Tub refinishing, reglazing and honest advice on when refinishing beats replacement, from Seattle’s bath remodeling crew. Written fixed price before any work starts.
4.7/5 Rating
Waiting is what makes it expensive
A worn tub spreads chips and rust faster once the glaze fails. Send four details, we call today.
Chosen by 100+ homeowners across Seattle, from Ballard to West Seattle.
The cast iron tub came with the house, 1931, and every remodeler said rip it out. These guys refinished it instead and saved us thousands. It looks original to the house because it is. When we redo the tile next year, they have the job.
Nate B.
Phinney Ridge, Seattle
Most tub refinishing companies only refinish, so every tub is a refinishing job. Most remodelers only replace, so every tub needs ripping out. Both answers are about their business, not your bathroom.
As a Seattle bath remodeling company that refinishes and replaces, we make money either way, which is why you get the honest version: a sound cast iron or steel tub with a failing surface is a refinishing job, and a cracked, rusted-through or badly-fitted tub is not worth coating.
We look at the tub, tell you which it is, and put the price for that answer in writing.
From first call to final walkthrough, the process is built so you know the price, the schedule and who is in your house at every step.
STEP 1
Send the form with what you are seeing: worn glaze, chips, stains, a colour from another decade. A photo helps. We give you an honest read in the first call, including whether refinishing is the right move at all.
STEP 2
We check the tub’s structure, the surround and the drain area for problems a coating would only hide. You get a written fixed price, and if replacement is honestly the better spend, we price that too and you choose.
STEP 3
Chips and rust are repaired, the surface is etched and primed, and the new coating is sprayed under ventilation. Most tubs are done in a day and ready for water in 24 to 48 hours. You get care instructions that protect the warranty.
Send four details through the form and a project manager calls you back today with an honest read: refinish it, or put the money toward something better.
Most quotes are booked within two days of the first call.
Seattle’s older housing stock is full of tubs that deserve refinishing. Craftsman homes in Ballard, Phinney Ridge and Wallingford still hold original cast iron tubs from the 1920s and 1930s, heavier and deeper than anything sold today. Ripping one out means demolition, disposal, subfloor work and a lighter replacement that rarely fits the house.
Refinishing keeps the tub, the tile and the character, at a tenth of the cost. Where the tub genuinely is done, we are remodelers first, so the replacement conversation happens with one crew instead of a second contractor.
Real projects across the city: different homes, different budgets, same crew.
Costs, durability and the refinish-or-replace decision: what Seattle homeowners ask about tub refinishing.
Most tub refinishing in Seattle costs $500 to $1,200. A standard tub in sound condition sits at the lower end; chip and rust repair, a colour change or a clawfoot exterior push it toward the upper end.
For comparison, replacing the same tub runs $3,000 to $6,000 once demolition, disposal, plumbing and surround repair are counted. Refinishing is the budget move when the tub itself is sound, and we confirm which side yours is on before quoting.
A professionally refinished tub lasts 10 to 15 years with normal care. The coating fails early for two reasons: surface preparation done cheaply, or abrasive cleaners grinding through the glaze.
Our refinishing carries a written warranty, and the care instructions are one paragraph: no abrasives, no suction-cup mats left in place, wipe it down like glass.
Almost always yes. Pre-war cast iron tubs are heavier, deeper and hold heat better than modern replacements, and hauling one out of a Seattle craftsman usually means demolition that costs more than the new tub. If the casting is sound, refinishing keeps a better tub than money can buy today.
The exception is rust-through at the drain or a crack in the casting: at that point the tub is done, and we will say so.
Four cases: the tub is cracked or rusted through, the surround and tile are failing anyway, the layout is changing, or this is the second refinish on the same tub. In each, the coating would hide a problem or delay a remodel you have already decided on.
Because we remodel bathrooms as our main trade, we price the alternative honestly instead of talking you into a coating.
Refinishing ($500 to $1,200) keeps a sound tub and looks original. Liners ($1,500 to $4,000 installed) cover the tub with moulded acrylic and can trap water underneath, which is why we do not recommend them. Replacement ($3,000 to $6,000 and up) is right when the tub or the whole surround is done.
If you are already planning a full remodel, skip refinishing and put the money into the remodel: a new tub or walk-in shower comes with it.
The work itself takes 3 to 5 hours for a standard tub. The coating then cures before the tub can hold water: 24 hours for most coatings, 48 to be safe.
Plan for the bathroom to be ventilated during the work and off-limits for the cure. If it is your only tub, we schedule the start early so the downtime lands overnight.
Isolated chips can be spot-repaired for less, and it holds up if the surrounding glaze is sound. Once you see widespread wear, staining that cleaning does not touch, or a rough dragging feel under your hand, the glaze itself has failed and spot repairs will keep coming back.
We tell you which you have at the inspection, and spot repair is a line item, not a project.
Yes, with the right preparation and primer, though the result is not as durable as on cast iron or steel: expect 8 to 12 years rather than 10 to 15. Flex in a thin fiberglass shell is what shortens coating life.
For a fiberglass tub that flexes visibly underfoot, refinishing is money spent on a failing base, and we will recommend against it.
