Home Remodeling: Eliminate Ugly Tubs & Tile
In my day job as a real estate agent, I’ve seen lots of ugly home features.
Some are easier to fix than others.
One of my favorite fixes is to reglaze an old bathtub or tile. I’ve reglazed tubs in 2 of my prior homes. And I’ve helped several of my clients eliminate resale problems when they were ready to move.
One of my current listings had a prior owner who seemed to like the color pink. My client bought the condo as a foreclosure and fixed it up for resale. I knew we needed to get rid of the pink jacuzzi tub and fireplace surround, and glazing them is a much more cost effective solution than replacing them.
Jacuzzi Tub:
BEFORE
AFTER
While the cultured marble surround definitely has a pink streak throughout it, you don’t notice it nearly as much once the tub has been painted a bright white.
Add a good cleaning and freshly painted walls, and the bathroom has a whole new look.
Fireplace Tile Surround:
BEFORE
AFTER
This 2 way fireplace opens up to the living room and the master bedroom. In the living room, the ceramic tile surround was a nice neutral gray that would go well with any decor. The bedroom side, however, was pink.
Horrible.
My glazing contractor covered all of the pink tile with a granite looking gray pattern. The glaze goes right over the grout so it won’t ever get dirty.
After the walls were painted and new carpeting was installed, the fireplace in the bedroom becomes a bonus feature that is hard to find rather than an outdated problem no one wants in their home.
This condo is still for sale. It’s getting great feedback and not a single complaint about the bathroom or fireplace.
See the condo real estate listing…
Ultimate Makeover:
As I mentioned at the start of this article, I’ve been involved in reglazing a number of items over the years.
In fact, my first house had an ancient built-in oven that worked perfectly well. The only problem with it was that it was avocado green. And it was a size that isn’t standard anymore. Replacing it would have been very expensive. So I had my contractor glaze the green oven black.
Yes, the knobs were still looked old fashioned, but an older-looking black oven was a huge improvement over a green one.
Still, neither the pink tub above nor the green oven takes the #1 spot for the ultimate makeover.
ULTIMATE GLAZING MAKEOVER WINNER
A couple of years ago one of my former clients called me when he was ready to sell the condo I helped him purchase.
I knew the red master tub was going to be a problem, but removing it was such a daunting task that we decided to put the condo on the market and see how buyers would react.
First, you need to understand the setup to get the full effect.
The master bathroom had the vanity straight ahead. To the left was the toilet and to the right was the shower/tub combo. The jacuzzi tub was 5 ft x 7 ft. That’s the size of a hot tub. It was surrounded by mirrored walls in it’s own little room. Think bachelor pad in the 1970s.
There wasn’t a separate shower so you had to step into the tub to take your shower. All those mirrors and all that red…it was overwhelming just to look at. I really can’t imagine seeing myself in mirrors in the round in that tub every morning.
Buyers reacted the way I expected. They didn’t say that the tub was a deal breaker, but it bothered them and it became just one more thing that they weren’t sure about with the condo. We were on the market after the housing market had crashed and condos were nearly impossible to sell. This red tub was a problem.
We considered actually ripping it all out and putting in a nice shower but the bid was around $5,000. After talking to my contractors, we decided that reglazing it was the best solution.
Remarkably, once we got rid of the red color, we never heard another complaint about the bathroom. Soon after, the condo sold.
Jim even was nice enough to record a video review for me.
The glazing process can be done on bathtubs, cultured marble, wall tile, floor tile and formica countertops. If you have a decorating problem in your home that might benefit from glazing and you live in the St. Louis area, let me know and I can connect you with my contractor.
