Antique Plumbing Restorer or Plumber
I recently had the leg of the clawfoot tub suddenly come off and I am trying to find someone to help me fix it in place. I have spoken to several people (not in the NY area) that said it needs to put back in place with a mallet and then secured with a nail. Cannot figure out where the nail would go to do that. Overall, just looking for a pro to handle this for me. Would grateful welcome recommendations. [IMG_1393](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:9UAN:img_1393.heic.jpg) [IMG_1394](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:uLq1:img_1394.heic.jpg) [IMG_1396](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s3/:brownstoner:Meny:img_1396.heic.jpg)
laurenpacker123
in Plumbing 3 years and 5 months ago
11
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11 replies
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 5 months ago
to cate’s suggestion, make the block of wood wider (and longer) than it is tall. i’ve been setting blocks of wood under cars and other things for a life time and what i have learned is that if the block of wood is not wide, if something comes down at it on an angle, like a tub full of water might “slide” over as it goes down, it will simply “roll” the block of wood over with it, almost as though the block were round. you want that block to sit almost touching the tub. do not try to force anything, such as a shim, between the block and tub as that will reduce the weight on the legs and if the legs have less weight on them, they may loosen and slide out as weight shifts around in the tub.
cate | 3 years and 5 months ago
After you repair the foot, you could also place a small block of wood behind the foot to temporarily hold up the tub just in case the foot gives way at some later date.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 5 months ago
for a contractor, the caution that chris petri is suggesting is probably warranted. we know that less experienced people sometimes break cast iron ( i cracked a new and pricey cast iron manifold when i was 17 and have never forgotten it) but from a business owner’s point of view, if one of their employees put a tub leg on and that thing came out whilst someone was in the tub, it could spell disaster and could fall back on the business.
that’s not to say that the homeowner should not attempt this on their own, if they are careful. if i did this in my house, myself (and in no way would i call someone to do it for me), i would consider what chris has said and would check that leg a couple of times a day for a week and then a couple of times a week for a few months, just to be sure it is snug.
too many times on this board, i listen to people who allow their own “fear” to become an obstacle to doing something that generations of men who spent their lives workin g with their hands would tackle with no issue and no reservation, just the right tools and some knowledge and a load of common sense.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 5 months ago
dibs is the smartest person on here.
daveinbedstuy | 3 years and 5 months ago
What steve said. They just slide on and the weight holds them. i suspect >100 years of paint has caused that joint to be not the tightest anymore.
lkrshacmzcy | 3 years and 5 months ago
As a nearly 120 year old Plumbing Company with tools and equipment that outdate our own age, I would still not authorize our guys to touch this. Anyone I used to know who would do this is either long gone or has eyes worse than a Blind Cavefish.
I am curious to see if you find a restorer for this!
lkrshacmzcy | 3 years and 5 months ago
As a nearly 120 year old Plumbing Company with tools and equipment that outdate our own age, I would still not authorize our guys to touch this. Anyone I used to know who would do this is either long gone or has eyes worse than a Blind Cavefish.
I am curious to see if you find a restorer for this!
stevecym | 3 years and 5 months ago
I read a little on line last night. It seems these are often or at least sometimes put together without the legs secured and the weight of the tub holds it all together. People have trouble with the legs coming off when the move the tub to service the drain.
OP, how did this happen, were you servicing the drain? How are the other ones secured, if at all?
If this thing sat like this for decades and NONE of those legs had been secured, I would simply put it back together and set it up as it had been.
Those nails are not doing a lot. They are not working against the weight of the tub or its occupant(s). They are holding it together so people can set the tub. If a floor is uneven to the point that the tub is rocking around as people move around in it and that is what caused this to come undone, I would not only be worried about the leg coming off but would be worried about the pipe connections becoming damaged, and would level the floor or shim the tub.
ceci | 3 years and 5 months ago
If u can make a pit stop at the, IronWorks, salvage business by Lowes in Gowanus off of 9th st ,you can ask the workers there. They definitely can advise you. Good luck!!!
cate | 3 years and 5 months ago
Maybe try calling a longstanding licensed plumber in Brooklyn and see what they say. They don’t specialize in iron feet but they definitely have experience with the weight of these tubs and plumbing them. As Steve says, they’ve likely encountered this issue a number of times.
andriywww1990 | 3 years and 5 months ago
certainly one of the plumbers on here has encountered this and maybe one will pipe up. i refinished the outside of one of these tubs decades ago but i had no issue with the legs, so i know nothing about them – or not anymore than i can see from the photo.
first, this is cast iron you are dealing with and so far nothing looks as though it has actually broken. cast can crack though and that is why someone said use a mallet and they do not mean a steel, lead or copper mallet. they mean a rubber or leather mallet. of take a piece of pine and set it against the pieces and tap the pine with a hammer.
in so far as how it goes together, the receiver and the leg have a triangular pitch to them so it looks like the narrow part of the piece slides into the wide part of the receiver. from there i wanted to say that a nail goes into that slot at the front of the part but then i looked at the photo – you have a nail on the back of the receiver. i suspect it might break off if you go to move it but perhaps if you can bend it gently, you might get it. maybe there is a hole in the other side for another nail, you can use that one? also, i suspect if you do break the nail, you will have a hard time getting it out of the iron (i would have a hard time doing that and i do this all the time; we end up drilling). as a last resort, some stick epoxy put on the iron, where is slides against the receiver, might hold it snug enough.
if you passed 1st grade jig saw puzzle assembly, you can do this. the only thing can see a less experienced person doing is hitting it with a steel hammer and that could create a problem. and do not force anything. if it does not move or go in, remove it and look at the problem. (we used to joke around and say this when we were fixing things, as a teenager: “when in doubt, take a hammer out”; that is the last thing you want to do).