O T Bath tubs

moonlight machine · Dec 30, 2017

Well, its long past time I should have replaced this one, about 15 years! It is cast iron and the white ceramic or whatever it is is coming off and it has deep rust pits, ugly for sure. I would like to get a tub and shower wall package but they only seem to come in fibreglass. How does it hold up? We get rust stains on the tub from the well water, will the cleanser used on the rust stain damage the fiberglass tub? Next issue, There is a crawl space under the bathroom but no access to the plumbing. I think when all this was installed the floor was not in yet. I always do my own work but I sure don't feel like getting involved with this mess.

Monarchist · Dec 30, 2017

moonlight machine said:
Well, its long past time I should have replaced this one, about 15 years! It is cast iron and the white ceramic or whatever it is is coming off and it has deep rust pits, ugly for sure. I would like to get a tub and shower wall package but they only seem to come in fibreglass. How does it hold up? We get rust stains on the tub from the well water, will the cleanser used on the rust stain damage the fiberglass tub? Next issue, There is a crawl space under the bathroom but no access to the plumbing. I think when all this was installed the floor was not in yet. I always do my own work but I sure don't feel like getting involved with this mess.

The gel-coats on the FRP ones are not all the same. Not all are even FRP, but sheet-molding goods instead. Some won't pick-up iron stains "soon", others will. Abrasive cleansers are best avoided, regardless.

I'd recommend enameled stamped steel and conventional tile instead. It can easily last 25 + years if not chipped, and one just budgets periodic replacement.

As to access, one of mine sits on a concrete slab - NFW to go underneath atall.

However.. the "works" were installed and can be serviced from the other side of the end-wall. If need be, that workspace could have been "created" as covered hatches, or framing behind "solid" drywall that could be neatly cut, easily patched.

My experience has been that it is only a tedious, messy, PITA if you try to "save stuff", avoid or MINIMIZE the work.

Usually faster and simpler, hence cheaper, for example, to gut the tub & tiled walls around it outright, do the whole magilla fresh, from scratch, than to try to sneak in a partial repair.

The materials are cheaper than f**k-with time, and it is faster to work with all-new as well. IOW - it becomes a "bigger job", but with a better outcome.

2CW

EPAIII · Dec 30, 2017

I have had fiberglass showers and found them to be OK. Yes, you can chip or break them, but try dropping a hammer on a porcelain tub or on ceramic tile and see what happens. If anything, the fiberglass is more resilient. And they can't rust.

Sachmanram · Dec 30, 2017

I built my house new, about 9 years ago, and am on a well with fairly hard water. My one piece fiberglass tub/shower's finish has begun to suffer a bit from the hard water and calcium. It's difficult to get it as clean, without resorting to using the scrubbie side of a sponge. This is taking the shine off in places.

In short, I think that the rust stains from iron and sulphur in your well water will discolour the fiberglass and using scouring pads will take the shine out of the finish. Unless you address the issue with your water source, I don't think it will stand up. Bill's suggestion of using tile sounds like a good option for you.

Brian

moonlight machine · Dec 30, 2017

Monarchist said:
The gel-coats on the FRP ones are not all the same. Not all are even FRP, but sheet-molding goods instead. Some won't pick-up iron stains "soon", others will. Abrasive cleansers are best avoided, regardless.

I'd recommend enameled stamped steel and conventional tile instead. It can easily last 25 + years if not chipped, and one just budgets periodic replacement.

As to access, one of mine sits on a concrete slab - NFW to go underneath atall.

However.. the "works" were installed and can be serviced from the other side of the end-wall. If need be, that workspace could have been "created" as covered hatches, or framing behind "solid" drywall that could be neatly cut, easily patched.

My experience has been that it is only a tedious, messy, PITA if you try to "save stuff", avoid or MINIMIZE the work.

Usually faster and simpler, hence cheaper, for example, to gut the tub & tiled walls around it outright, do the whole magilla fresh, from scratch, than to try to sneak in a partial repair.

The materials are cheaper than f**k-with time, and it is faster to work with all-new as well. IOW - it becomes a "bigger job", but with a better outcome.

2CW

I'm with you on this, I'm not saving anything a tall, out with the old in with the new.

TDegenhart · Dec 30, 2017

I second the gut it and start over approach. I can't help with the type of tub, ours is a cast iron one installed when the house was built 30 years ago and is in fine shape. Muscling in a new tub is not going to be easy, you may have to remove some walls to get it done. Clearly, a non-cast iron tub will be a lot lighter and easier, but the ones I have used are not pleasant to use, they are flexible and unsure under the foot. If you do go with a fiberglass tub, figure out some way to stiffen the bottom with expanding foam or equal after the tub is in place. Double the don't use abrasive cleaners on FRP surfaces. The cleaners will scratch the surface making it dull and lifeless. The more you clean it, the worse it will get. In sort order you will be through the gel coat and into the fiberglass backing. After that the only repair is replacement.

I had tile in the first house I built which was a pain to keep clean. This time I used DuPont Corian and have never looked back. For surrounds they make large panels that have no seams. There is only one seam in ours, where the two panels come together on the back wall. That is recommended to be covered with a batten strip, or do as I did which is to splice over a 2x4 and silicone the joint. Never had a leak, can use any reasonable cleaner including abrasives. In fact, the company recommends occasional rubbing down with abrasives to restore a matte finish. Down side is the stuff is expensive and a believe can only be installed by a dealer.

Tom

Bill D · Dec 30, 2017

They can even put the corian on the ceiling of the tub area.

Monarchist · Dec 30, 2017

TDegenhart said:
(Corian) ..the stuff is expensive and a believe can only be installed by a dealer.

Tom

I DIY'ed ours, two bathrooms, Hong Kong.

One vanity top needed a curved edge, about ten inch radius - to clear a corner shower. Cut it with an ignorant saber saw on a trammel, sanded it, polished, looks "factory".

Not bad stuff to work with at all. Just mind that it isn't meant to be BENT and wants certain adhesives for strong joints, vs sealers, which are not so critical.

DDoug · Dec 30, 2017

Spray in bedliner....

Tear out all the old, rough in everything with
3/4" plywood, and call in the local supplier
to do a "portable job".

TDegenhart · Dec 30, 2017

Monarchist said:
I DIY'ed ours, two bathrooms, Hong Kong.

One vanity top needed a curved edge, about ten inch radius - to clear a corner shower. Cut it with an ignorant saber saw on a trammel, sanded it, polished, looks "factory".

Not bad stuff to work with at all. Just mind that it isn't meant to be BENT and wants certain adhesives for strong joints, vs sealers, which are not so critical.

I also did my own but later I understood that because of complaints from people that didn't know how to work with it, decided to only let trained people install it. That may have changed. And yes, I did put in a ceiling and extended the walls to the ceiling. If I had a tight door, it could be a steam chamber.

Tom

Scruffy887 · Dec 30, 2017

EPAIII said:
I have had fiberglass showers and found them to be OK. Yes, you can chip or break them, but try dropping a hammer on a porcelain tub or on ceramic tile and see what happens. If anything, the fiberglass is more resilient. And they can't rust.

I stopped showering with a hammer for that very same reason...................
To the OP, you could try one of those "bathtub renew" type companies that use a coating very like a fiberglass tub.

PeteM · Dec 30, 2017

Either type of tub will eventually show its age. Reason the FRP tubs are popular is that they are easier to put in. You could probably put in two fiberglass tubs for the trouble and cost of a high quality cast iron unit - especially if you plan to do it solo.

Might also consider a separate tile shower if you can make room for both. Our tubs last forever, because we hardly ever use them.

Monarchist · Dec 30, 2017

Scruffy887 said:
I stopped showering with a hammer for that very same reason...................
To the OP, you could try one of those "bathtub renew" type companies that use a coating very like a fiberglass tub.

Agree softer shower toys than hammers...

Refinish? No. He should not.

Those are band-aid approaches, even when done as good as can be, and essentially waste the effort put into the rest of the renovation.

For that matter "real" fired-porcelain over serious-good Cast Iron can be renewed with.. "real" porcelain fired over the same CI, "prepared" for that process.

Not worth it for anything other than genuine / period-correct antiques, though.

Think huge sloped-back-support claw-footed tubs that stood out in the middle of a gaslight-era mansion's garage-sized bath, etc.

Tonytn36 · Dec 30, 2017

As I've aged, the next bathroom upgrade will be to tear out the tub / shower combo and just put in a walk-in shower. My father is about to do the same. We don't use the tub anymore except to contain the water from the shower and bathe the animals (which has actually now moved to the kitchen sink because it's more comfortable and all the animals are small.)

Monarchist · Dec 30, 2017

Tonytn36 said:
As I've aged, the next bathroom upgrade will be to tear out the tub / shower combo and just put in a walk-in shower. My father is about to do the same. We don't use the tub anymore except to contain the water from the shower and bathe the animals (which has actually now moved to the kitchen sink because it's more comfortable and all the animals are small.)

Aged or younger, much the same w/r the walk-in, US or Hong Kong.

We've kept one tub there, two here, though.
That's as much for laundering draperies as it is for people!

moonlight machine · Dec 30, 2017

Tonytn36 said:
As I've aged, the next bathroom upgrade will be to tear out the tub / shower combo and just put in a walk-in shower. My father is about to do the same. We don't use the tub anymore except to contain the water from the shower and bathe the animals (which has actually now moved to the kitchen sink because it's more comfortable and all the animals are small.)

Wifey has to have a bath every day, she will probably have to stay with the daughter during the remodel.

Shaybuilder · Dec 30, 2017

Just had our old cast iron tub removed and a tiled shower put in its place. I had a pinched nerve in my back and couldn't raise my leg high enough to get into the tub to take a shower. I was going to do it myself but decided to let a pro do it which was the best thing. He came in with a sledge hammer and broke the old cast iron tub into pieces to remove it. Replaced the wall board, made a shower pan and tiled everything.

SeaMoss · Dec 30, 2017

My brother-in-law built theirs out of bricks because he was a hod carrier. Talk about the hammer-nail problem, their house had thirteen fireplaces and the bedroom refrigerator was encased in a stone wall. Reach out of bed and grab a beer. Limey was pretty well-known in La Honda.

I think the divorce came when it was time to clean the shower.

UncleFrank · Dec 31, 2017

Remodeled a bathroom at the old house 10-12 years ago. I wanted to keep the cast iron tub but it had a few chips around the top so the old lady wanted a new one.

The only fiberglass tubs I'd used were in motels, etc and I thought they felt cheap and flimsy. We went with a formed sheet steel insulated tub for the remodel.

I thought I bought a good one, fairly expensive, but after about a year I started seeing pinprick size rust spots in the bottom. By the time we moved a year or two later the rust spots were pin head size and only going to get bigger.

Another thing I didn't anticipate; the overflow was a couple inches lower in the new tub. I really didn't like that I couldn't get as much hot water in the new tub.

Doing it over again I'd have gone with a good fiberglass seamless tub/shower like the one we have in the new house.

DDoug · Dec 31, 2017

moonlight machine said:
Wifey has to have a bath every day, she will probably have to stay with the daughter during the remodel.

Rough in the "tub" as I described above, and put in the shower stall (with a little 3" ledge to step over)
before it, bedliner spray it all.

So, to access the tub, you step thru the shower stall.

It's all against one wall, the shower head can be
located to be used in either the tub or the shower.

Plus, when you step out of the tub,the drip off is going
into the show pan.

One exhaust fan for condensation, one shower curtain
as well.

O T Bath tubs

Diamond

Diamond

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Stainless

Diamond

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Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Diamond

Cast Iron

Banned

Cast Iron

Diamond

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