Comments on: Refinish or Replace Your Ugly Bathtub? Pros & Cons

By: Marc

Marc — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:52:16 +0000

Hi Steve,
Thanks for taking the time to comment, but how about keeping the tone friendly here? No need for personal attacks on HomeFixated. I didn’t say I was surprised that the tub chipped, but instead was sharing the information so that others might learn from our experience. Many re-glazing companies tout how bullet-proof their finishes are. . . we wanted to share a little real world experience so others might know what to expect with bathtub refinishing. And to address your point about timeline, we had plumbing work done well after the reglazing when we had open wall access to the plumbing (during a remodel of another room) and could easily swap out the very aged and decaying original plumbing. You may think we should have skipped that opportunity since we reglazed the tub prior, but then you didn’t see our old plumbing! Maybe you can see years into the future with every home improvement project, but we have not mastered that yet!
; )

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:21:57 +0000

I am sure both you gentleman are brighter under different circumstances. Are you serious? You drop hard and heavy items in the tub, and are suprised the tub chipped. Wow. Then your plumber scratches your tub, which everyone knows you handle all plumbing before re-glazing. What exactly were you expecting from reglazing your tub? You painted it, you didn’t give it super powers. Good Luck gutting your bathroom everytime you drop a shampoo bottle. That was hilarious, guys. Absolutely priceless.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 05:17:23 +0000

Thanks for your comment Edward! It’s funny you should write this, because I was just thinking about updating this post with a cautionary tale. Instead, I’ll share my similar thoughts to yours in this comment reply. Our refinished tub looked great until four separate incidents of hard items falling in the tub resulted in four unsightly chips that the old color is now brazenly showing through. Plus, when we swapped out some of the drain plumbing, the finish also came off around the drain. My plumber mentioned how brittle refinish tends to be, and now we know how correct he was. Overall the refinished tub still looks good, especially if you squint really hard. But I suspect it won’t be too long before we regret having refinished it. I think your comment is right on the money. If you want a short term superficial improvement, then refinish. If you want to do the job right for the long run, opt for a new tub (and mostly likely re-doing a good portion or all of your bathroom while you’re at it). If you do refinish, keep any hard objects that might fall into your tub a safe distance away!

By: Edward MacFarlane

Edward MacFarlane — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 01:53:32 +0000

I have remodeled many bathrooms over the years and most recently done tub change outs. The tub change outs are done for a reason, someone has already “re-glazed” the tub and now it is peeling! I would only re-glaze if you are ready to sell your house and you want it to look good. The only correct way to address an old tub is to replace it. Most likely if your tub is that bad your tile and plumbing probably could use an update anyway.