Sunday, December 03, 2006

Bathroom Remodel

Living in an old house has its rewards and its challenges. Our home was built in the late 1800's as a single-family dwelling. While it's no mansion by any means, it was generally well-built to the standards of the day. The eight foot ceilings had me sold from the beginning. However, old electrical works and old plumbing accompany the Italiante woodwork and we've had to gradually replace most of the worst offenders. Which brings me to my latest "project" - the upstairs bathroom.

The faucet in the bathtub has leaked for the last SEVENTEEN YEARS! And for who knows how long before that. At first it was just an annoying drip. But gradually it's gotten to the point where the rust and calcium build-up completely prevented us from turning off the faucet. What was even worse was that it was the HOT WATER FAUCET. Damn. I know that I could have just replaced the faucets, but as you can see, the tub desperately needed a facelift. Years of running and dripping water had carved a channel down the front and in the bottom of the tub right down to the cast iron base. I also knew that this was not a job for a "doityourself-er" like me.

Enter Mr. Tubbs:


Don Gustafson from Fort Dodge, Iowa, has been resurfacing tubs, sinks, showers and the like for over 20 years. He uses a spray-on coating that gives the appliance a new surface. It's not an easy job, by any means. First he has to clean the surface with a special chemical cleaner. Next he fills in the grooves and cracks with a putty-like substance.

Then, while that is drying, he covers literally every surface with paper, plastic and tape in preparation of spraying his solution on to the tub and sink. And when he gets done, you're left with this:


It is absolutely outstanding - Like a brand-new tub! I could not believe the difference. Nor that I put up with the drip and the crappy-looking tub for as long as I did. If you live pretty much anywhere in the State of Iowa and could use Don's services I recommend him highly. His phone number is (515) 576-8522. Tell him Sally said "thanks".

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Renovation takes on real meaning when you see results like that. Enjoy.

Sally said...

Ain't that the truth, Tanna. Thanks. We're not *quite* done yet... LOL That's for another post. After the plumbers are done messing.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Sally! That looks amazing. And it's nice to see that you decided to save such a beautiful, unique tub!

Sally said...

Thanks Ivonne Yes, it really is a nice tub. Quinten has grown up taking baths in it and loves it. Wait till you see the finished product!

Anonymous said...

Just thinking about you. We just had one of our hot water heaters leak in the attic into my office and all over the printers, scanners, external hard drive and big screen monitor. And I thought about you.
BTW all the equipment continues to work after drying for 3 days.
The only thing more a pit is perhaps a boat.
Hope all is well with you and things are going together for you for the holiday.

Sally said...

Oh noooo, Tanna! That totally sucks. Right now I'm up on a ladder trying to scrape the loose wallpaper off. It's amazing the problems wallpaper can hide. Too bad I don't know how to do it! I'll post pictures soon.

Jann said...

What an undertaking!Yes, I agree . the results are worth the pain and suffering and frustrations! Happy Holidays!