The $67,000 bathtub

Forums: Home Improvement, Home, Bathrooms, Bathtubs, Bathroom Remodel
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Here it is:

http://img.archiexpo.com/images_ae/photo-g/copper-bath-tub-63563.jpg

I had absolutely no idea there was any such thing as a bathtub that cost $67,000 so I thought I would share this wonder with you.

We're getting ready to demolish and redo our bathroom from the ground up. This bathtub exceeds our room budget by ohhhh...... $57,000 or so. It won't be going in our bathroom.

Anyway.....

Do you know of some lovely bathrooms to inspire me in my design or perhaps know a thing or two about which products to chose or avoid? We're thinking of buying an old clawfoot bathtub and having it refinished -- maybe you have experience or knowledge about this proceedure you could share with me.

Thanks!

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Type: Question • Score: 21 • Views: 13,406 • Replies: 61

@boomerang,

that's a mighty expensive cow trough...

(one would have to have staff to clean it, methinks)

I play with old claw-foot tubs a bit, mostly as fishponds, but they are just old cast iron, and easily enough re-enameled by a professional.

(they are firken HEAVY...)

I wonder if powder coating would be a tough enough finish.

If so, that is rather inexpensive...

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Is that thing copper? You would have to hire an extra maid to keep it shiny, or maybe for that price is comes with a maid.

I love recycling and items with a history, but IMHO it's not worth it to buy an old tub and have it refinished. They are expensive to buy (even in poor condition) and the new finishes tend to chip. You can buy beautiful, new clawfoot tubs that look just like the old ones starting at about $1,200. Do a little shopping before making a decision.

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@boomerang,

My bro in law put in a clawfoot with a showerhead above and it's flood time.. the tub isn't very wide. So, I can better see some kind of rig like the one in the photo to lessen the chance of water all over. (That may be obvious, but it wasn't to b-in-l.

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You can buy good looking old tubs out there for $300 - $600. Funny, the smaller ones are the most expensive. The new ones I've looked at are around $2,500.

And yeah, water can be an issue but Mr. B has his heart set on a clawfoot tub.

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@boomerang,

we have my wifes bathroom with a Kohler "Birthday Bath " and shower hookup. Its neat when you wanna soak and the shower is kind of old fashioned but with modern amaenities. We got it in a dull metal finish. They do make silvered , chrome , and even gold. The gold is really outrageous.

I like these "environment " bath enclosures that they have in newer homes .

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@boomerang,

I bought a Kohler slipper tub at The Big Box store that starts with an L. We paid about $1,000 plus another @$200 for the shower piece. It replaced an older tub that had been re-enameled. I had nothing to do with the refinishing of the original tub, so maybe the person who did the work was incompetent, but it chipped easily (a plastic shampoo bottle even took a piece off once) so we went for new. Old footed tubs in my area also sell for about $500, but they are usually a mess. The smaller ones are more desirable because most bathrooms can't fit the larger styles.

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@Rockhead,

Quote:

I wonder if powder coating would be a tough enough finish.

My concern with powder coating would be scratching it with any rough cleanser. It might be OK if you treated it like an acrylic tub.

The real cost with powder coating would probably be the prep work. You would have to sandblast it and maybe down to the bare metal.

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My tub is also a Kohler, but you have to keep in mind that what Kohler makes for the Big Box is not as high quality as what they distribute to private dealers. A Kohler tub at your local bath store might very well be over $2,000. Your budget sounds closer to what my budget was to gut and redo a bathroom, so I went for the cheaper tub model, but I got my handmade tiles.

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@Green Witch,

http://www.us.kohler.com/onlinecatalog/300x350/aaa24603_96.jpg

Heres a picture of the birthday bath. We bought ours in 1979 so maybe, when Kohler sent all its manufacturing to China, the metal and ceramic was cheapened up. Thats happened all over.
The birthday bath we have is a solid piece of work and it took a crane outfit to hoist it up to the second floor and slide through a window frame.

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The kohler site takes me in circles. Frustrating. I like that bathtub a lot, farmerman! It's pretty pricey though.

We've really just started looking.

We were thinking of using subway tiles on the walls but we might shift to wainscotting and spend the saved money on fixutres.

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@boomerang,

Yes, that's my tub Farmerman. Boomer take a trip to the Big Box. Ask to see their special order catalogs. If you prefer to buy from a local business just bring in the item number.

You might be able to do part tile and part plaster with wainscotting, depending on how the room is divided. Our tub/shower area has the tile, but the rest of the bathroom is plaster with the wainscot. Our toilet and sink are in an area separated by a wall. I hate having a toilet too near a tub.

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@boomerang,

Check out some of the online bathtub sites. They are often willing to take offers below their listed price or have overstock on clearance that they will deal down even further.

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@parados,

I'll check that out, parados, thanks.

Do you know which sites are particularly good?

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@boomerang,

I don't know much about the re-newing claw-foot bath procedure, but I had one in my previous home, and it was great!

It had been done by the people who renovated the house, and was at least ten years old by the time I sold, and was still in perfect condition.

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For $67,000 you should be able to fit more playmates in there. Just saying.

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Those old tubs are just beautiful and very in vogue again.

http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/freestanding-bathtub-bathroom-gtl0406-de.jpg

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@Robert Gentel,

Robert Gentel wrote:

For $67,000 you should be able to fit more playmates in there. Just saying.

For $67,000 it should COME with playmates!!!

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@boomerang,

Oooh! Shiny and pretty tub!

What? Is it copper? I bet it's a herculean chore to clean every week and keep the shininess.

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@boomerang,

Quote:

This bathtub exceeds our room budget by ohhhh...... $57,000 or so. It won't be going in our bathroom.

That is expensive! You might be able to manage a modest home extension with that! Wink

Others have said it & I'll repeat: recycle, recycle & repair. There's a lot of great pre-loved stuff out there. You've just got to spend the time looking, looking & looking, till you find the perfect bathtub of your desire! Smile

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The $67,000 bathtub

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