Improving your bath-tub

So you would like to renovate your bathroom, but have discovered the pastel blue tub just doesn't match your olive green and white tiles. Well, fear not. You may not need to fork out the big bucks for a new tub. These days there are plenty ways you can make your old tub seem like new.

Refinishing your bath

There are several types of finishes you can apply to your old tub to get it looking like new, some of which you can do yourself. Any large home improvement store should have epoxy-based coatings, but there are a few things you need to know before you start.

First, many of the chemicals in resurfacing mixtures can be toxic, so proper ventilation is essential. Be careful of using the bathroom fan because it can attract dust particles from the rest of the house, which settle into your new surface. Not conducive to a comfortable soak, or a good look!

Make sure that all of the surfaces to be coated (as this could include the tiles too) have been properly cleaned, dried, and all cracks and chips filled. You may also need to do an acid wash to make the surfaces more porous. Make sure all other surfaces are covered properly to ensure other surfaces don't get sprayed as well, and wear protective clothing and gloves.

Bath improvement: Patience required

Depending on the instructions on the product you use, you will probably need to wait up to 12 hours for the product to be properly dried, so make sure you have a bathroom back up plan!

For many people, doing it yourself is not a good option, and your bathtub could look worse for it! For as little as $450 you can get a professional to do all the hard work for you in as little as four hours. They will properly prepare surfaces, and can cover ugly tiles as well (and this also means that grout will also be sealed, so scraping mildew from in between tiles will be relegated to your own history books!).

Most professionals, depending on the product they use, will apply up to three coats of refinishing solution, use professional ventilation gear to reduce the likelihood of particles entering the wet solution, and clean up when they're done.

The type of resurfacing mixture used can vary from one professional to another, with some using polymer resins that have the look and feel of porcelain, while others might use urethane-based coats, The latter can be colour match to suit almost any bathroom fixtures, and would be a good option if you wanted to stray from white.

You may want to think about the rest of your bathroom while you're at it. Along with tubs and tiles, sinks and even toilets can be included. In a single afternoon, you could have a new bathroom without the price tag.