[eosei]

I have a house built in 1982. It has American Standard 5ft by 30inches square bathtub surrounded by tiles. It is looking old with a little rust to the left of it where the pipe is located.
I am planning to replace this old bathtub by myself. I have already replaced all the toilets and sinks in the house by myself. I am looking for practical ideas from members before I undertake this project.Anyway, the bathtub is made of cast iron.

Thanks in advance,
Eric.

[Ricanrod]

Changing out the tub is a pretty hefty task , especially because of it being cast iron . You may want to check into having it resurfaced , or refinished . They do it in place , and a lot cheaper than replacement .

[speedball1]

If it were me I'd refinish the cast iron tub but if you wish to replace it here's how we remove them. We first unhook the trap from the tub waste. Then we put on a pair of safety goggles, take a sledge hammer and take that sucker out in pieces.What will you be replacing it with? Good luck, Tom

[eosei]

What do you mean by refinish the iron cast tub?

Thanks,
Eric.

[speedball1]

What do you mean by refinish the iron cast tub?

Thanks,
Eric.

You can buy a refinishing kit for about $75, but many people report a high failure rate with these kits. The problem lies in getting a good bond between the new epoxy coating and the old tub finish.

To get the best bond, you must get the bathtub as clean as possible. Although the tub’s surface may appear to be smooth and unbroken, it actually has many tiny pores that collect dirt. The pros handle this problem by giving the tub a strong bath with industrial-strength acid. You can, however, get fairly good results by using a very strong solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate) available at paint dealers and home centers.

Follow the directions for mixing a solution at the strength required for removing paint. Wear eye protection and rubber gloves when using this solution.

Clean the tub with TSP solution and a stiff-bristle scrub brush or sponge. Scrub the tub repeatedly - this is the most important step of the job.

If you fail to get the surface clean, the epoxy will peel off. After washing the tub, rinse it with clear water to remove the TSP.

The next step is to sand the surface to break the glaze of the porcelain finish. Use 80-grit wet-dry paper to wet sand the tub.

Again, this must be a complete job - any section left unsanded is a candidate for a peeling finish. The final step is to apply the epoxy. This comes in a resurfacing kit that contains the necessary tools - rollers and brushes - plus the epoxy finish and instructions.

Because professionals use heat to cure their epoxy finishes, they estimate that the new surface will hold up for as long as seven years.

With a careful and complete cleaning and sanding job, you should get at least five years service from a refinished tub before the process has to be repeated.
Or, if you would be interested in relining, click on back and I'll turn you on to a site that sells liners. Hope this helps and thank you for rating my reply. TOM