For as long as I’ve known they existed, which is basically my whole life, I have always wanted a clawfoot tub. I think they’re so pretty, so classic, and most importantly, a very comfy way to take a nice, relaxing bubble bath.
I was ecstatic when we first looked at our house and it already had one. We made plans to move it to our main bathroom upstairs…
…which we’ve now expanded and prepped for its weight.
Clawfoot tubs are heavy, y’all, and we thought that reinforcing the floor would be our biggest issue.
How naïve we were.
See, somewhere along the line in its lifetime, the bowl of our clawfoot tub got painted with standard white house paint. You can paint a clawfoot any color you’d like on the outside, but they’re meant to have a porcelain finish on the inside, which is durable and shiny. Not sure why someone painted ours the way they did, but we figured we’d deal with it. No big issue, right?
Wrong.
After weeks of trying to rent a sandblaster for an afternoon in order to remove the white paint – a seemingly impossible task that was coming in at estimates around $300 – and then receiving a quote for $600 to have that work done for us, we finally gave up. We decided to just buy a clawfoot tub that we found for $350 from a very nice older gentleman in West Virginia.
Does it feel dumb to buy a tub when we already have one? Yes. Yes, it does. But when it’s a lower price? And all we have to do is drive an hour? No, no it doesn’t.
So a couple of weeks ago we took a small road trip and picked up a new (old) clawfoot tub, which is in great shape and only needs a good cleaning. The tub we’ve already got? We’re giving it to a creative friend for a gardening project, which I’m sure will be beautiful.
For now, both tubs are sitting in our garage. Soon enough, though, we’ll have the bathroom of my dreams, complete with the tub I’ve always wanted.
Renovations are crazy.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 
There’s nothing like those old iron claw-foots! They keep the water warm and are classic in time. Good for you getting another! Can’t have enough of them at a great price to boot!
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They are just so nice! And they feel so substantial. I’m so excited to finally have one and be able to use it in my own space.
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Life mimicking life? I have lived in two houses with them, and they are great for bathing!
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I’m so excited to finally get the bathroom done and have the tub in place and ready to go. Gotta get through the kitchen work first, but I think things will move pretty quickly.
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Enjoy that first bath! And please watch your step as you get out! 💕
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I plan to do both! (I’ll probably save it until after Baby Girl is here, though, because I’m even more clumsy than usual right now and don’t want to take any chances.)
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Ah, the conundrum. Buy an older home and spend hours (more than you anticipated) and $$ remodeling it the way you want or build a new house and spend hours (you anticipated none, or course) and $$$ correcting the things that the builder did wrong and you discovered the week after the short warranty expired or correcting the poor decisions you made when planning the home. Let’s just say I miss my old home.
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I don’t blame you! I wouldn’t trade my old house for anything, even though it’s a lot of work. Totally worth it. 🙂
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Love your title. It was the best of tubs, it was the worst of tubs… So sad our house’s claw foot was already in the yard when we moved in!
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Indeed, the best and worst! I’m excited to get the bathroom done so we can see what the new one looks like in the space.
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I’ve never had a claw-foot tub but they are beautiful. I never knew they were so heavy.
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Beautiful and heavy, it’s true. We had to do a lot of work on the floor to make sure it could support the tub, but it’s so worth it. Or, at least, it’s going to be when it’s done. 🙂
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Renovations usually come with some challenges.
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Very true. Can attest.
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