If tub refinishing has been on your mind lately, you may have already done some research about it and learned that it is an economical choice over a remodel. Many homeowners choose to have their tub or shower re-glazed in an effort to restore its beauty and breathe life into their bathroom space. Refinishing your bathtub can be a great move, especially if your tub is stained, chipped, or impossible to clean these days.
Before you jump the gun though, there are some questions you need to ask yourself before you get going. These five questions will help you better gauge whether or not your tub is a good fit to have refinished. Unfortunately, some tubs are not a good fit and a replacement is a better option.
Let’s take a look below at those five questions you should ask yourself…
- What is the shape of my bathtub?
While you may think that it does not matter what shape your tub is, it does. This is one of the most important questions you will ask yourself and your answer will determine whether or not your tub can even be refinished. Depending on the era your home was built in, you may have an odd or funky shaped tub in your home and in these cases, it is best to just replace them with a modernized tub.
For refinishing to work best, the tub should be round or square and not have any ridiculous indentations, shell patterns, or crazy curves to it.
- Is your bathtub the original in the home?
Wow. Just think about that for a moment. If your home was built in 1970 and the tub is an original, then that means the tub is 48 years old at the time of this blog. Tubs really do last a long time, huh?
If the tub is original to the home, then it was likely made from some good materials and that is quite obvious since it has lasted so long. Many tubs from years ago are made from cast iron, which makes them heavy and strong.
Refinishing original tubs is always recommended since these tubs are of quality. Whether the tub is stained, an odd color, or it is just in need of some love, it would be a good candidate. With that said, a tub that is not an original can still be refinished.
- Has the bathtub been resurfaced before?
This is an important question just like question one. If you are not the original owner of the home and you are unsure of whether or not the tub has been refinished, you should have a refinishing contractor take a look at it. They can tell if it was resurfaced before or not.
If the tub HAS been refinished before, you are still in luck because it can be resurfaced again. The biggest issue here is that there is more preparation work that must take place and the cost of the job will increase. The previous surface will need to be sanded and stripped, which can add up depending on your budget. In these cases, a replacement may be a better idea economically.
- Is a non-slip bottom or traction in the tub important to you?
If you are one who wants to have a tub with traction slips built into it, you will not get that with a refinished tub. In fact, a refinished tub will sport a glossy and smooth sheen like a porcelain tub. If you want the look of the porcelain tub with the traction, we would recommend that you install a removable non-slip mat that can be placed down when you are ready to shower and removed when you are done.
- Is your bathtub size standard or odd?
Similar to the shape of the tub, the size of the tub matters too. Bathtubs have evolved over the years and what was a standard size back in 1959 is not going to be the standard size today. If your tub is original to the space or it is an odd size, then it may be too expensive to replace, which makes reglazing a wonderful option.
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If you are unhappy with the look of your bathtub or you would like to learn more about whether your bathtub is a good fit for resurfacing, call the team at White Glove Bathtub and Tile Reglazing today!
