The cast iron is forever. Long term pays off.

I would not go the acrylic route. Sounds like that is what you have peeling off, anyway. Their little burn and run repair to fool the customer did not work. If it had failed a few years out, they probably would have been blaming your cleaning techniques and products.

Acrylic scratches and develops spider cracks over time. Does that require a lot of use? Not from what I've seen happen to some very expensive jacuzzis. But maybe the steel base would provide more support than a full acrylic?

He is trying to save himself which will likely be at your expense down the road, then you could've just gotten the darn cast iron instead. I also got one to hold the heat better. Depends on your usage needs for it too.

They did that to my tub and I think it looks FAKE and cheap. Don't recomnend, plus that doesn't take into account the risk of having a poor job done. I had a good one and still not happy.

I was just going to say the same thing:

Because it will look cheap. (Fake too).

It's simple. You paid for a new tub, not a refinished a second time tub. What you have is what a refinished tub looks and acts like.

Just Say NO

I am just astounded this could happen buying a tub thru that supply house (got mine there).

Don't take a discount either!

Do not fall for their offer - they are making it because would be convenient for them not to have to replace the peeling tub. You will not be happy with the result. You bought a new tub and you should get a new tub. In fact, is it too late to get back your old tub? I am sure it's a heckuva lot better than what's there now.

I am curious why you cant get a cast iron tub. I have never heard of any limitations to getting cast iron. They are heavy and do require a couple of people to carry to the site, but they're the same size otherwise. And they are more durable and the cost is about the same. On this forum some years ago when I was first looking for a tub, the porcelain over steel were not recommended.

You opted to purchase a new tub, rather than refinish your old tub. Don't settle for anything less.

You paid the plumber for a new tub. Why are _you_ getting the run around?

This post was edited by Roof35 on Sat, Jan 31, 15 at 20:56

Really, this is ridiculous. If Ferguson sold you a repaired tub instead of a new one, they need to make good. They can afford it; and do have business insurance. It's part of the cost of being in business and we pay thru the nose for things, and for their insurance, because of all these problems. I guess they duke it out with the manufacturer if that's where the problem originated. But your plumber handles all this for you, if he supplied the tub. Built into his markup too, although it wasn't his fault (assuming the tub looked fine on the surface when he inspected it before installing it).

It happens, just shouldn't be so often.

That is a Ferguson private label product. If you continue to get a BS story, go up the chain at the Ferguson that supplied you. Really, it's what the plumber should be doing, and you shouldn't have to be involved at all. Why is't he fighting this battle for you? I really do get the feeling that he is the source of the problem and is delaying action to force you to capitulate to accepting a used tub.

Stick to your guns. You paid for a new tub, you should get a new tub. If the resurfacing starts to fail after several years, it will be a lot harder to resolve especially being that the people you are working with now may no longer be around.

There are pros and cons to both types of tubs and resurfacing.

Honestly, as someone who sells acrylic, it's just as durable as cast iron is if you are just using it as a tub. It's really not easy to scratch (unless you get one that has not be surfaced, which are the very, very cheap ones), it's not going to peel or become dull unless you soak it in bleach for long periods of time (please, don't). They are made incredibly well now. They hold heat at basically the same rate as cast iron, according to the studies done (this is why you get a double layer tub!). Spidering in a jacuzzi is typically from a lack of care, use of salts and caustic cleaning materials and other factors- or the fact of how thin the top acrylic is, which would mean its probably not actually one of the top of the line jacuzzis.

Cast iron is heavy. It's durable, but they need resurfaced and their coating is typically just as easy to scratch as acrylic. Plumbers, as a general rule, don't like dealing with them because they are heavy and awkward. The surface of a cast iron tub is very easy to damage. The tub itself will last forever, but in a lifetime, you will have to keep resurfacing. If you take care of acrylic properly, it will last a lifetime and probably only need redone once when it starts looking dull.

However, coating it with acrylic will probably look strange. Acrylic is formed to certain shapes during the making of the tub and I think a top coat of it would look a bit strange.

I would probably get enameled steel if you are against acrylic. Several companies sell fairly good enameled steel options. However, you will run into the resurfacing problem again over time with the steel, as well.

As a general rule, don't buy from Ferguson. They are more expensive than most and don't give quality for their prices.

This post was edited by EmilyDesign11 on Tue, Feb 3, 15 at 14:57

My plumber has been fighting this case for me, and when I turned down the offer of refinishing, Proflo said that is all they would do. So, my plumber told me he was going to take care of it so I didn't have to keep waiting for ProFlo or Ferguson's to do the right thing and to find the culpability. We demo on Feb 24 in the morning, tub set that afternoon, and retiling for the 25th to begin.

The reason I didn't want to go cast iron is that I would be charged more for setting the tub and I had just paid a nice chunk for our college son's spring tuition, paid the lump sum property tax (we don't have a mortgage), our remodel was over budget already, and I just didn't want to part with any more money. Even though we just remodeled, we are looking to maybe move and build again in the next 18 months. Have our eye on a piece of property....

So, the tub will be replaced. Thank you all for your help and suggestions.

We will love to see it when its done!