Claw-foot tub purchase

Randy and I bought a claw-foot tub for the cabin today. I've been looking for a good deal because the budget for this item -- like many others -- is a bit of a problem. I naively thought at the outset of this project that antique, salvage materials I want to use in the house would cost about the same as new ones. I've since found out everything from wood flooring to hardware and newel posts costs twice as much or more if it's salvaged.

Our builder based the budget on standard, new materials, and that budget is all we can afford. Claw-foot tubs are a case in point. Our budget for the two bathtubs the cabin will have is $500 each. You can buy a new claw-foot bathtub at Home Depot or Lowe's for $2,000 to $2,500. Price aside, this is not really what I want. I know I'm going to have to compromise on some things, buying new items that look like old ones, but I want to use materials that really are old if it's at all possible.

An architectural salvage business in Cullman, Ala., sells refinished claw-foot tubs. But the cheapest ones are $1,200. My grandmother saw an ad in the newspaper last week for a claw-foot tub that needs refinishing.

It was in Birmingham, and Randy, the kids and I stopped and looked at it last Sunday after leaving my parents' house there and heading back home to Tuscaloosa. It was on a trailer along with a bunch of other stuff the couple selling it were about to haul off to the dump. One claw foot is broken, but other than that, it's in pretty good shape. It definitely needs to be refinished, as there seems to be a layer of white paint on it that's peeling.

Here are some more photos I took:

The tub, along with a bunch of other "junk," was in a barn on property the couple bought about a year ago. The previous owner was supposed to clean out the barn, but never did. The couple didn't know anything about where the tub had come from originally.

I tried to get a few quotes on refinishing claw-foot tubs last week, but only got one -- $450 -- from the salvage place in Cullman. They said they carry a lot of claw feet, and I could probably find a similar one there. That will be $25. The couple was asking $200 for the tub. I got them to come down to $175 because of the broken claw foot. I briefly researched claw-foot tub refinishing kits. They cost $75 to $150 and basically allow you to perform a high-tech paint job. I might give this a try if I can't find someone to refinish the tub for $300 or less, which would put the total cost within the $500 budget. In a way, I would enjoy doing the project myself, but it requires a lot of sanding and the paint on the tub might have lead in it. I also know a professional would do a better job, and the finish would last longer. Apparently, seven to 10 years is the longest a refinishing job will last under the best circumstances.

I decided I could figure all that out later; the tub itself was a good deal, so I made arrangements to pick it up Saturday. A few weeks ago, Randy left his trailer on the property where the cabin is going to be built on Lookout Mountain, so my dad met us with his trailer Saturday morning. The tub weighs about 300 pounds. The man we bought it from has a tractor with a boom on it. He already had the tub attached to the boom with a chain when we got there yesterday morning. He lowered it into Dad's trailer and we turned it upside down since it was more stable that way.

Dad took the tub to his house and is leaving it on the trailer until I figure out what to do with it.

Randy and I went on to Lookout Mountain to see if our builder has accomplished anything else. The well house has been torn down, but that's it. Scott, the builder, is waiting for a subcontractor to drill out the existing well a bit more before he pours footings for the house. We expected the walls to be up by now. Oh, well. I guess I have plenty of time to refinish the tub and find another one.