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Returning to this question from a week ago, I've determined that the tub
can be sandblasted and then powder coated, and that it may make more
sense both environmentally and economically to do that rather than
replace it with a (good) new one that won't fit as well as this one does.
But I'm still trying to work through the durability and hardness
question.<br><br>
A finisher/powder coater I have worked with previously tells me that the
baking temperature is about 400oF and that the finish has these
properties:<br>
<font size=2>Film thickness - 1.5 to 2.5 mil<br>
Hardness (ASTM D-3363-92A) 4h<br>
Impact 160 in-lbs direct.Salt spray 1000 hrs<br><br>
</font>Anyone know how to gauge that? What might it compare to?<br><br>
Thanks,<br><br>
<br>
At 11:16 PM 7/19/2011, JOHN SALMEN wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">I’m sorry I was trying to be
humorous (on the dark green side) as well as a bit positive. I like the
notion of recycling a tub and the local labour involved. On the practical
side I have had to design numerous bathrooms and you have to look at the
clients needs and expectations.<br>
<br>
To be fair to the client I think it depends on the design and the
expectations. The tub is an artefact – even if it is renewed it will
stand out unless the overall bath design supports it as the old object
that it is and for that you need the client to want the old tub. You
cannot make an old tub look like a modern tub – it will be shiny but it
will still be the old tub. Unless the bathroom design can compensate or
make use of ANY potential defects in some imaginable perfection - I would
bring in a new tub. If the design and the clients interest can
support the old tub I would hazard that the life of an acrylic or
fibreglass tub would be equivalent to a renewed powder coated cast iron
tub.<br>
<br>
‘Neatnik’ clients I would further hazard would probably be more
comfortable with a new tub. I have had clients that simply were
fanatics about old cast iron tubs. I have had clients that have purchased
new cast iron tubs that have required significant floor engineering – but
these were clients that actually took baths that typically grew up with
cast iron tubs and could not be dissuaded . Next to overbuilt v8
heating systems tubs are high on the list of overbuilt and underused
items in a home that are part of what I call ‘cultural design
environmental failure’ – similar to 3 way switches . <br>
<br>
Free standing cast iron tubs take a lot of hot water to get to stay at
temp. A lot of the people that are addicted to this type of bath run the
hot water at a steady flow to keep the tub warm – these are not people
that I will design a freestanding tub for (if I have any influence) this
person requires a fully enclosed tub designs where you can create a
fully foamed enclosure that will retain heat for as long as it takes for
them to relax and get out of the tub.<br>
<br>
So on my checklist for this I would probably have<br>
- Client needs –
client education/advocacy?<br>
- Long term energy
considerations (hot water usage will outweigh any other cost if people
actually use the bath – but most people don’t take baths and the bath is
a decorative object)<br>
- Local employment
– local supply?<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<b>From:</b> David Bergman
[<a href="mailto:bergman@cyberg.com" eudora="autourl">
mailto:bergman@cyberg.com</a>] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> July-19-11 7:06 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Green Building; terrain@shaw.ca<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [Greenbuilding] renewing a cast iron tub<br>
<br>
At 09:37 PM 7/19/2011, JOHN SALMEN wrote:<br><br>
Actually there is nothing wrong with an old pitted cast iron tub
complete<br>
with iron (or blood) stains - it holds water and if I have a bath I am
going<br>
to either try to read a book (without getting it wet) or stare out
the<br>
window. It is just not shiny and 'nice' looking.<br><br>
I agree in principle, but there are two additional factors at work here.
One is that once the rest of the bathroom is renovated, the dulled or
pitted old tub is going to stand out (and not in a good way), and the
second is that the finish of this tub has become very hard to clean. Even
if the clients weren't neatniks (which they are), this would be a
problem.<br><br>
<br>
Will it last? Will it be durable? - what are we comparing it to - a
stock<br>
portfolio?<br><br>
I hope not. Stock portfolios have done pretty badly, no?<br><br>
More to the point, the conventional in-house recoating treatments -- in
many or most cases -- often don't last long at all. Sometimes five years
or less. I would be looking for the refinishing to last as long as the
bathroom renovation is likely to last. (25 years?) Otherwise, it makes
more sense to install a new tub while the walls are open.<br><br>
<br>
David Bergman RA LEED AP<br>
<b>DAVID BERGMAN</b> ARCHITECT / <b>FIRE & WATER</b> LIGHTING +
FURNITURE<br>
architecture . interiors . ecodesign . lighting . furniture<br>
bergman@cyberg.com
<a href="http://www.cyberg.com/">www.cyberg.com</a><u> </u><br>
241 Eldridge Street #3R, New York, NY 10002<br>
t 212 475 3106 f 212 677 7291 </blockquote>
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