Thursday, November 12, 2009

Bathtub Miracle

Since we moved into our {older} home over two years ago, the state of our bathtub has been on the decline. We were faced with a couple of problems:

1. We used the wrong type of caulk when we made initial improvements to the house. This type of caulk seemed to pull away from the surface and let water seep in. In addition our water has some elements that cause an orange build-up over time. This made the tub look...disgusting.

2. The bottom of the tub was partially worn away leaving a rough, porous grey area right where you sit. This is what bothered me the most. This is why my 4 year old took baths in a baby tub, inside the big tub every night. (aka: his boat)

Solution: purchased new caulk and a resurfacing kit for about $50 at Lowes and went to work.

I can NOT believe I am actually showing these before pictures!!!

Please understand that this was what the CLEAN tub looked like before.

Without further delay...


BEFORE


AFTER

There were 4 steps to resurfacing the tub. The kicker--you had to do the 3 of the 4 steps 3 TIMES. And 1 of the 4 steps 2 times. :)

The steps were:
1. Clean surface with special cleaner powder diluted with water.
2. Scrub entire surface with steel wool.
3. Dry completely.
Repeat.
Repeat.
THEN you spray on the white stuff. Wait 15 minutes. Spray again. Wait 72 hours. All done!

BEFORE

AFTER

This was just a matter of ripping all the old caulk out, spraying down with bleach, rinsing, drying, and re-caulking. I used the tip of a plastic spoon to get the smooth bead of caulk.

BEFORE

AFTER

Rub-a-dub-dub...
I am proud of this tub!

23 comments:

  1. Wow...wanna come over and do my tub? :) That is awesome

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  2. Oh HAPPINESS!!!you did a great job! looks like a turtle in the first pic ;)

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  3. p.s- can you tell me how to add a code like yours for te twoc for a pic for people to add me to thier bloggroll?

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  4. Wow, Keelie, I didn't even know they sold re-surfacing kits. Was the tub metal or fiberglass? That is totally amazing. Oh heavens! And I got my little prize box today. Wow, I was so excited! Thank you!

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  5. wow - what a great improvement for $50. I would have been a lesser woman and begged for a new tub, you rock!

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  6. that is a fantastic improvement :D

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  7. Jenny--SO glad your package arrived!! I am not sure what the tub is made of...I would guess metal, but not sure.

    Heather--believe me, this was NOT my first choice!!:) I really wanted a new tub insert, but since the home is older, the opening was not wide enough for the newer specs. We were also unsure about the plumbing and just don't have enough $$ right now to go exploring..

    This wasn't easy, but I'm glad we did it!We'll see how long it lasts.

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  8. The new and improved tub looks fabulous. We have had similar pictures in the past but instantly deleted them! : )

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  9. Wow, it looks wonderful! Now Jonah can take a real bath. ;-)

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  10. Looks fantastic! A tub you can be proud of.. but I'm wondering if your son will miss his boat..LOL!

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  11. Looks like you did an awsome job Keelie! That looks to me like a cast iron tub with porcelain. Really, really heavy if you ever decide to replace it. I mean REALLY heavy!

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  12. Yes! That is what the tub is--cast iron. Thanks Rob.

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  13. I read somewhere that you should fill the tub with water before you caulk it. Otherwise the weight of the water in the tub will pull the caulking away at a later date. Hope that helps. The transformation is amazing!

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  14. Wow, that looks great!!! Good job! :)

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  15. Fantastic!!!
    I think you did an amazing job!!!

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  16. Wow! Such a transformation! I recaulked our bathtub a few months ago and wow, what a difference. Was the resufacing kit hard to use? What did you have to do?

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  17. Looks great, hey, I got my Naughty or Nice board from you yesterday and I love it! Cant wait to hang it....now theres a decision! :) Ill post photos when i figure that out.

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  18. Wow, what a difference, you must really be thrilled that you didn't have to replace the whole thing. Amazing what clean grout will do for a room!!
    Stop by for a visit sometime,
    XO
    Heidi - Heart and Home

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  19. holy cow! i am bookmarking this post, my bathroom sink needs a similar treatment. VERY nice job!

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  20. It looks amazing, like a brand new tub! I'm amazed that the resurfacing kit worked so well! We get those orangey marks in our shower and tub too, yuck!

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  21. You should be proud---that's a fantastic transformation. Gives me hope for my harvest gold tub. Currently I just hide it behind the shower curtain and try not to think about it!

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