bathroom improvement
I never went back and posted the updates of our home improvement projects from the spring. The biggest change we made was having the bathtubs resurfaced. Here are the before and after photos:
Lovely pink tile with 50s designs. I kind of liked the designs but they had to go.
The tubs are about 50 years old and the entires smooth surface was worn off, not to mention the corrosion around the drains. They are small and ripping them out and re-doing the bathrooms would have cost a minimum of $5,000 each.
This is the upstairs tub. More sexy 50s tile. Stained and corroded. It was really hard to remove the stains because the surface wasn’t smooth.
This is what one of the tubs looks like now. This one used to be pink. On this one, they sprayed the metal around the drain because it was in such bad shape. On the upstairs one, the drain still has a metal ring around the drain hole.
The resurfacing cost about $850.
We are VERY pleased with the result. The only thing we have to be careful about is not using any bleach or abrasives to clean them. So far, so good.
We also repainted the downstairs bathroom. It used to be a rather satanic red (with pink tile!?!). Now it is just neutral.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
okay WOW. what a difference. i need the name of that company again. i wonder how much cheaper it’d be for us since i *just* need the bathtub (not even the tile) done.
May 29th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
We resurfaced our tub and surrounding tile about three years ago. It is starting to peel really badly now. So it’s definitely a short-term fix. But I guess it depends on how much use it gets. We only have one bathroom, so it gets used a lot. (And I clean it with baking soda and vinegar–nothing abrasive.)
May 29th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Did they sandblast it? Or just resurface? I’m guessing the former based on the cost.
Mine peeled (it was done before I bought the house, not sure how long)-but I know they just refinished it with “paint.” I’m thinking about sandblasting this time.
Um, you know I like color right? I was thinking how great that red bathroom looked, and suddenly realized it was the before picture ; ) ~lmc
May 29th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
I actually liked the neutral…what color name/brand is it? (if you remember)
May 29th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Looks great. If you get a pottery barn white medicine cabinet it will look great and you can keep your toothbrushes in it.
http://www.AnUrbanStory.com
May 29th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
looks like you could be on HGTV - fabulous!
May 30th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Wow. That is outstanding.
May 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Woo-hoo!!! Before and after pics!!! I can’t believe the difference in the tubs– and that’s SO much cheaper than ripping them out. Yay, home improvement!
May 30th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Was the 850 for both bathrooms? And considering you had to leave when they did it (I remember you saying something about leaving while renovations that you couldn’t do were being done) they used that acid cleaning stuff in two different steps before applying the new finish right? Did they give an idea (if you follow directions about no bleach or abrasives) how long it should last?
And what do the consider abrasives? Did they give you an example of what kind of tub/tile cleaning stuff you should use?
Sorry for all the questions, but you should see my tub and I REALLY want to get it fixed, but everytime I call someone they want to come out and give an estimate, not just answer a few basic questions.