When we restored our ugly folk Victorian home it had no bathroom upstairs. When we designed our new bath we wanted luxury, timeless design, and historic appropriateness, but we didn't want to spend a fortune. On our list of must-haves was an original cast-iron clawfoot tub. We were able to beat the price of a new tub by about $2500. Better yet, we got an original 1908 Kohler clawfoot that with care will last at least another century. You can't say that for the new (and expensive) junk tubs. Here's how we restored our drop-dead gorgeous tub for under $550. 1. Found a good tub on Craigslist: Cost $150 On Craigslist you can always find someone willing to find a home for their old clawfoot tub. Not everyone appreciates true beauty. All they can see is a rusted piece of ugly junk. The good news is that they will probably give it to you for practically nothing. We found one without too much rust. But don't worry about the rust as much as making sure that it's a solid tub without pock marks that might need major repair.

Don't worry about missing drain parts either; those are easy to replace. If you find a tub with missing legs, you may be able to find matching legs at a local salvage store or online. 2. Remove rust and old finish: Cost $45 You can spend a lot of time sanding off all the rust you're certain to find on your salvaged tub. However, I wanted to make sure that this thing looked brand new and would hold up with new paint and reglazing. I took the tub over to a tombstone maker. I knew they would have a good sandblaster. For only $45 they sandblasted the entire exterior (bottom and sides, but not the porcelain) down to the raw iron. 3. Prime immediately: Cost $5 Iron rusts quickly, so we had to work fast. I made sure to put a couple of good coats of metal primer on the cast iron within a few hours after it was sand blasted. We painted the exterior of the tub before installing it. This made it a lot easier to reach every part of the tub. I turned the tub upside down and used a small roller to apply several smooth layers of paint.

5. Set in place: Cost: sore back for 8 years We made sure to measure the tub first before carrying it upstairs. One regret, we only used two people to carry it. I highly recommend no fewer than four strong folks to lift this thing. Cast iron tubs can weigh 250-350 lbs. Get help. 6. Reglaze interior - $300 Reglazing is a job left to the professionals. Rottweiler Puppies For Sale York PaWe hired an amazing contractor, Ron Benedict, from Perma-Glaze. Persian Cats For Sale In Philadelphia PaHe was able to paper and tent the entire bathroom and reglaze the interior portion of the tub. Beagle Puppies For Sale In Sydney NswIt looked brand new. And when I accidentally dropped a screw driver and chip the new finish while I was installing the hardware, Ron kindly came over and repaired my unfortunate ding.

And here's the final product! I have an old bathtub drain assembly that is similar to this: As far as I can tell, the linkage broke off completely due to old age. If I unscrew the trip lever and cover, it's not attached to anything and I can't feel anything if I try to reach inside. I'm reasonably certain that the plunger is down since water doesn't drain from the tub. Is there an easy way to retrieve the plunger? I've tried using a pickup tool from harbor freight: This was unsuccessful after 30-40 minutes of trying. I really don't relish the thought of crawling under the house with our 8-legged friends and dismantling the drain. Any/all suggestions are welcome. plumbing bathroom bathtub drain Unfortunately, I think you're fixin' to go for a crawl with the crawlies. (At least you have that option -- the same task in my house would require a jackhammer.) There SHOULD be a P-trap below the drain. If you can get the tailpiece off of the bottom of the tub (unscrew the metal drain, then the tailpiece should pop out), you should be able to spear the plug.

I just had this problem this morning and searched online for a solution, which is how I stumbled on this page. My lever would go up and down, but would not release the plug to drain the tub. I took the lever mechanism apart and the plug was not attached. I actually tried that same grabber tool but it didn't work. On a whim, I thought to try a using a c-hook, which I opened a bit more using a pair of pliers. Then I wrapped the screw-end of the c-hook with string, and lowered it into the hole. Somehow I hooked the plug on the very first attempt, and it pulled right out. Before I reattached the fixture, I used the pliers to close the hook around the plug so that it didn't dislodge again. Here's what I used to fish out the plug. I got it on the 4th try in about 15 seconds. I just had the same problem, and what I did, is bought ZEP brand crystal drain cleaner (available from Home Depot or Lowe's). Simply remove the overflow plate (2 screws) and pour some CRYSTAL drain cleaner down the overflow tube using a funnel.

Using a funnel again, pour some cold water down the tube (about 3 cups) let it clean the crud out. It does smell and burns your nose a bit. Then run about a quart of water down the tube again to rinse it out. Next use a grabber claw tool (available at auto parts stores) and just start grabbing. I grabbed the linkage on the 3rd try. Put the linkage back together and you're done! I had this problem and took a wire coat hanger, straightened it, then bent a little hook on the end of it. After 10-15 attempts, I snagged it enough to release a little water out of the tub. After another five minutes I was able to dislodge the plug. I took it all the way out and everything is now working properly. I had the same problem and was able to suck the plastic stopper up through the overflow with a shop vac and then grab it with a pair of pliers to get it out. The spring loaded pickup tool did not work. However, a coat hanger about 20" long with a 1/2" bent hook at the end worked. You need to stick the coat hanger down to the stopper and hook under the cross piece that the stopper rod is attached.