The endless bathtub project

For many, post retirement plans involve some kind of home improvement project. For me, it was replacing the shower curtain in my bathroom with a sliding glass door. On reflection, I don't know why I felt I needed to do this. But I did.

My small bathroom has a sink and commode on one side and a combo molded bath/shower on the other. The sink and all accessories (TP holder, faucets, wastebasket, drinking glass, Kleenex holder, mirror trim) are all colored what is commonly known as "oil-rubbed bronze." Which I like since it looks sorta manly. So when asked by the person who was to install my new sliding glass shower door the color trim I wanted, I of course replied, "oil-rubbed bronze." And that was what was very competently installed.

What I realized, now able to gaze through my lovely glass doors, was that the fixtures in the tub itself were chrome. How tacky to have half the bathroom metallic silver and the other deep brown. Simple enough to correct, I thought. Just replace:

• Shower pipe and shower head.
• Tub faucet and cover plate
• Tub spout
• Overflow cover
• Drain
• Grab bar affixed to the tub

I will tackle one piece at a time, basking in the sense of accomplishment as each task is completed!

I started with the overflow cover and drain:

 

Amazon promised they would be easy to install. What they didn't day was how hard the old ones were to remove. Nor did they say that if one did not tighten the new drain sufficiently, water from the tub would drip through the ceiling of the laundry closet downstairs. But after only a couple sleepless nights of worry, these pieces were successfully installed. (And after watching several YouTune how-to videos.)

Next I tackled the shower head and shower pipe:

This time I shopped at Home Depot. The pipe was easy. I only had to try two shower heads before I got one that sprayed at the right angle. Two trips to the store. For me, not bad.

While at Home Depot, I picked up a bronze tub spout. It looked like this and claimed to be universal:

It wasn't. The Home Depot plumbing guru suggested I go to a plumbing supply store with a photo of the pipe to which the spout needed to be attached. See below:

The lady behind the counter of the plumbing supply store laughed and informed me that that style of connection had not been used since the early 1980s. And good luck finding a bronze spout in that style - they didn't carry them. So I reattached the old chrome spout and tackled the faucet and plate next.

What you are looking at here are actually two pieces. A faucet (the round part in the middle with the handle) and a large plate that covers the holes left when the tub had separate hot and cold faucets. Neither Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, Target, Walmart, or Ace Hardware carried the cover plate in bronze. I finally found one used via Amazon. Surprisingly, once in hand, these were fairly easy to install. Except the handle. I eventually turned off the water, turned the spout upside down (open), and used gravity to help me insert and tighten the set screw. Thankfully I had the presence of mind to close the drain which kept the often dropped screw from being lost forever. And me from having to make yet another trip to Home Depot.

That left two seemingly insurmountable replacements to make. The tub spout and the grab bar that was a part of the tub itself:

Yeah, that irremovable bar like the one above. Just an FYI to other do-it-yourselfers, a vice grip will not budge these bars, but it will leave a nice dent in them. What to do...

Then one night during my 3am worry-fest, I hit on a solution: just paint the existing chrome bits! And Amazon even helped me find the right paint - first click:

So yesterday, I set the tub spout in a cardboard box and sprayed the dickens out of it - two coats. I carefully taped the areas around the grab bar in the tub and sprayed two coats of bronze on it as well. 

This morning I reinstalled a nice looking tub spout that now matches my sink faucet handles (in color if not in style) and the grab bar is nicely browned.

As is one streak where the paint got through the masking on the tub. Given that the paint is a dark brown, it looks like another substance commonly found in bathrooms - but usually not in bathtubs. I have faith Home Depot will be able to sell me some kind of paint remover that will not eat the tub as well. Although the can promises that the paint "bonds" to plastic. Ominous.

While projects like this don't really determine whether one is leading a happy, productive life, they certainly make one reflect on one's competence - not just as a handyman, but as someone who has any foresight at all. It's a wonder I kept a job.

I'm going to give it a week or so before tackling my next home improvement task.

Comments

[Kenn Gorman]

I seem to constantly hear that there are shortages of plumbers - second career?

[Doug Johnson]

Me as a plumber is just a bunch of lawsuits waiting to happen!

Doug

[miraculous definition]

You replace a lot of things, as I see. But the result is amazing. There is no doubt that you are doing hard work here. You inspired me on my own bathtub project. Thanks!