I can't help you but I support your efforts wholeheartedly. I hope you can do it!

Same here, no tips but I sure hope you've able to salvage it. What a wonderful MCM relic! Myself, I'm waiting anxiously for the day when colored tubs and sinks come back into fashion.

It looks like it's in very good shape. Just the fact it is cast iron makes it a unique asset... plus the obvious cool factor. I think I saw a new Kohler cast iron tub that looked a lot like that online for over 3K.

Cover it before you demo. Shut off all the utilities and take the walls out carefully. Disconnect your plumbing and save any copper you find. Get some help to pry it up from the floor and put it on a pallet and roll it next door.

I think your GC just doesn't like it.

I am planning to BUY a used bathtub, and possibly have it refinished (depending on the tub I end up with), and it's still a worthwhile savings over buying a new one with a similar look.

But, if the end result is that your brand new house ends up with a bathroom that most people are tearing out, then it's not worth saving the money. So, if that's what your GC is envisioning, then he's going to advise you against it.

What an interesting tub! Our home had a 1960s era American Standard alcove apron tub in tiffany blue. We looked into resurfacing it since my wife hated the color. Cost about the same as a new tub (new alcove tubs can be had for a bargain). I was concerned the new finish would end up peeling so we discarded the cool older tub. :-(

Caben- trends always come around! My dad is coming up to help me set the tub free, so I'll let you all know how it goes... fingers crossed!

I certainly would not use your general contractor's opinion as a measure of your tub's worth. First, if you like it, it doesn't matter what someone else thinks. Second, some people have a disdain for anything that isn't new. My BIL, a former journeyman subcontractor who considers himself THE expert in all things construction, cannot comprehend why we would choose a vintage clawfoot tub over a new, fyberglass tub with built-in shower surround for our new home. He repeatedly tells us how many clawfoot tubs he has hauled to the dump, and how they are merely junk. I just mention how much money he has lost by not selling that junk. Some people simply don't get it.

Very cool tub. My first thought was you're gonna need to upsize your water heater, and feed lines. That will take a LOT of hot water, for a bath!

"...you're gonna need to upsize your water heater, and feed lines. That will take a LOT of hot water, for a bath!"

True, but this tub can fit two people, so double the water efficiency and double the fun!

Stupid question of the day: why is it called a cinderella tub?

Dlm2000- Lol! It is kind of a dumb name isn't it? I think it was just marketing. If you look at the ads for that kind of squarish tub from the era it's all women sitting in a bubble bath painting their toenails; Getting ready for the ball, as it were.

sbdesign, your BIL should at least be taking those tubs to a metal recycler. They at least have value for the 300 lbs of cast iron.

"I'd like to use it in one of our kids' bathrooms, but GC is saying he doesn't think the labor is worth it. So I'm thinking of freeing the tub myself so all he has to do is move it over and install it. "

How many gallons of water does this tub need?

Do you know the measurements of this tub?

I hate to be the only negative person but I doubt that I would do this. I love anything vintage but this tub looks like it will need a lot of real estate for a kids room.

I do love the tub.

It's about 48" square overall, if memory serves. Maybe 46. It's not deeper than normal. With the little bench area, in person it doesn't look as though it would take more water than a regular tub. The kids aren't really bath takers, mostly showers, but what's nice about this is that it's like a shower base you can take a bath in once in a while.

Happy to hear it worked out for you!

I found out more about it, too! Apparently the technical term is a "shower receptor tub." This one is the Crane Neuvogue:

Wow, that is a great tub. Don't know where you are in child rearing but you could bathe 2 or 3 kids at a time in that tub or grandkids! Fun.

Even though this is an old thread, I’m going to add :) Cinderella tubs were developed to appeal to people with a smaller bathroom footprint, so they could still have a tub, without the real estate. They also made it out to be more fashionable to separate the shower from the bathtub. It takes much less water to fill it, than the larger conventional bathtubs.

Second point - General Construction contractors work on the basis of bids, not time and materials. That’s why it’s not worth it for a GC - they’re paid on their bid, and they bid the cost of the materials plus their mark-up plus installation cost. So you’d want to off to pay by the hour and expect a premium hourly charge since they don’t get the mark up on the materials

I’ve been looking and must have one of these. I grew up with a blue one back in the 60’s. Now that I’m in my 60s I’m gutting my bathroom and this is the perfect solution to a shower and a bathtub. I’m in MI if anyone has one I can purchase. 🙂

Robyn, I see a road trip in your near future.

There is one in IRa Michigan on facebook marketplace . https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1153018852259894/

https://www.ebay.com/itm/125063761209?hash=item1d1e618d39:g:-I4AAOSwI3thwj4Q&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoE1S37WqnzVJ%2B9cXJpartk6Qa3zRw%2F0JhQmqe9kLgqNSprhLhstm5YEk0xiQCnpz8QoZIeTHbMQ%2BoUkgEjzjTbEeZl3W7WlCMSK4QTPFygJT7XKX5g%2FJ%2FdGrDEQP0O4i1PxYT%2BsLwqSY3zMWhNP0anNoN41cxjaitPolAF23dwd2R9cd6GuWIPOK991Km61if43UOTpd6mQnZbmXrQ49MNw%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-zX2vT-YA

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1552783275191615/