Five Reasons To Refinish Your Bathtub
If your old bathtub is looking dingy and stained, don't simply replace it. Refinishing the tub may be a better option.
1. Appearance Improvement
One of the most immediate and striking things to expect is the instant improvement to the appearance of your bathtub. If you have been living with a worn out tub for awhile, the change will make the whole bathroom look like new. You can even change the color of the tub when you have it refinished, which means you can update that old cream or yellow bathtub to a much more modern white. It's even possible to refinish the surround around the tub, if necessary, which will also improve your bathroom appearance.
2. Cleaning Ease
A major reason why old tubs look dingy is that small scratches have formed in the surface, which traps dirt and makes them nearly impossible to clean thoroughly. This problem can affect porcelain tubs, but it is more pronounced on fiberglass and plastic types. When your tub is refinished, the surface is first sanded down to remove all the old grime and to ensure it is smooth. The new finish is then applied in a perfectly smooth coat that makes your tub easy to clean once again.
3. Less Costly
If your tub is looking bad enough that you are willing to spend money to replace it, refinishing can extend its life while saving you a lot of money on a new tub. Installing a new tub has many associated costs, including the demolition labor, installation labor, the tub itself, and disposal costs for the old tub. Refinishing costs a fraction of the amount of a new installation, so the savings are quite large.
4. Time Saving
It takes a lot less time to refinish a tub rather than replace one. The process usually takes little more than a day, while a tub replacement can take a week or more. The actual process of preparing and applying the new finish typically only takes a couple of hours. Then, the finish must cure for about one day before the tub can be used again. This means you will have full use of your bathroom back much sooner if you opt to refinish rather than replace.
5. Environmentally Friendly
Old tubs typically end up in the landfill, but you can help prevent this by refinishing your tub instead of replacing it. Although porcelain tubs may sometimes be recycled into things like tiles, it rarely occurs. Plastic and fiberglass tubs are even less likely to have a second life once removed from your bathroom. A refinished tub stays useful for longer, which is more eco-friendly in the long run.
Contact a bathtub refinishing contractor in your area for more help.