Clawfoot tub

We have an old cast iron tub that came with our house and would like to refurbish it and install new fixtures, however our contractor advised against using an old tub with new plumbing, saying that the inspectors hate that and it might not be approved…

Anyone out there done this and have any tips?

Any ideas on where to get new faucets, spouts, showerhead etc that would fit an old vintage tub? Thanks for any tips!

Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Had claw foot in rental for years and from time to time tenant’s were not careful about keeping shower curtain in the tub and would get water through ceiling in my unit. When recently renovated that bathroom replaced with regular tub. While charming and true to brownstone house this wore me out.

Guest User | 4 years and 6 months ago

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@brokelin that’s a cool idea but unfortunately we don’t have room!

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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I’m 5’9”, but my 5’0” wife also uses the tub with no problem.

brokelin | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Also, if a tub set on flat on the floor appeals, yet a vintage one in the right size in good shape is hard to find, there are some new deeper tubs that are nice as well.

And, if you have enough room, one of my favorite bathroom layouts was my last place, which had the original deep tub, and a separate shower stall updated with a new glass door in a wall of glass, with another 1/2 glass wall (the top half) on the side that overlooked the tub. A separate shower that you don’t have to step over a tub side to get into is the best, if you have room for a decent sized shower. Mine was original to the 1920s bathroom, though I think it may have been enlarged a little bit in one direction in a renovation. It was a roomy, squarish shower stall. I don’t like the narrow, tiny separate showers in some old bathrooms, especially those that have walls on three sides and are thus kind of dark. If you have room for a decent-sized separate shower stall AND the clawfoot tub (or other deep tub), that would be nice.

brokelin | 4 years and 6 months ago

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I imagine you are likely quite a bit taller than an average height woman, so our experiences climbing into tubs is therefore going to be different.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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FWIW I’ve been showering in a claw foot tub for more than 50 years (46 inn my own house, the rest in rentals) with none of t he problems mentioned by brokelin.

brokelin | 4 years and 6 months ago

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I’d rethink using the clawfoot tub at all for showering. It is one thing to have an old clawfoot tub around for baths only, but for showering, they are a pain. You have to climb in and out, you have curtains all around, so you can’t even put a grab bar in to grab if you need to, and you’ve got the curtains that tend to billow and cling to your legs – and they can feel kind of claustrophobic to shower in as a result. And water gets out the back where they meet to trickle down the wall onto the floor. And even if you just install a handheld shower fixture, water still gets all over the wall and floor when one uses them.

The last time I had one I was still in my 20s and in great shape, but I recognized it was unsafe for showering daily. And not fun. And cleaning under them is no fun.

I’ve lived with three three modern tubs since (much too shallow, no good for bathing), and three vintage deep original tubs that sat not the floor – deeper for bathing, but much easier to climb into and out of to shower daily, with a shower curtain only on one side (for the tub in an a lcove with three sides, or on 1 long and 1 short side, for the long tub with a curved end that attached to the wall on only two sides), and I never had to clean under a clawfoot tub again! I’d say consider looking for deep vintage tubs from I think the 30s and 40s, or thereabout whenever houses were built with them, if you are installing a showerhead. It’ll be worth it in the long run

lkrshacmzcy | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Inspection wise does not play a factor, but they are a pain to work with. I always tell my clients imagine trying to install brand new, factory made parts into an extremely old body; it is difficult, has a lot of potential for issues, has a high cost and also can break at any time in the future. We repair them of course, but with a big “Buyer Beware” warning beforehand.

lkrshacmzcy | 4 years and 6 months ago

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Inspection wise does not play a factor, but they are a pain to work with. I always tell my clients imagine trying to install brand new, factory made parts into an extremely old body; it is difficult, has a lot of potential for issues, has a high cost and also can break at any time in the future. We repair them of course, but with a big “Buyer Beware” warning beforehand.

RobertGMarvin

in General Discussion 4 years and 6 months ago

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House of Antique Hardware , Van Dykes, and DEA Bathroom Machineries all list faucets for claw foot tubs. They can also be found on Amazon.

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago

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I googled european style faucet and returned results. But I checked clawfoot tub faucet and returned better results. I am not sure if the holes on these tubs were standardized at the time, so you may need to look for ones that have unions that allow you to adjust the spread of the inlet pipes.

They are pricier than your standard faucet.

stevecym | 4 years and 6 months ago

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I worked on a townhouse that two men were turning into a sort of high end b and b. They kept their old tubs and had me install a fancy European faucet that I think was made to look like one piece but had adjustable unions so it could fit any tub. It also had a shower head on a braided sort of line. I want to say it came from Italy. I will see what I can find later.