Need help restoring an acrylic bath

Joed1977

Hi - we have a white acrylic bath that is looking old and tired with discoloration and stress marks (tiny wiggly cracks that occur over time but over a large area). Because the bathroom is tiled completely, replacing the bath would be costly as we would need to replace the tiles. I got a quote for restoration and it comes to £299. Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how i can get it back to its original state but at a lesser cost? Thanks Jo

JohnB47

Would you really have to replace the tiles - all of them? Wouldn't it be possible to remove the bath and slip a new one in, perhaps raising the floor so as to allow it to tuck up to the existing tiles? maybe just needing a few tiles to be replaced, or ones that match suitably.


Our bathroom fitter put tiles all around the bath then scraped the bath. We insisted he replace it and it was all done without effecting the tiles. OK, it was exactly the same bath but still, I think this is possible in your case.


I've no experience of restoring an acrylic bath but I feel it may not be a long term fix. Cracking suggests flexing and this may cause the restoration to fail in time.

Joed1977

Thanks John. To be honest Ive no idea if a new bath can be put in without damaging the existing tiles. The bath also has the taps in the centre just to make matters worse so we need to look for a similar bath. Im not sure whether to contact a plumber and ask them to take a look. would they be able to tell me whether they can remove and replace with no damage?

JohnB47

Hmmm. Yes, the taps. That will need pipework to be moved unless you can find an identical replacement bath - perhaps unlikely.


Plumbers will advise of course but their work would be costly and they may think the job too small to justify their efforts. Maybe find a local bathroom fitter who might quote for it?


Perhaps others will chip in as to the wisdom of restoration versus replacement.

Joed1977

Thats my dilemma. The existing tiles, the tap positioning. I am a bit stuck really. im thinking a new bath will be at least £20 then with new taps and a plug plus labour it may be cheaper to restore the old one. just not sure how long it would last?

blackshirtuk

Never used it or recommend it but ......definitely MSE if it works!

worth a go if you decide the only way is a replacement bath.

https://www.tubbyuk.com/shop/bath-resurfacing-kits/tubby-standard?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm6HaBRCbARIsAFDNK-gLolfj8QM88lfpQ-4RL2u0fGlCs-uxl5dUkcFtxFUf-g1uyEYilBwaAmooEALw_wcB

oscarj

try to look for repair kits, maybe
it's not the best idea, but it's definitely cheaper, than replacing the bath

Doozergirl

It's pretty easy to find a bath with tap holes in the middle, that's not a problem at all.

I can't imagine spending £299 'restoring' something that didn't cost that much in the first place if it's cracking. It sounds very much like a false economy.

It's not ideal to replace a bath with the existing tiles. It's likely that some will be damaged getting the baths in and out. There's also the potential issue of getting a good seal between bath and tiles.

Head_The_Ball

Joed1977 wrote: »

.... The bath also has the taps in the centre just to make matters worse so we need to look for a similar bath. Im not sure whether to contact a plumber and ask them to take a look. would they be able to tell me whether they can remove and replace with no damage?

If you prefer a bath with taps at one end, then it should be a simple and straightforward job to reroute the existing plumbing.

Everything will be hidden by the bath so you won't see it.

I doubt if renovation of the existing bath will look anything like as good as a new bath so, if you can, get a new one.

You could put one row of contrasting tiles along the top of the bath if the existing tiles get damaged. That could look very nice.