Bathtub relgazing: drain/overflow issue

10 years ago

I need to have my cast iron bathtub reglazed but I have a couple of issues. My house was built in 1936 and I'm pretty sure the tub is original.

1) The tub does not have a drain or overflow plate. I have a little guard I stick in the drain which works great but the gaping overflow is a problem. Because there is no drain, there is not anything for an overflow plate to connect to. I also think the hole is over sized. I bought a standard overflow plate just to play around with it and it would not fit. I asked a handyman about it but he basically shrugged his shoulders. I could have a plumber pull the tub and put in a drain but I imagine then I would also have to replace tile and who knows what else. I'm hoping for a more cosmetic fix.

2) There is rusting around both the drain and overflow. When I called someone about reglazing the tub, I mentioned it and he said I would want to get it fixed before the reglazing was done. I honestly do not know where to start with this. Who would make these types of repairs?

I appreciate any advice/suggestions you have. Thanks a bunch!

Featured Answer

daisychain Zn3b

10 years ago

We just had a tub reglazed. They blasted it down to bare metal before doing the finish coat.

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Comments (8)

palimpsest
10 years ago
Do you have any access from behind or below? My tub drains have all been accessible. I would think that some reglazing company would have a method of rust removal and patching, filling?
gator9587 thanked palimpsest
gator9587
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks! The tub is on an exterior wall so you would think there is access but I asked a plumber when he was here for something else and he said he would have to pull the tub in order to add a drain. There isn't a crawl space under the house so no access from below.

The reglazer I spoke to indicated I needed to have the rusting taken care of separately but that was just over the phone. It would be a good idea to have someone come out and look at it. Even if they do not do it, surely they could recommend someone, right? :)
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roof35
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I've never had a tub glazed, but have seen some that have. The ones I've seen is because I was involved with remodeling. We would get the call for plumbing work, which legally a licensed plumber must do. Anyways, the call was a last resort for taking out their freshly glazed tubs because their estimates for the plumbing work was "outrageous" (not sure how they thought remodeling would be cheaper since a licensed plumber had to do the hook ups) The tub "refinishers" would break out the drain work and overflows because they couldn't/wouldn't or whatever glaze around things, and they're not licensed to install any of the plumbing work to put it back together.

Just thought I'd throw this out there for you, because you may be getting into something you may regret.
gator9587 thanked roof35
sloyder
10 years ago
you are going to have to grind off all that rust to bare metal. The refinishers should do this, maybe an acrylic tub cover might be better.
gator9587 thanked sloyder
geoffrey_b
10 years ago
Re glazing is just paint.
PRO
Mark Ellis - Gatsby Glass
10 years ago
Do not waste your money on reglazing. It's only paint. You will be very unhappy within a few months. Spend the money to do it right or don't do it at all because you are wasting your money. I have replaced hundreds of these "reglazed" tubs in the last 20 years.
R Bond
8 years ago
what's the right way to do it? we have a very old cast iron alcove tub that had previously been reglazed/painted and now has several areas of the original finish showing through. I just assumed to get it reglazed rather than replaced. I'm curious about daisychain01's blasting experience- who does that? is that the "right" way?