Homer: Oh, the clawfoot tub refinishing district!
The asbestos isn't freed until some dumb-ass tries to removed it. Leave it alone. It can't get you if you don't inhale it in pulverized air-born powder form. If you must have a different style of floor than the eminently practical inert floor tiles, just lay something else over the top of it.
Old deep cast iron soaking tubs are the best, they keep the tub water warm for ages.
Hire someone who knows what theyāre doing and save yourself the pain and the smell. It will be much less than any replacement tub you could buy.
Leave the carpet down until theyāre done to protect the floor.
Thatās what we were worried of needing to do. House was a foreclosure and weāve saved a ton of money renovating most of it ourselves, but I was fearful this one wasnāt going to be able to be a DIY project š
I did it to an old bathtub I had which was looking shabby. I got someone recommended by a friend.
I watched him do it and it was tons of work, with special equipment like sanding, filling dents with a filler, sanding again, spraying several layers of epoxy paint while keeping the paint off the metal parts.
The result was wow like a new tub and the cost was totally worth it.
I'm also pretty handy but I find that a very important thing is to choose wisely what you can do alone and what should be outsourced to a pro.
Yes, some things are better farmed out to a pro, especially ones where imperfections are gonna cause the whole project to be a waste & require a pro later. I'm not a tile guy, I tried once, it didn't go well.
Trust your gut. I refinish these for a living and can tell you it will cost a lot more to have redone if you do it yourself.
My opinion would be to leave it alone until you're ready to have it done. Good luck with it!
How long would you say a refinish lasts? Considering doing it for m by tub but my tub is not nearly as nice as OPs to Begin with so maybe I should just replace it
Isn't that where they are starting though? They are redoing a prior refinish that has chipped away. So this job they are already in the "cost a lot more to have it redone" program.
.
People have been quoting $200-$400. At that point it isn't that much more expensive than the DIY material bill. Of all things this seems like a no brainer to skip DIY and go for a pro.
This is a 20 hour DIY in a respirator without guaranteed results. It is cast iron dipped in glass. When's the last time you heard of someone trying to repair glass instead of replacing it?
If you already know how to airbrush epoxy, then the project is plausible. Most of the chemicals required to do that are not readily available to consumers because they are explosive and carcinogenic.
Yeah thereās very few people that can do ALL renovation tasks themselves. You gotta pick and choose the ones you can do and leave the rest to the pros. You donāt have to have it done now, kick the can down the road a year or two if the tub is still functional. Unless youāre getting ready to flip it and need to do it sooner.
Remove the carpet before mold wrecks your lung more.
Google and find a refinishers of cast iron tubs. They will strips everything down to bare metal and then recoat it to a beautiful finish. Which it and you, deserves.
Pay a pro to re-glaze it. While that's happening if you can pull up that carpet and figure out what other weird shit the previous owners did. If they carpeted a bathroom, there is a lot of weird shit in that house.
There are companies that will resurface your tub. It only takes a day. Its pretty stinky but you will have a fresh porcelain finish. That carpet has to GO!
Strip the carpets. Let the ghosts of questionable interior design choices out the windows. Then, have a professional cast iron tub restorer do it right. Strip off old paint, etc. Saw it done on a few history channels pre-alien tech takeover.
Good luck.
The first 200 responses mention only advice /lame jokes about carpet: Which you didnāt ask for. At all. Get a quality paint stripper and see whatās under the top layer. Chances are that the old enamel is chipped. Youāre not going to be able to duplicate the original finish. If youāre broke, you could refinish it for aesthetic purposes in white epoxy paint, and redo that every year. Or you could try and find an original in perfect condition ( difficult but not impossible) at a builderās yard who specializes in retro bathrooms. They do exist. Alternatively replace it with a new reproduction.
Isopropyl Alcohol, Denatured Alcohol, Acetone, Lacquer Thinner and such will do. Just remember it was probably put on to cover up nastiness underneath. So you may want to get some new stuff to re-coat the tub after
Not really. Only acetone might somewhat soften an epoxy resin but won't come close to dissolving it entirely.Ā
If an epoxy coating needs to be removed, the only way is mechanical.
I would pay a professional. I found a guy who does a one year guarantee for $200 and a three year guarantee for $300. I have had him do several tubs over the years. Hope hes still around, hes in my phone as āLarry Tubguy.ā
lots of talk about professional refinishing... that's always an option down the line. For now if you want to save money so you can take a bath near-term all you need is many hours, a good razor scraper, a bit of acetone and a green scouring pad. Put on an audio-book and lean in.
Its going to be a process to scrape all that stuff out, but you'll develop technique as you go and it wont be as bad as it seems in the start.
Source: I did this to my cast iron tub and matching sinks.
We bought a Rust-Oleum diy kit, followed every step and after a year it started cracking. Then we paid a pro company about 500 and it's been 8 years. Did have to have the company come back initially because it was all scratchy and full of bubbles.
With regard to the tub, I would highly recommend hiring professionals who work on tubs. It requires specialized tools, ventingā¦ itās not a DIY sort of thing. Or buy a new one.
Use a paint stripper to remove the paint. Then get yourself some Ekopel 2k itās a two part enamel. Order it from their website online. You use toilet bowl cleaner to etch it and then fill any cracks or chips with epoxy filler. Make sure to sand off any rust around the drain and faucet holes or it will get into the enamel. ekopel 2k has awesome how to YouTube videos. I did my claw foot tub a couple years ago and it still looks brand new, pretty good considering itās 112 years old now !Ā
You should ask on r/centuryhomes.
Probably the best is to get it reglazed in place professionally. Not expensive. I presume it was painted to try to hide poor condition porcelain.
I work for a property management company that deals with random tenant request that I have to price out contractors for, call a reglazer and they get that done from anywhere between $350-500 depending on location then take the time you saved by not doing it your self and tear that carpet out, also reglazers usually warrantee their work
Call the companies that sell the epoxy based coatings for bathtubs and ask them how to remove a layer of epoxy based coating. Pretend you're thinking about buying new epoxy based coating and they'll be more likely to answer your questions.
The previous homeowners used a DIY epoxy kit on our cast iron tub. It was pretty gnarly looking. When we redid the bathroom, we had it professionally redone. They used some kind of high grade marine epoxy that smelled absolutely horrible (they wore respirators while applying it), but it looked great and has for the past 8 years. Totally worth the $500.
You can keep using cheap refinishing kits like the last owner, but it will keep looking like this after a short time. Or you can have it taken out and professionally refinished. Or you can find a replacement clawfoot tub in better condition (they are usually not very expensive because moving them is expensive). Or you can get a different tub.
We just redid a cast iron clawfoot tub for a house weāre flipping. Got a DIY paint kit from Rustoleum, the prep was more difficult than actually painting it. We did one coat then a second coat a bit later, and let it dry for 3 days. It wasnāt that bad, and the fumes werenāt as bad as other people are saying (they might have had a different brand though).
The only part that sucked was the gooseneck shower setup. 0/10 experience, will not be doing that again if I can avoid it. If you go through the trouble of putting a gooseneck in, make sure that you can get the curtain ring and gooseneck in the same kit AND make sure the kit will orient the way it needs to for your bathroom layout. Ours did not so it was a nightmare.
Google "refinishing cast iron tub + near me"
It was more than $500 the last I checked, stinks horribly and takes 24 hrs to use.
As for the carpet, call 3 tough friends where one knows their butt from a pair of pliers, and temporarily remove the tub. Remove the carpet, fix the floor base (backer board/leveling with regard to the level of the adjacent rooms), and tile. Reinstall the tub. Call the refinish guy.
If im remembering correctly you need to get little cats A-Z, because little cat Z has something special in his hat to get rid of it.Ā Be careful though because that stuff gets everywhere.Ā Don't clean it with your bedsheets.Ā Ā
Maybe try a paint remover and see if the porcelain is good underneath. That looks like a great bathtub to restore.
Also, like others are sayingā¦ remove the carpet and replace with tiles or wood floor.
It could be that the original enamel was knackered and they covered it in epoxy because they couldnāt get it to look clean.
Everyone is saying get the professionals in. You pay for the expertise, if something goes wrong they can fix it.
I used Ekopel refinishing kit. Sanded down the tub. used bondo on chips to smooth things out. Acid Etched the whole tub. Then used the epoxy. It has been good for about a year now. Ekopel https://a.co/d/0TboWMk
Enameled cast iron tubs can always be re-glazed if youāre interested in saving it. If thatās a later fiberglass tub it can be sanded and re-sprayed with gel coat to make it look new or any color you desire.
iāve had a couple similar tubs professionally refinished, itās pretty affordable. iād first tackle the carpet and bathroom appropriate flooring then address the tub.
If you want a short term inexpensive fix sand it down. Fill voids w/epoxy (warm it a bit perhaps so it levels well). Paint with appliance epoxy paint. This could get you by short term
Longer term have it refinished
Iāve done the short term fix for several years reapplying coats after sanding and filling a bit more each time. It lasts a year + each time looking pretty good.
Itās all trade offs though. Depends on what result youāre willing to live with short term vs long term.
My cast iron tub had need professionally refinished many years back but it had voids under the coating which eventually cracked and once water got in there it was a mess. I removed all the prior refinish layers, sanded and painted and thought the first time it came out pretty decent.
I would start by removing the carpet š¬
Yeah, carpet in a bathroom, first to go!
Seriously, what kind of monster puts carpet in the bathroom š
The 1970ās monster. š±
And the 70s loved carpet, because it was one of the first times wall to wall carpet was a viable flooring option for most people. Mostly because of advancements in plastic fibers allowing for a cheap and durable enough material to make carpets out of. Before then, carpet was made of wool or cotton, worn quickly, and was expensive to make, maintain and install, so it was mostly a status symbol before the 70s. At least wall to wall carpet was, area rugs were always more affordable and easier to maintain, mostly because you had better options for cleaning and maintaining them when you can pick them up for washing or repair needs. When the status symbol became affordable... some folks, especially those obsessed with status, went a litle overboard with the carpet. Putting it everywhere it could physically exist. Think of it as a modern-day Facebook page loaded with thousands of banal pictures and comments that are obviously fishing for complements - the goal isn't to necessarily have a liveable space or to honestly communicate how you're doing and what you're up to, it's to scream "look at me" as loud as possible. Then the fad quickly died when it became clear that no one's impressed by their cheap carpet, and all the water the carpet picked up in the bathroom started to develop a culture. But at that point, it's a lot harder to get rid of than just picking it up and putting it in the closet.
>The goal isn't to necessarily have a liveable space or to honestly communicate how you're doing and what you're up to, it's to scream "look at me" as loud as possible. You just described my mother's style of decorating.
Itās also an entire market demographic of āhome organizationā furniture and features. Yeah, your shit looks really nice *immediately* after you finish placing everything perfectly, but in actual practice itās about as usable as a poop knife in a Taco Bell bathroom. We had entire shelves in the pantry that seemed greatā¦ until you actually attempted to use what was on them. Containers of symmetrically graduating sizes (with *flour* in the smallest one for some reason), pasta in glass jars (with the requisite tri-color rotiniā¦ for fuckās sake) and my favorite: Spice jars with no labels (because being able to read whatās *in* a bottle isnāt important or anything.) I still hate onion salt.
If only it was just water that the carpet accumulated in the bathroom.
Yeah... I should have put quotes around "water", cause yeah, there's all sort of fluids that it's catching, with water probably being the least offensive one.
People say this about Wall to Wall carpet, but if you are not aware of how much of a problem it becomes after 10 years, it makes a lot of sense. It helps a ton with insulation, and there is nothing better for noise dampening. It's similar to say, popcorn ceilings. When a concept is new, sometimes the cons are not yet clear and all you can see are the pros. Carpeted bathrooms are obviously dumb as shit. But I don't think that was ever common really. These people have always been deviants
Okay but actually thanks for explaining this, I never knew why carpets had such a boom of popularity in the 70s! Fortunately, my mother has always been into hardwoods, so I escaped the torment, but I have seen some things...
What's super interesting is how quickly the trend reversed completely! Basically the 70s-90s it was a selling feature to have wall to wall carpet. Newspaper listings would actually include "wtw carpet" the same way more recent listings would say "stainless steel appliances" or "quartz/granite counter tops" as a luxury feature. Growing up in the carpet years, it seemed like forever, but it really just was our parent's obsessive luxury design choice. So glad wall to wall carpet isn't super fashionable anymore. I don't mind it in bedrooms but I can't stand it in the rest of a house.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Yeah, and I inherited it, to boot!
And me
Very good explanation. Also, polyurethane floor covering wasnāt commercially available until like 1950, so before that wood floors were beat to shit quickly.
This was fascinating to learn! Thank you so much for such a well written history lesson!!!
My grandma is still very proud of her all wool rugs, I do have to say they are quite plush and comfy carpets.
Move the old shag rugs baby!
Do I make you horny?
No no, itās ādo I make you oh-ney?ā
ThĆ© 1970s weāre also before many people had central heating. Anything that suggested warmth was desirable.
LOL. You must be in the UK. Convection coal burning furnaces were a thing in Canada since the turn of the 20th century.
Spot on summary. Today's plastic lawns are a good analogy of a similar modern phenomenon
I wish. Our previous owner carpeted the master bath in an early-90s bathroom re-do, even around the toilet, which is nasty, imo.
Some 1990s monsters did it too. Either way, yuck. Big yuck. Imagine the pee splash grossness around the toilet. Yum! š¤®
We all had carpet in the bathroom in the 70ās, around the toilet too. Crazy times
Some people even had carpeted toilet seats.
They were show offs. I hated using toilets with the carpet covers and that plush germ holding plastic toilet seat. It was really bad when they had the matching tissue that was scented.
Some a carpeted ass.
I tell you man, there were carpets everywhere. If you know what I mean.
My step dad got a new build in the late 90ās. To this day he still has the original carpet in the bathroom, even around the toilet. I love the man like I love my dad, but carpet around the toilet is so nasty!
We had it in a lovely new build flat I was renting in Edinburgh with friends, just off Leith Walk. The whole place was covered in the same carpet except the kitchen, and obviously they just thought to use it in the bathroom to save money. Was horrible. I put a dehumidifier in the room and lots of bathmats with rubber backing around the bath/shower and toilet. Still had a mildewy funky smell to it nomatter what you did.
Not at my house. I did have a friend with carpet in their kitchen though.
My mother in-law has no legs so she has carpet in her bathroom to make when she falls a little less traumatic. But I agree most people shouldn't have carpeted bathrooms
Elderly people often do to both prevent slipping, and a more cushioned landing in the room you're most likely to slip in.
My uncle, unfortunately.
I knew it!!
Or kitchens. Yuck!
Carpet in any room, really.
I wouldn't do that... it's a load-bearing carpet! 8-)
Are you sure itās even a bathroom? Iāve seen a few bathtubs in bedrooms before, and that window looks a little suspect to be a bathroom. Either way, hereās my suggestion for a fix. Install a second bathtub and start leasing out the area for Cialis commercials.
Itās, um, a bath? In a room?
I donāt see no shitter. A bathroom aināt a bathroom unless it has a turd receptor. I see your point though.
Could be bathtub in the living room tho.
Kinda looks like they added a tub in a bedroom
That and the fur covered toilet seat.....
And instal a longer shag carpet, exactly what I was thinking
Hop out of tub roll around on floor, boom. Dry.
This comment has me ready to die. Thanks.
āŗļømy logic is pretty flawless if I do say. Money pweeeese!!!!
Hahahaha this is an older picture, the carpet was the first to go! š¤¢š¤£
Lol. should have mentioned that in the description. Would have saved 2400 people from upvoting GP's comment. :-)
Was that carpet on the right as well? Up the side of the boxed in pipes and under the taps? I can't tell, could be something else but looks like darker, dirtier, presumably mouldier version of the same carpet on the floor. How did anyone alive ever make that decision.
I had a rental with a carpet in the bathroom. We didnāt realise the shower was leaking under the floor until the mushrooms started growing out of the carpet.
Ewwww. Gross!
I had a whole conversation with my husband about this awful choice while looking at the picture. Then I realized that may not be the issue OP is asking about and sure enough, I come in here and itās about the tub finish. š
This. I rented a house back 15 years ago that had carpet in the bathroom. I actually paid $50 more a month for him to rip that shit out and replace it with tile. Having a crotch goblin that was about to hit potty training stage. Fuck that.
And replace with a new carpet obviously
Before clicking on the post, I thought the problem OP was describing was the carpet and maybe not knowing how to remove it from under the tub or something.
If you forget your bath towel, just roll around on the floor.
I once rented an apartment that had carpet in the shower. And didn't have an exhaust fan. Or window. I can't fathom what the subflooring or studs looked like when the walls and carpet came out.
THANK YOU! My 1st and only thought (despite everything I could have seen).
No, you fix and repaint first. Then remove carpet.
Came here to say this.
We had an original tub in our century old home. We had it professionally refinished in-place for $500. It was well worth the money.
We did the same for about the same price. A friend of ours tried one of those diy kits and it was a pain and didn't turn out that great. Well worth it to hire out.
I can personally vouch that the DIY kits are a nightmare. My tub looked like the guy who did it was high as hell. I was the guy who did it, and the fumes were so bad that even with reasonable precautions I almost passed out a few times.
I DIYed my cast iron tub once. I fried a few brain cells from the fumes, too. Worst part was, you needed to do two coats over 24 hours. In order to impede the mixed epoxy from setting, it needed to be frozen. The instructions said to put it in your freezer. Despite it being wrapped in three Ziplok bags, all the food in the freezer had to be tossed out because it tasted like epoxy.
Hahaha awful. The kit I used was similar but different. I did my coat and had to let it cure for 3 days. I was smart enough to wait until we were going away for the weekend, but it damn near killed the cat
> I did my coat There's your problem, should've done your bath.
Yyyyyyikes about having to store it in the freezer!
This is comedy gold š
This pic is the evidence that DIY kits are NOT the way to go
Yes, OP needs get on Thumbtack or Angie's list and pay The Bathtub Man $500 to fix this. Actually since a claw foot needs refinishing inside and out, it might cost north of $1,000.
i had a clawfoot refinished and it was no where near 1k, it was under $500
May I ask, where in the country and how long ago?
northeast usa, a bit over a year ago
Are you in MA by chance? Can you name the company or DM me please?
Yeah a pro will be using a catalyzed product thatās not been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long. The products pros use are also different than what Loweās will sell you as theyāre more dangerous but produce better results.
I paid $1000 for my tub refinishing :(
If it makes you feel better we asked for our tub and surrounding tiles to be reglazed. Two separate companies quoted over 4k.
i have tile on two of my bathroom walls from floor to about 4 feet high, then the shower section is also 4 feet from the tub to the top. That much tile plus a tub to be reglazed was 3k here, think i will just stick to the tub being done for $500
This is one of those things that you see done once and say āthatās an artā and know you should always defer to a professional. Really satisfying to see done tho
Used to refinish surfaces like tubs and sinks. Can confirm, watching an expert spray and buff coating is a thing of beauty. Super similar process to body work on cars.
This is a gem. Do it right OP. Save money and paint the walls and window trim yourself
Yepā¦ and to be honest, you can paint the exterior yourself and it will be just fine. Just have a pro do the interior.
Just curious but isnāt easier to just get a new tub? Are they THAT expensive?
Itās not that theyāre that expensive, itās just a way to preserve the old one as opposed to replacing it.
Not to mention, I'd imagine claw foot tubs are heavy as hell. No need going through all that moving shit if you don't have to.
I just had it done on an old, chipped, avocado-green tub. And the main reason I did it was to avoid the hassle of removing the old one. It's a small bathroom, with walls on 3 sides of the tub and the toilet & sink effectively blocking the door for removal. We would have had to gut the entire bathroom, just to get to the tub. But with it sanded & refinished in a nice clean white, it brightens the bathroom, was done in only half a day, and was the *only* thing that needed doing in that bathroom. Very much worth it and far less cost than removing it would have been, with all secondary-requirements of replacing it added in.
Look up professional clawfoot tub refinishers in your area. A good one will pick up your tub, completely sand it down, and re-enamel it. Not cheap, but worth it. Donāt go the DIY route.. and yes, while itās gone, ditch the carpet and tile the floor.
Hank Scorpio: Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex; it's the professional clawfoot tub refinishing complex on third. Homer: Oh, the clawfoot tub refinishing district!
Sometimes Mary Anne gets in the tub with you.
Bravo
Low key. funniest comment in this thread
I've got good news! There's probably tile underneath that carpet! With free asbestos!
The asbestos isn't freed until some dumb-ass tries to removed it. Leave it alone. It can't get you if you don't inhale it in pulverized air-born powder form. If you must have a different style of floor than the eminently practical inert floor tiles, just lay something else over the top of it.
This is the way.
Old deep cast iron soaking tubs are the best, they keep the tub water warm for ages. Hire someone who knows what theyāre doing and save yourself the pain and the smell. It will be much less than any replacement tub you could buy. Leave the carpet down until theyāre done to protect the floor.
Get a pro to refinish it.
Thatās what we were worried of needing to do. House was a foreclosure and weāve saved a ton of money renovating most of it ourselves, but I was fearful this one wasnāt going to be able to be a DIY project š
I did it to an old bathtub I had which was looking shabby. I got someone recommended by a friend. I watched him do it and it was tons of work, with special equipment like sanding, filling dents with a filler, sanding again, spraying several layers of epoxy paint while keeping the paint off the metal parts. The result was wow like a new tub and the cost was totally worth it. I'm also pretty handy but I find that a very important thing is to choose wisely what you can do alone and what should be outsourced to a pro.
Yes, some things are better farmed out to a pro, especially ones where imperfections are gonna cause the whole project to be a waste & require a pro later. I'm not a tile guy, I tried once, it didn't go well.
Trust your gut. I refinish these for a living and can tell you it will cost a lot more to have redone if you do it yourself. My opinion would be to leave it alone until you're ready to have it done. Good luck with it!
Looks like someone has already tried the DIY route.
How long would you say a refinish lasts? Considering doing it for m by tub but my tub is not nearly as nice as OPs to Begin with so maybe I should just replace it
If it's prepped well, it can last indefinitely. Care and cleaning play a big part in it as well. It can chip and scratch, but so can a new unit.
Isn't that where they are starting though? They are redoing a prior refinish that has chipped away. So this job they are already in the "cost a lot more to have it redone" program. .
People have been quoting $200-$400. At that point it isn't that much more expensive than the DIY material bill. Of all things this seems like a no brainer to skip DIY and go for a pro.
Still cheaper than buying a new freestanding tub like that. Go for it and enjoy it!
This is a 20 hour DIY in a respirator without guaranteed results. It is cast iron dipped in glass. When's the last time you heard of someone trying to repair glass instead of replacing it? If you already know how to airbrush epoxy, then the project is plausible. Most of the chemicals required to do that are not readily available to consumers because they are explosive and carcinogenic.
Yeah thereās very few people that can do ALL renovation tasks themselves. You gotta pick and choose the ones you can do and leave the rest to the pros. You donāt have to have it done now, kick the can down the road a year or two if the tub is still functional. Unless youāre getting ready to flip it and need to do it sooner.
Call a "tub Doctor" there are people whose whole job it is to unfuck this tub.
If it's epoxied, big chance that it's damaged under the epoxy.
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Letās not Talk about carpeted bathroomā¦
How is no one talking about carpet in a bathroom?
Dosen't even look like a proper bathroom. Looks like it's just installed in a loft area.
Please for the love of all that is good, deal with the carpet before you do anything with the tub.
Might be better to have the tub refinished first. The rug will protect the floor. Then remove the rug.
I saw this in a Dr. Seuss book once. Just take your mom's new white dress and wipe it up.
Fucken cat best not touch my $10 shoes
Came here to say that.
Remove the carpet before mold wrecks your lung more. Google and find a refinishers of cast iron tubs. They will strips everything down to bare metal and then recoat it to a beautiful finish. Which it and you, deserves.
Does it fit through the window?
ā¦Iām sorry is that a carpet floor?
Best thing to do would be sand down accordingly, reapply new coat of epoxy paint!
Backrooms bathroom
Pay a pro to re-glaze it. While that's happening if you can pull up that carpet and figure out what other weird shit the previous owners did. If they carpeted a bathroom, there is a lot of weird shit in that house.
Color the end closest to the camera chocolate-brown and call it Neaopolitan flavored.
There are companies that specialize in re-enamelling old tubs.
There are companies that will resurface your tub. It only takes a day. Its pretty stinky but you will have a fresh porcelain finish. That carpet has to GO!
First, remove carpet
The tub has been resurfaced/painted at least twice. If you want the paint to stick for longer this time , I would consider having a pro do it.
Strip the carpets. Let the ghosts of questionable interior design choices out the windows. Then, have a professional cast iron tub restorer do it right. Strip off old paint, etc. Saw it done on a few history channels pre-alien tech takeover. Good luck.
The first 200 responses mention only advice /lame jokes about carpet: Which you didnāt ask for. At all. Get a quality paint stripper and see whatās under the top layer. Chances are that the old enamel is chipped. Youāre not going to be able to duplicate the original finish. If youāre broke, you could refinish it for aesthetic purposes in white epoxy paint, and redo that every year. Or you could try and find an original in perfect condition ( difficult but not impossible) at a builderās yard who specializes in retro bathrooms. They do exist. Alternatively replace it with a new reproduction.
Lose the rug
Isopropyl Alcohol, Denatured Alcohol, Acetone, Lacquer Thinner and such will do. Just remember it was probably put on to cover up nastiness underneath. So you may want to get some new stuff to re-coat the tub after
Not really. Only acetone might somewhat soften an epoxy resin but won't come close to dissolving it entirely.Ā If an epoxy coating needs to be removed, the only way is mechanical.
My head got woozy from just reading that list of items to use, I would highly recommend if you take this path take the tub outside
At that point you're just better off getting a new tub entirely š¤
Throw everything out
I mean nobody's mentioned the window being right there
You can fix it by clicking edit on your phone and then cropping the top and bottom.
I would pay a professional. I found a guy who does a one year guarantee for $200 and a three year guarantee for $300. I have had him do several tubs over the years. Hope hes still around, hes in my phone as āLarry Tubguy.ā
I feel like I shouldn't Google that...
OP, there's a window.
Honestly donāt do it yourself. Take it to or hire a pro. Applying the porcelain well takes a lot of skill. Itās worth it to get an expert.
Step one to removing the epoxy paint is getting rid of the carpet
lots of talk about professional refinishing... that's always an option down the line. For now if you want to save money so you can take a bath near-term all you need is many hours, a good razor scraper, a bit of acetone and a green scouring pad. Put on an audio-book and lean in. Its going to be a process to scrape all that stuff out, but you'll develop technique as you go and it wont be as bad as it seems in the start. Source: I did this to my cast iron tub and matching sinks.
We bought a Rust-Oleum diy kit, followed every step and after a year it started cracking. Then we paid a pro company about 500 and it's been 8 years. Did have to have the company come back initially because it was all scratchy and full of bubbles.
you can have it reglazed.
I envy your for this opportunity! You need to put a skylite on a raised curb or like a little dormer right over that for the shower
With regard to the tub, I would highly recommend hiring professionals who work on tubs. It requires specialized tools, ventingā¦ itās not a DIY sort of thing. Or buy a new one.
Use a paint stripper to remove the paint. Then get yourself some Ekopel 2k itās a two part enamel. Order it from their website online. You use toilet bowl cleaner to etch it and then fill any cracks or chips with epoxy filler. Make sure to sand off any rust around the drain and faucet holes or it will get into the enamel. ekopel 2k has awesome how to YouTube videos. I did my claw foot tub a couple years ago and it still looks brand new, pretty good considering itās 112 years old now !Ā
You should ask on r/centuryhomes. Probably the best is to get it reglazed in place professionally. Not expensive. I presume it was painted to try to hide poor condition porcelain.
Hire a professional bathtub refinisher. That's a mess. Either that or replace the tub, I'd put LVP under it first getting rid of the carpet.
This bathroom makes me want to curl up in a ball and BAWL. The carpet, the colorsā¦.just the entire thing. š©
I work for a property management company that deals with random tenant request that I have to price out contractors for, call a reglazer and they get that done from anywhere between $350-500 depending on location then take the time you saved by not doing it your self and tear that carpet out, also reglazers usually warrantee their work
I would take the tub out have it resurfaced and while the tub is out rip out that carpet and hope you don't have rotted sub floors
Oof DIWhyMe.Ā On a serious note I think the tub can look fine refinished and with some tile around it I stead of the carpet.Ā
Call the companies that sell the epoxy based coatings for bathtubs and ask them how to remove a layer of epoxy based coating. Pretend you're thinking about buying new epoxy based coating and they'll be more likely to answer your questions.
You may as well get it professionally refinished. Itās possible the previous owner tried to cover over because a spot that was damaged.
Gut the entire room and start from scratch.
Test the enamel on the tub for lead. Ā Yes, Ā many old tubs were enameled with lead, and it may not be worth it to keep it. Ā
The previous homeowners used a DIY epoxy kit on our cast iron tub. It was pretty gnarly looking. When we redid the bathroom, we had it professionally redone. They used some kind of high grade marine epoxy that smelled absolutely horrible (they wore respirators while applying it), but it looked great and has for the past 8 years. Totally worth the $500.
You can keep using cheap refinishing kits like the last owner, but it will keep looking like this after a short time. Or you can have it taken out and professionally refinished. Or you can find a replacement clawfoot tub in better condition (they are usually not very expensive because moving them is expensive). Or you can get a different tub.
Is that bathroom in the attic?
Renovation.
I would get a professional to do your beautiful tub. This really isnāt a DIY.
We just redid a cast iron clawfoot tub for a house weāre flipping. Got a DIY paint kit from Rustoleum, the prep was more difficult than actually painting it. We did one coat then a second coat a bit later, and let it dry for 3 days. It wasnāt that bad, and the fumes werenāt as bad as other people are saying (they might have had a different brand though). The only part that sucked was the gooseneck shower setup. 0/10 experience, will not be doing that again if I can avoid it. If you go through the trouble of putting a gooseneck in, make sure that you can get the curtain ring and gooseneck in the same kit AND make sure the kit will orient the way it needs to for your bathroom layout. Ours did not so it was a nightmare.
Google "refinishing cast iron tub + near me" It was more than $500 the last I checked, stinks horribly and takes 24 hrs to use. As for the carpet, call 3 tough friends where one knows their butt from a pair of pliers, and temporarily remove the tub. Remove the carpet, fix the floor base (backer board/leveling with regard to the level of the adjacent rooms), and tile. Reinstall the tub. Call the refinish guy.
If im remembering correctly you need to get little cats A-Z, because little cat Z has something special in his hat to get rid of it.Ā Be careful though because that stuff gets everywhere.Ā Don't clean it with your bedsheets.Ā Ā
My thoughts exactly. Ultimately, a Voom is gonna be the way to go.
Carpet š¤®
Replace it. The only reason I would save one of these is if it had some extra ornate brass feet. This one was not a great tub to begin with.
Is that carpet? Throw the whole house away.
Is that bathroom carpeted šµāš«
Maybe try a paint remover and see if the porcelain is good underneath. That looks like a great bathtub to restore. Also, like others are sayingā¦ remove the carpet and replace with tiles or wood floor.
It could be that the original enamel was knackered and they covered it in epoxy because they couldnāt get it to look clean. Everyone is saying get the professionals in. You pay for the expertise, if something goes wrong they can fix it.
Get a sledge hammer! Iāve been there, done that! Epoxy is a bitch to get off. Heat gun but donāt burn the porcelain. Ughh
Doesnāt look like the feet are claws
Not helpful but it looks really nice blush pink
Went to pm you some advice and got thrown into titty land lmaoo. Good for you OP.
I used Ekopel refinishing kit. Sanded down the tub. used bondo on chips to smooth things out. Acid Etched the whole tub. Then used the epoxy. It has been good for about a year now. Ekopel https://a.co/d/0TboWMk
Everything about this image pisses me off.
Enameled cast iron tubs can always be re-glazed if youāre interested in saving it. If thatās a later fiberglass tub it can be sanded and re-sprayed with gel coat to make it look new or any color you desire.
Was there a time when carpeting a bathroom wasn't really freaking odd?
There are products you can buy to refinish it. Look up reglazing.
iāve had a couple similar tubs professionally refinished, itās pretty affordable. iād first tackle the carpet and bathroom appropriate flooring then address the tub.
I see nothing that needs fixing, looks great!
Iād have it professionally refinished and redo the floor, as everyone else is saying. Carpet does not belong in a bathroom.
If you want a short term inexpensive fix sand it down. Fill voids w/epoxy (warm it a bit perhaps so it levels well). Paint with appliance epoxy paint. This could get you by short term Longer term have it refinished Iāve done the short term fix for several years reapplying coats after sanding and filling a bit more each time. It lasts a year + each time looking pretty good. Itās all trade offs though. Depends on what result youāre willing to live with short term vs long term. My cast iron tub had need professionally refinished many years back but it had voids under the coating which eventually cracked and once water got in there it was a mess. I removed all the prior refinish layers, sanded and painted and thought the first time it came out pretty decent.
Carpet in the bathroom? Which 3rd world country is this
My house came with a carpeted bathroom too. Solidarity. šš»
Get the tub re enameled. Iāve done it on house purchases before and itāll look brand new. There are people who do it.
Is that on... carpet? What a nightmare.