History of the Clawfoot Bathtub

TUB HISTORY - CAST IRON AND CLAWFOOT BATHTUBS

The old cast iron clawfoot tubs you mainly see around today were made by a company called Standard Sanitary Manufacturing that  is why on the bottom you will usually see SSM or Standard. Originally, they were a maker of cast iron plumbing piping, but after subsequent purchases and a merge with another large company by the name of American Radiator they became what you know of today as American Standard. They had a large plant in Toronto and one I believe called Port Hope near Cornwall. On the bottom you could see this name instead. Also, its quite common to see a year-made stamp (even a month and day!).

Feet for these tubs are often lost however we have contacts who cast them for about 200.00 per set (various styles to fit). As well as sell accessories like hand shower faucet sets, and chrome supply lines, etc. Some people opt to stand them on large wooden blocks attractively contoured and finished instead.

Bathtub refinishing / reglazing first began as a service for these lovely old fixtures and has been around for many, many years now. Today, the products / coatings have greatly improved and are much faster to apply and cure. Like most jobs, prep is extremely important so the combination of a good coating product and the diligence of the refinisher creates an end result that will last for many, many years trouble free and looking like new.


TUB HISTORY - SOLID PORCELAIN BATHTUBS


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