An Unexpected Bathroom Update

The problem with old acrylic tubs

The problem with acrylic tubs is that they can crack over time. I really wasn’t ready to do the full bathroom renovation this room deserves. Picking out tile amidst masonry choices for the backyard? No thank you.

I briefly went down the rabbit hole of some of these very cool vintage cast iron blue tubs. There were THREE available on FB Marketplace, but they are so heavy and I had no idea how much weight the floor there could hold.

But when I was bathing Harrison last week I noticed a hairline crack in the corner of the tub. I pushed on it, and I kid you not, a chunk fell off. Then I pulled up the nonslip mat and noticed a bunch of hairline cracks in the base of the tub. This becomes a real issue when water seeps under the tub and onto your foundation.

So we needed to fix it ASAP—it’s our only tub in the house.

Thankfully Juan and Sarah had availability and it was virtually painless. We bought a $200 acrylic replacement, and the old tub was out in a matter of hours. I’ve always wanted to know what was under the old damaged tile in here, and now I know! Just the original wood floors. And in the corner some laminate! This laminate (Above right photo) is the same pattern that was in the guest closet, which really makes you wonder how extensive this laminate was on the second floor!

And of course, my all time favorite discovery in this house is new fragments of very old wallpaper.

I didn’t know this until embarking on this project, but acrylic tubs are fastened to the studs and the lip of the tub is tiled over to create a water-proof barrier. That’s why the tubs are about 2 inches bigger in all directions than your space (at least that was our configuration with these tiles and the plaster walls.

Juan and Sarah matched the tiles we already had in place (no decision fatigue here) and then the next day they grouted and sealed everything. I’ll probably have to patch my paint stripes, but all in all it was a pretty painless surprise renovation.

One day, I hope for striped white and blue tiles, but for now, a low tub that H can step in and out of works perfectly.

I leave you with this: always investigate your tub for hairline cracks!