clawfoot tub questions

[Talonstorm]

So, I finally closed on my house. I am planning on moving in the last weekend of May, so I am taking some time now to do clean up/painting, etc. The first floor bathroom needs some work. Here is a picture:


The claw foot tub is fit very tightly into the end of the bathroom. Behind the tub is filthy and the walls on both ends need some patching. In addition the paint on the outside of the tub is chipping off and looks pretty crappy. How hard do you think this will be to remove? I don't want this to turn into a nightmare, but, I feel like I need to remove the tub in order to strip and paint it properly and repair/paint the walls in the room.

Any thoughts or suggestions on this?

Thanks, Tina

PS - if you look hard, you can see a little metal door where the finger pull would be on the window. Is this common? When you flip it up, it is open to the outside. Some kind of way to let steam and moisture out of the bathroom?

[mross_pitt]

I can't really tell the paint damage from the photos, but it seems way to much work to touch up the walls. Cleaning is challenging but can be done. The tub can be repainted in place as well.

Is it a four foot tub? Two people could carry it, but you would also have to take out the toilet because nobody can lift from the wall side. There are odorless paint strippers to strip the tub in place if the repair requires more than some sanding. The other question would be what's behind the wall where the drain pipes and supply lines are?
You would basically have to break open a section of that wall as well or reinstalling the tub will be nearly impossible. It's easy to rip it out but putting it back in isn't.

Is that finger pull on the lower sash? That wouldn't let anything out in that case. Not sure there's any purpose for that. I also noticed that the shower head would spray the wall in it's current configuration.

[PowerMuffin]

We have a small claw foot position the same way but with about 6" to the walls at each end. We pulled out the toilet and the tub to sand the floors down and patch the walls. We had no problems putting it back together and my husband is certainly not a plumber!
Diane

[Sashguy]

Small metal door? Nope. I've been repairing sash windows for the majority of my life and have seen some winners, but never a door. My best guess is that the PO had some rot caused from the humidity in the bath and decided to make the best of a bad situation. Due to structural considerations, you might put a new lower rail on your long term to-do list.

[MWeber]

I've seen "doors" similar to that in wood storm windows to allow ventilation when needed so maybe that just what it does. It looks to pivot on the left side. I'll try to post a link tomorrow to a picture of what I'm talking about. OTOH sashguy may be correct.

[MWeber]

link to a fine homebuilding article showing the vent "door". Have to be a member of the fine homebuilding sight to actually read the article but there is a small picture on the linked page showing the movable flap on the bottom rail. http://www.finehomebuilding.com/how-to/ ... c=ts&ra=fp

[mross_pitt]

A vent in a storm window would be reasonable, but not In the main sash. That wouldn't make much sense.

I was also going to suggest a rotten lower sash that had a "make-do" repair.
Then again, it could be anything. People are sometimes very creative. I wouldn't be surprised if you found that it was used to connect a garden hose to the tub to wash cars or water the plants.

[Talonstorm]

Interesting ideas on the little door on the window. I will take a closer picture of that tonight if I remember. It does indeed pivot up on the left side. The lower rail doesn't seem to be rotted. The hole that the pivoting door covers was cut through.

In regards to the tub. The linoleum is new, so the tub would have been pulled out to have that put in. I think for the time being, I will refinish the front of the tub in place. I can get to the walls to paint with a small roller and brush. At some point I will likely pull out the tub, but I will be putting tile down at that time. For now, since I am not planning on tiling yet, it seems like too much work.

Thanks much, Tina