During my latest bathroom “upgrade” my wife and I decided to install one of the curved shower rods we sell here at Vintage Tub & Bath. Installation is usually quite simple – remove old shower rod, if necessary, patch and paint area where the old rod was screwed into wall, and install new curved rod. Simple. However, what do you do if, as in our case, your walls are curved themselves?
The Set Up
First I had to remove the old shower rod and patch the mounting holes left in the wall. The original rod cut into the bath tile so I had to replace the damaged tile, as well. After I sanded the patch and replaced the tile, I got to work on the curved shower rod.
Curved shower rods generally don’t mount where the old shower rod used to be. Rather, you drill the mounting holes three or so inches back, towards the shower wall, from the original straight rod mounting holes. The change of mounting location keeps the curved shower rod from extending too far into the bathroom, as well as tucking the ends of the shower curtain in, reducing the amount of water spray on your walls and floor.
The Challenge
Mount the curved rod to my curved wall and ceiling.
The Solution
First, I placed a set of washers behind the mounting bracket to level the unit. Then I secured these washers with the lower mounting bracket screw:
Next, I filled in the unsightly gap created by the washers with spackling paste, and taped off the chrome mounting bracket in preparation for priming and painting:
Next came the priming and painting.
Not too shabby if I say so myself. Now I shower in style!
I thought I would share an e-mail I just got from Chad in Oregon. He asks a series of questions that come up quite a bit
"Hi Allan,
I could really use some advice, as all the inquiries I’ve made by telephone to (your online competitors) have been met with folks that apparently don't know the products that they sell very well. I have a couple of basic questions. I've got an original clawfoot tub in my 1911 home that I've been estimated $750 - $950 to restore (i.e. sandblast and re-plate the feet, sand & coat & paint the exterior, and of course new interior) by reputable dealers in my area of Portland, OR. For a few hundred dollars more I could just buy a new tub from you folks or ??? What am I missing here. Other than the fact that I can know my tub is original, wouldn't the benefit of having a baked on porcelain-enamel finish over an acrylic enamel (car paint?) be worth it? Do the new tubs in this price range look cheaper than original? And also, what about other high dollar manufacturers? How are their products superior? When asked this question, most have answered that they are American made, as this tells me something tangible about their quality. Or they say the name costs a lot. In my experience, Brooks Brothers suits are better made than Sears suits, Sony is better than Suny, and Honda is better than Hyundai, and someone can explain to me why. To this point no one can tell me why on cast-iron tubs. If I've got to spend $2,500 to $3,500 on a tub, for superior quality, I'll just have mine refinished. If the cheaper ones are just as "good" I'll buy new. Please help a.s.a.p."
My reply:
Chad,
You bring up a lot of good concerns and questions. Let me try to answer what I think is the main issue: Should you refinish your old tub or buy a new one?
Simple answer: Unless your particular vintage clawfoot tub has some sentimental or historic value or the original porcelain is in excellent condition, I would purchase a new tub without question.
Why? Well to start, the cost difference between a refinished tub and a brand new tub isn't that great anymore. Your estimate of $750-$950 is in the same price range ($995) as one of our new Classic Roll Rim Tubs, and we include delivery.
Secondly, durability is an issue. In my experience, there's no refinished surface that is anywhere near as durable as an original porcelain enamel surface.
Obviously, paint is not as wear-resistant as glass. The commercial reality of this fact can be seen in that refinished surfaces generally don't have a warranty that extends beyond years after the original refinishing date. Our Randolph Morris clawfoot tubs, on the other hand, come with a lifetime limited warranty.
Thirdly, the issue of construction quality. A host of factors come into play when you talk about clawfoot tub quality, including materials, manufacturing processes, acceptable tolerances, etc.
Furthermore, different manufacturers built millions of clawfoot tubs between roughly 1890 and 1940 and their quality varied quite a bit. I can't talk to the issue of whether an antique tub is built better than a modern tub simply because there are too many variables to make a general statement. Our real expertise is in defining affordable, higher standards for the manufacture of new claw foot tubs. I can, therefore, address your question as to quality of our tubs versus any other modern brand of tubs.
To start, your comments highlight the fact that many consumers believe the more expensive an item is, the better quality it must be. This isn't always the case, especially in the clawfoot tub market. The fact of the matter is, there aren't a lot of clawfoot tub manufacturers. Of those who do make clawfoot tubs, not all of them are as single-mindedly focused on quality like we are. Here are a few examples of how we focus on quality.
- Vintage Tub & Bath clawfoot brand tub feet are made from brass because, when properly prepared, brass holds a plated finish much better than the cheaper cast iron feet.
- Our clawfoot tub feet are installed and checked for fit and finish at the factory. We don't send a set of feet to you in a separate box and hope they fit well.
- Because we install the feet at the factory, we can check the tub and make certain it's level, as well. This eliminates the wobble issue, which is common in other clawfoot tubs.
- The extremely high-quality porcelain we use has excellent acid/alkali resistance, which creates an outstanding finish and brilliant color quality.
Why do we do it? Because we think it's better to build the tub right the first time than to have to deal with the problems that poor-quality workmanship creates later on.
So how do we keep the price so low? Simple. Vintage Tub & Bath is the only retailer we know of who manufactures, as well as retails clawfoot tubs directly to the public. This is a huge advantage in that we eliminate the middleman and all costs they add to the final price of a tub. Furthermore, we can spread the fixed costs of running a business over the large quantity of tubs we sell - again reducing the price per tub. This is how we build a high-quality clawfoot tub and cost-efficiently deliver it to you.
I can say with great confidence that Vintage Tub & Bath clawfoot tubs are built to some of the highest standards in the industry, and are still available to the public at a very reasonable price. The superiority of our manufacturing processes, the expensive, high-quality materials used, and our meticulous quality-assurance procedures combine to give our customers the best tub prices and product currently available. If we didn't completely believe in our products, we wouldn't put our name on them and offer a lifetime limited warranty.
Take a look at our clawfoot tubs and if you have any questions, give our customer service department a call toll-free at 844-502-0885 ext.1 or email us at supply@vintagetub.com. They're very knowledgeable and would be happy to talk to you.
I hope I answered your questions,
Allan
I'm like the child who repeatedly burns his hand on a hot stove. I know it will hurt, yet I do it anyway. Every time I finish a home renovation project I swear I'll never do it again. Fast forward one year and you'll find me with a hammer, paint brush, or drill in hand working on yet another project.
I have no one to blame but myself for my masochistic behavior.
This summers month-long project was redoing our tiny bathroom. We needed to get rid of the old pseudo-country look.
We repainted the room with different colors to make it look brighter and bigger. We replaced horrible peg racks with real towel rods and robe hooks. I, befitting my role as General Manager at an internet plumbing store, replaced the 25 year-old sink faucet all by myself! Actually, it was pretty simple with the right tools and only took about 30 minutes. I also installed a new curved shower rod and, as I will detail in my next post, I absolutely love it! Deb, my wife, did a great job with the painting, as well as about 300 other details that needed to be taken care of.
One item of note was refinishing the medicine cabinet doors. We had planned on repainting them but once I sanded the doors down, the wood looked good enough to stain. We stained and varnished them to a dark brown finish. We think those doors offer a nice contrasting color.
We need to either paint or cover the cast iron radiator. There are also a few bits of touch-up painting that need to be done. Overall, however, I believe we're pretty much finished with this project. How it took four weeks I will never know. I do know that I will never, ever get involved with another renovation project as long as I live...or until we need to paint the bedroom in the fall.
