I’ve gotten several questions from readers about our claw-foot bathtub in our old bathroom so, I thought I’d address them here. The first question is about our tub surround that we have in our bathroom. Our tub surround is not a new-fangled “all in one tub/shower combo” that you might purchase at a large warehouse home improvement store. It is more of a “convert your old claw-foot bathtub into a shower” type thing. Perhaps I’m not calling it the correct name but it does go around our tub….well technically above it. It’s basically a metal ring on which the shower curtain hangs, and it has a water supply pipe with a shower head which makes it into a shower.
The one that was in our home when we bought it was plastic and quite ugly. We replaced it with this one that works well but I don’t think it’s super sturdy. Luckily, it’s still there and hasn’t come down even when I had very young children who liked to pull on the shower curtains while bathing.
Another reader, Lisa, asked me about re-chroming or re-plating her shower curtain surround (the same thing as above). Her shower curtain surround, which is a wacky shape, needs a makeover.
Lisa: I’d check into re-plating. It’s expensive but if your shape is specific to your tub, it may be a good option. We had a heat register cover re-plated but the company we used is no longer in business. Try Hippo Hardware or Rejuvenation for an assessment. You may find that replacing it is less expensive. We replaced our plastic one with a metal/chrome one from Rejuvenation, but Hippo Hardware carries them also.
Related posts:
Want to read about the bathroom project from start to finish?
Bathroom Project Part 1
Bathroom Project Part 2
Bathroom Project Part 3
Bathroom Project Part 4
Bathroom Project Part 5
Goodbye Bathroom
Finding Inspiration for a Bathroom Re-Do
All the sources for the project can be found here
Go Gingham 
It drives me crazy that it is often so much less expensive to buy something new (and ugly) from Home Depot, rather than find an authentic old thing. You have done such a great job of striking the right balance – aesthetically and financially doing the “right” thing!
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I loved seeing your bathroom project, as we’re in the midst of our own (long) one. It started with a small leak in the tile, and the next thing we knew it was the whole dang bathroom. Like you, we’re doing it all ourselves and finding most of what we need at The ReBuilding Center and the ReStore. We’d hoped to find an old tub (replaced a shower with a tub), but they were all so heavy. That was the one thing we did buy new. Thanks for the inspiration to keep going!
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