Ever had countertops and/or bathtub professionally resurfaced?

[Rhonda in TX]

We need to replace our bathroom countertop. It's cultured marble (I think). However, it's an odd size, which means custom order, which means more money. This morning I thought of having it resurfaced. Does anybody know how much that would cost? We also need to replace the kids' bathtub/shower. It's one of those fiberglass all-in-one pieces. I'm wondering if it's possible to resurface that as well, and how much it would cost.

 

Thanks for any info!

[abbeyej]

We had our tub resurfaced. I would never do it again. And I doubt you even *could* with a fiberglass insert -- though on the other hand, they're relatively inexpensive to replace compared to ripping out a traditional tub.

 

The resurfacing was done professionally and looked great -- very, very briefly. You have to be sooo careful cleaning it, and even so parts of it have cracked and chipped away all around the drain and other spots. It's just awful. I hate, hate, hate it.

[justlittleoldme]

We used to do that all the time when I worked as an apartment manager. If you get it done right (where they clean it really well with a good special cleaner, then primer it very well, then glaze) it can last for a few years. You must be very very careful and only clean it with cleaners that work on glazed things (no Kaboom, and no rough scratchy sponges). I've had people do a sloppy job and it will last maybe a year at most. Make sure they give you a warranty, and if it starts to peel have them come back and fix it! It's worth it to find a good company to do it, if you do. It's a temporary fix. It usually costs around $100-$200 for a counter, and around $200-250 for a shower enclosure.

 

And when/if you get it done, try and get it done in the morning and leave for the day. It has to stay dry for 24 hours, and your house will stink of nail polish for a day or so. It's worse when they do it and it's best to leave, then come home and air out the house really well.

[Julie in Austin]

Had kitchen counters done; it began to show scratches and chips within two months.

[Snowfall]

We had our tub resurfaced. I would never do it again. And I doubt you even *could* with a fiberglass insert -- though on the other hand, they're relatively inexpensive to replace compared to ripping out a traditional tub.

 

The resurfacing was done professionally and looked great -- very, very briefly. You have to be sooo careful cleaning it, and even so parts of it have cracked and chipped away all around the drain and other spots. It's just awful. I hate, hate, hate it.

 

This is how I feel about it. We lived in a rental house in which the owner had the tub resurfaced before we moved in. It cracked a few months after we moved in. Then he had it resurfaced again. I would NEVER, EVER do that again. The company failed to properly seal off and ventilate the room to the outdoors. We ended up with a layer of white dust covering EVERYTHING in the entire back half of our house, and my husband had to be hospitalized for chemical bronchitis, due to exposure to whatever the heck was all over the house. The company insisted their products are non-toxic and couldn't have caused illness. Apparently my husband magically contracted chemically induced bronchitis from going about his normal, daily work as a personnel worker in the military, despite never having any exposure to any new chemicals, never having had it before (which would indicate that perhaps this exposure had always existed), etc. :001_huh: Fortunately DD and I were out of town at the time, as she was only 3 then. I can't imagine how sick it would have made her!

 

I just wouldn't do it after that. Ever. I don't care how good it looks. The stuff they use is clearly toxic, regardless of their claims. This was one of the biggest companies in resurfacing. They come up on the first page when you Google bath resurfacing.

 

Editing to add that my husband did take pains to air the house out once they started, but they are supposed to ventilate to the outdoors when they're doing the work. They didn't. The worker even told my husband he was supposed to do it, but the window in the bath was a glass block and he didn't want to do the work to hook up to the window 10 feet away in the bedroom. At any rate, there was dust on everything. That alone wasn't worth it.

Edited November 7, 2010 by Snowfall

[Alyce]

it's cast iron and the company gave us a warranty. I doubt I'd do it if it were fiberglass. Can't see it lasting very long and considering what I paid to have mine resurfaced, I'd think you'd be better off just replacing it.

[Rhonda in TX]

Thanks, everyone. DH is not in favor of the idea, and after what I read here, we'll probably skip it.