How to Determine the Age of a Clawfoot Tub (2024)

FAQs

What are antique claw foot tubs made of? ›

Clawfoot tubs are traditionally made from cast iron, but they are also made from acrylic materials as well.

In the early 19th century, clawfoot bathtubs were a mark of social standing and luxury, placed in private baths in wealthy homes where servants could fill them with water and have enough space around the sides to help a person bathe.

Clawfoot Tubs Are Pricey

They're expensive. Like, can average well over $1,500. At least that's what you're likely to pay for a new clawfoot tub, whether it's cast iron or acrylic.

“Tub manufacturers identified their products with stamps that often included the date of manufacture,” according to hunker.com. “Locating the stamp is the best way to tell how old a particular clawfoot is, but if the stamp missing, you may have to make the determination from the condition of the tub and other factors.”

For real? Yep, per the survey's participants, homes that had a claw-foot bathtub in the listing sold, on average, for 29 percent above asking price.

Cast Iron Tubs typically weigh around 300 pounds vs. an Acrylic Clawfoot Tub averaging around 120 pounds.

The clawfoot tub had its origins in mid 18th century Europe, where the claw and ball foot design was initially created in Holland and soon spread to England and the states after that.

PRO: Clawfoot tubs that include a hand shower are much easier to clean than a traditional tub because the flexible shower hose allows you to target water to wash and rinse any part of the tub easily. It also allows you to wash or rinse big things – like, say, a dog – more easily than you could in a traditional bathtub.

Since these tubs were originally designed to adorn the lavish bathrooms of the social elite, on average they're worth a few thousand dollars (in good condition). Tubs that bear the manufacturers' markings of historic companies like Crane, Mott, Kohler, Standard Sanitary Manufacturing, and L.

These beautiful tubs hearken back to a simpler time and add a touch of class to any space. However, the cost to refinish and reglaze a bathtub like this is much higher, between $500 to $1,200. Despite the high price tag, reglazing your porcelain clawfoot tub can extend its life by about 10 to 15 years.

Do Walk-In Tubs decrease home value? ›

It depends on certain factors such as the location of your house, the people living inside and also the potential buyers. Walk-in tubs add great value to a home if there are elderly and physically disabled individuals residing in it. It increases safety and adds convenience to the bather.

Look at the underside of the tub for a mold number. If you don't find one, search around the faucet and spigot fixtures and on the inside of the clawfoot. A mold number will help you find out who the manufacturer was, which will help you date the tub's approximate year of origin. Check the tub's rim.

The average cast iron tub weighs between 250 to 500 pounds and can hold up to 82 gallons of water. On the flip side, an empty acrylic bathtub weighs up to 120 pounds and generally holds around 32-40 gallons of water.

For example, clawfoot and cast iron tubs are great sources of scrap metal and companies will potentially pay you more for your bathtub depending on the materials you have on hand.

The clawfoot tub was popular from the 1880's to the 1930's. It was the flu epidemic after WWI that was the downfall of these beautiful fixtures. People knew little about the illness, and became concerned with germs and cleanliness.

The enamel is the hard, shiny surface that coats the inside of the tub. The outside of the tub can be sanded and painted, but the enamel on the inside of the tub is more difficult to restore.

Prep Your Clawfoot Tub for the Move

(Trust us, it's easier to do this now!) After your moving blankets and straps are beneath the tub, have your moving buddy lift up one corner of the tub while you unscrew a foot. Work your way around the tub, lying the tub down gently on the moving blanket after each foot is removed.

How heavy is a clawfoot tub? All bathtubs are heavy, but clawfoot tubs tend to be especially heavy – particularly the cast-iron models. A cast-iron tub can easily weight 200-400 pounds while empty – fill it with water and climb in and you're looking at several hundred pounds of weight.

If you have a cast iron sink or tub, it may very well be worth scrapping, especially if you can't find some way of selling it to someone else. While you can find ways to repurpose a cast iron sink or tub, you may also need to get rid of it from your home.

What era is claw foot furniture? ›

The ball and claw foot, was introduced in the 1700s and is a well known furniture foot in its own right. The design of the ball and claw originated in the Orient and later circulated throughout Europe.

American Standard, previously known as Standard Manufacturing Company, began making cast iron bathtubs as early as 1875. In 1883, Kohler's “horse trough/hog scalder” was sold as a bathtub due to the easily-cleaned surface of the porcelain enamel.

The Cons of Clawfoot Bathtubs

The problem is that cleaning a clawfoot tub is not as easy as you may think. If you choose to install a clawfoot bathtub, you will have to clean beneath the tub and around the feet. If your tub is placed against the wall, it may be tough to reach that side due to limited space.

The market itself has seen a surge in freestanding bathtubs especially, with their popularity growing over the past 10 years. So while showers and bathtubs might be priced similarly, bathtubs are more beneficial in increasing the value of your home as the market views them as more valuable fixtures.

32 Gallons of water capacity.

Find a strong magnet and hold it against the wall of your bathtub. If it sticks, then your tub is made of steel or cast iron. Unlike metal, acrylic and fiberglass bathtubs are not magnetic.

In a study involving over 1400 bathtubs, approximately 62% of the tubs tested positive for leachable lead with lead check swabs (77% of the cast iron bathtubs and 25% of the steel tubs were positive. 100% of the clawfoot bathtubs we tested had extremely high levels of lead leaching from the surface.)

In general, removing a tub and installing a well-appointed walk-in shower also increases the value of a home. Removing your only tub to install a walk-in shower can make your home's value take a hit because most prospective homebuyers, especially families with small kids, want at least one bathtub.

Reglaze your cast iron tubs for the following reasons:

You want to repaint the tub a different color, which you easily can with a cast iron tub. You plan to sell your house soon and reglazing it will save you money, saving you about $750, whereas replacing it would cost you anywhere from $600 to $1,500.

For an average cost of $350 to $500—a fraction of the $1,200 to $5,000 expense of a new cast-iron or steel tub installed—refinishers can make an antique fixture look brand new. "Professional refinishing can be a cost-efficient solution for that retro look," Trethewey says.

How long does tub reglazing last? ›

The short answer is that a professional reglaze will last 10-15 years. The long answer is that there are other factors in prolonging the glaze and finish of your bathtub. Refinishing helps protect the integrity of your bathtub.

Long wait: Bathers have to enter the tub before filling it and can't exit until it's fully drained. Risk of chills: Some walk-in tubs fill and drain slowly, which may leave a bather at risk of becoming chilled. Higher-end models offer heated seats and rapid draining to avert these issues.

The average cost for a walk-in tub is $2,000 to $5,000, not including installation, but luxury models can run $20,000 or more. This guide will break down the pros and cons of walk-in tubs so homeowners can decide if the cost is a worthwhile investment.

Old Tub Removal

On average, it costs $50 to $100 to remove an old tub and get it out of the house. However, it could run more if the old tub is made from cast iron, in which case the contractor may need to break it with a sledgehammer and then haul out the pieces.

A clawfoot 60-inch acrylic tub weighs 75 pounds and a 60 inch cast iron clawfoot tub is 325 pounds. A larger, 70+ inch acrylic tub with clawfeet is about 160# and in cast iron 468# is a common weight for a similar size and style tub.

Cast Iron Tub Removal Cost. To remove a standard cast iron tub, you can expect to pay anywhere from $255-$395. Based on where the tub is location in the home or on the property, your cost could be more.

In a study involving over 1400 bathtubs, approximately 62% of the tubs tested positive for leachable lead with lead check swabs (77% of the cast iron bathtubs and 25% of the steel tubs were positive. 100% of the clawfoot bathtubs we tested had extremely high levels of lead leaching from the surface.)

The typical mid-19th-century bathtub was a product of the tinsmith's craft, a shell of sheet copper or zinc. In progressive houses equipped with early water-heating devices, a large bathtub might be site-made of sheet lead and anchored in a coffin-like wooden box.

Materials. Bathtubs in older homes in the 1950s usually had an enameled iron bathtub in white. Bathrooms undergoing a post-war renovation, however, usually featured a ceramic (or its porcelain byproduct) bathtub in one of the wide array of colors newly available.