LESLIE: Maureen in New York needs some help refinishing a bathtub. What can we do for you?
MAUREEN: Hi. My question is – we’re going to replace the bathtub we have and we found an old, clawfoot tub that was taken out of the house. It’s in pretty nice shape but it does need some kind of help. It’s rusted and whatnot and I don’t know if it’s too much work to refinish that or how you go about refinishing that. Or is it better to buy the new, plastic tubs that they have, kind of? The newer ones are really light.
TOM: Well, I love those old, cast-iron tubs. I mean, they’re …
LESLIE: That’s like fantasy bath time to me.
MAUREEN: (overlapping voices) Yeah, really. I agree.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Exactly.
LESLIE: That’s all I dream out.
TOM: That’s the last time they made a bathtub big enough for me to fit in. (Leslie and Maureen chuckle)
LESLIE: And like you could soak up to your shoulders and feel completely relaxed.
TOM: (overlapping voices) Exactly.
MAUREEN: (overlapping voices) Absolutely.
TOM: Yeah, I know. It’s like a pool.
LESLIE: I would – I mean, if I could, in my own life and the bathroom could support it and I was ready for it, I would absolutely have a vintage, clawfoot tub or a reproduction thereof that is also cast-iron.
Since you’ve got one that needs some work, you’re better off probably giving it to a pro and having them completely reglaze it. It’ll last a long time; almost as long as if you bought a new one. It’ll be durable. It will hold the temperature on your water fantastic. You will have a hot bath from the moment you get in until the moment you get out.
MAUREEN: Oh, that’s great. Do you have any idea what that runs or what it would cost to have somebody refinish it?
TOM: I would guess it would probably be in sort of the $200 to $500 range.
MAUREEN: Oh, that’s fine.
TOM: Yeah.
LESLIE: But it’s worth it.
TOM: And it’s definitely going to be worth it because they’ve they got the tools and the equipment to do this so that it really stays on. There are a lot of sort of do-it-yourself glazing kits out there but they’re sort of glorified paint and they just don’t stick around.
MAUREEN: (overlapping voices) Yeah. OK. Yeah, that’s what I was wondering. If you did that, would it even hold up?
TOM: (overlapping voices) Yeah. No.
LESLIE: Probably not.
TOM: I wouldn’t do it myself.
MAUREEN: OK. Well, thank you so much.
TOM: You’re welcome. Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
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