Is cast iron still the gold standard for bathtubs?

[Stinky The Clown]

We're thinking of redoing one of our baths. The tub in there is chip free and still in good shape, albeit a little dull with surface scratches. It is a standard size, plain old tub. The house is 35 years old and I am sure the color blue was a biggie back then.

We want a white tub. I see all these light weight plastic tubs. We put them in our rentals and they're very nice. Comfortably deep - deeper than what we have in our main bath here. They just don't seem very high end.

What are the options for tubs these days, and is cast iron still seen as the best?

[NMDemDist2]

1. IMHO

cast iron will outlast you and even the ever young Princess Sparkly

have you looked into getting your current tub re-finished? if it's only a matter of it being dull, re-finishing it would save you the hassle and cost of pulling out the old one and installing a new one. And it would free up the budget for other new toys in the room :evilgrin:

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

2. Cast iron is still top of the line.

The insulating coating on the bottom is important along the lines of keeping in the heat. On the install the cast iron of course is not so easy to manipulate ,so you do want to get it all right the first time. Don't get one with those non skid liners on the bottom- magnets to dirt and grime-very difficult to clean.

It is only about $200,00 to have yer existing tub professionally spray painted white. I have used the spray kit you buy for about $50.00 in apartments. The last one I did a tile in and changed out the valve-,ran out of time,so we did $50.00 thing on the tub. Actually it looks great !

Can't say about the test in time on that one ,it's only been about a year.The house converted to apartment building is about 120 some odd years old-that tub is most likely 1940's.

I can tell you fiberglass holds up on the good ones. In the early 80's high end apartment building -two story apartments, ,fireplace all that-like condo's. Those tubs are one piece with surrounding tub wall. I always thought those were only good for about ten years-but those fiberglass Jobie's do seem to hold up pretty good. , Now on the fiber glass Jobie's, I have used the tub paint spray kit to change the color to white. Five years on those and it still looks good.

Some people say even if you pay the pro painter to spray out yer existing tub- it won't hold up. But the fact is, paint keeps getting better.

I would look around .

[northoftheborder]

3. My son has had bad luck with both his fiberglass shower and fiberglass tub/shower piece.

both have developed leaks, and need to be totally torn out and replaced. If you live in a city which can do the new coating on your old tub, that's probably the best bet. I investigated doing that on an old tub in a house I renovated, but it was in a small town, and I would have to transport it into the city, making it unfeasible.

[CTyankee]

4. In 2000 I got bath fitter, a tough but beautiful acrylic layer over my old darkened tub

and my tiled wall around it. I was sick of scrubbing a permanently grayish old tub and grout that resisted my most persistent efforts. I have never been sorry! It cleans easily and looks terrific. And not having to scrub grout is the BEST! It cost about $1800 but I have never regretted doing it, particularly since kneeling at my tub has gotten almost impossible as I age. I use plastic wand with pads for cleaning the tub (which they don't make any more and I just don't know why).

[ejpoeta]

5. do they work too well? last too long? i had some stain remover stuff i bought that always got

stains out that they don't sell anymore and i am convinced it must be that it worked too well. LOL!

[CTyankee]

6. The actual wand itself was a plastic stick with triangular (sort of)

pad holder at the end. They had disposable pads and they stuck to the holder. It was made by Clorox. You had to use your own detergent with it. The wand is a little awkward, which is probably why they discontinued it. OR maybe they wanted to make more money off of those "self cleaning shower" things that Consumer Reports gave very low marks in efficiency. At any rate, my supermarket didn't have them and advised me to go to the Dollar Store next door because it often has discontinued products. I haven't gone yet...

[Mist]

8. For CTYankee--I found those wand things on Amazon! Check link below:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_16?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=bathtub+scrubber&sprefix=bathtub+scrubber

I'm also not into kneeling if I don't have to!

[Warpy]

7. You can often find tubs and surrounds out of fiberglas

that will fit right over your tub and tile, giving you a finished look and a warmer (and whiter) surface than your old tub affords.

I'm strongly considering getting rid of the tub completely as it's becoming difficult to get into for showers and no one over the age of six can take a bath in the shallow, miserable thing I have. A fiberglas shower with a bench sounds absolutely perfect for me.

[CTyankee]

9. Oh yes, that is perfect. I am so into that idea. Everyone use a walk in shower with a bench.

I would love to do this but can't. However, I noticed that my mother's assisted living facility had only walk in showers, no tubs, so I was so relieved.

Bath fitter tho has a really good covering for tubs and tile. It is strong and it is absolutely beautiful and practically care free. I am SO happy about it...

[Warpy]

10. I'm told that with no tub, my house will be harder to sell

but I'm having enough trouble getting in and out of the damned thing that it's going to go, no matter what. A fiberglas shower and surround is just what I need and not difficult or expensive to replace with a standard size tub if a crazy person buys the house.

Fibreglas can be challenging to care for if you don't know what you're doing, but I find them just as easy as slick enameled cast iron.

[TygrBright]

11. If/when we remodel I'm gonna drop the big bux for a walk-in tub.

Yes, they are expensive.

Yes, I prefer showers 95% of the time.

But as I get older I live with aches and pains that only a nice hot soak can really put a dent in. And insomnia that only a nice hot soak can really stave off. And I'm a miser with the heat and sometimes in the winter I'm so chilly at bedtime I lie there for ages before going to sleep and a nice hot soak helps.

The walk-in tub technology has evolved a LOT over the last decade. The seals have been upgraded and they now come with fast-drain valves that mean you don't have to sit in there for ages while the water drains out. They come with shaped and fitted seats that mean you actually use LESS water while sitting comfortably with plenty of room to soap and rinse. They come with jets (those models are a bit pricier but if the dibs are in tune I'd pop for one...) that you can angle and control the speed/power on.

Some models can also be used as walk-in shower stalls, which might be a saving as well.

In any case, by the time we're ready for a remodel I expect we'll be able to get what I want for about $2500. And given how large my demographic "bulge" is, I expect the walk-in tub will be a selling point as well.

hopefully,
Bright

[Stinky The Clown]

12. I'm alerting.

Since when is it okay to talk about demographic bulges????????

[NMDemDist2]

13. !

:rofl:

[Stinky The Clown]

14. !..!

:hug: