After much thought, I decided to re-glaze the bathtub instead of installing a new one and putting in tile. My decision was based upon several things:
1.) No demolition
2.) No hassle of getting rid of the old tub and surround
3.) No hassle of installation of new tub and tile
4.) When you only have 1 bathroom, it should make for less downtime. You can’t use your tub for 1-2 days.
5.) It was the most eco-friendly thing to do.
It took me about 2 hours on the Internet to find out which is the best type of glazing. I still don’t know. Went on Kudzo, Angie’s List, DYI, Better Business Bureau,and I can’t even tell you how many other websites to find out about glazing and reviews on companies. A lot of info, but came away more confused. Picked up the phone and called 10 companies to find out why each was better. That was even more confusing! Pricing ranged (oversized tub) from $375- $950.00. Companies have branded their name and or products, but it’s either a polyurethane, epoxy type of glazing or a porcelain type. After a while they seemed they were all the same. Not one person I spoke with could tell me the difference between all the different glazes.
I ended up using Bath Bright: ($595) and probably wouldn’t use them again. Some of the re-glazing was not their fault, as I had a leak that wouldn’t quit and dripped all over the glazing. But they said they could fix it on their next trip. But the whole job was terrible, other drips, some dirt marks and debris leftover from the sanding were glazed over. I did call them again and asked them to re-do, which they did readily enough. The job is OK, not fantastic, but liveable.
I haven’t tried to clean it yet, so don’t know how it cleans up. My advice to Bath Bright, is they should have a printed up piece of paper with recommended cleaners to use, as you can’t use a harsh cleaner.
The Company who was the most responsive ($950.) was Duraglaze. (no website- San Diego, 858.578.6450) He was actually in the area, came over, gave me bid, provided the most information and did a follow phone call.
Would I do it again? Don’t know- I don’t think I saved a huge amount of money, what I probably saved was the hassle of demo and installation and recycling the debris.