Bathtub Refinishing Services and More
by
Joy of St Croix
Hygienic painted bath finishes
that are reliably functional
and consistently beautiful
Three types of Refinishing
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More offers three particular types of refinishing projects that require slightly different materials and techniques: bathtubs and shower units, bath tile, and restoration of antique farm sinks and clawfoot bathtubs.
Standard Bathtub Refinishing
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More refinishes
standard residential built-in bathtubs made of
porcelain, acrylic, or fiberglass
Bathtub Refinishing by
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
is a two day process
Refinishing a standard residential five foot bathtub takes two 6-8 hour days. The first day is cleaning, prepping, and painting. The second day is sanding, polishing, and installation of a new drain, overflow, and caulking. Stripping is an extra day and charge.
HAND SANDED AND MACHINE POLISHED
TO A MIRROR-LIKE REFLECTION
...as you should expect
A perfectly smooth finish, free of imbedded dust or rough orange peel, is hygienic and cleanable; it's a joy to touch and to sit on. It's what you're expecting, isn't it? It is what you can expect from Joy of St Croix because we state it in clear language: Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More hand sands and machine polishes their refinished bathtubs to a mirror-like reflection.
What else are you expecting?
Should the old paint
be removed?
Paint can't adhere to your tub if something's in the way...like a previous reglazing job. Do you expect the old coating to be removed and replaced with new, or just painted over?
~
Joy of St Croix removes the caulking before painting and installs new acrylic latex caulking after sanding and polishing the newly refinished tub.
What about
the Drain?
Paint is weakest at its edges. In a bathtub that's the drain, the overflow, and the perimeter caulking line. Do you expect your drain to be painted over?
~
Joy of St Croix removes the old drain and overflow cover before painting and replaces them with brand new after sanding and polishing the newly refinished tub.
Do you expect new caulking?
After sanding and polishing, the vulnerable edges of the paint need to be sealed. For the money you're spending, what quality of drain, overflow cover, and caulking do you expect to accept?
~
Joy of St Croix removes the caulking before painting and installs new acrylic latex caulking after sanding and polishing the newly refinished tub.
Select one of the three rectangular buttons below for more info on identifying, estimating, and ordering bathtub refinishing by Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
What are your expectations?
What final product are you paying for?
Are you being overcharged?
According to Homewyse (construction cost estimator) the national average for bathtub refinishing is between $500 to $600
That average is only for masking and painting - a one day project.
No caulking - No drain - No sanding or polishing
That's only 1/2 of the job that Joy of St Croix provides.
Click here for a guide to comparing offers for bathtub refinishing...or reglazing or whatever you want to call it.
Shower Units Refinishing
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More refinishes
tile, acrylic, and fiberglass bathtub/shower combination units and walk-in shower units
Shower Unit Refinishing by
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
is a four day process
Refinishing a standard residential five foot bathtub/shower combination unit usually takes four 6-8 hour days. The first two days is spent cleaning and prepping. The third day is painting, and the final day is sanding, polishing, and caulking.
Has your tub/shower combo unit been previously refinished?
Gelcoat or acrylic on fiberglass cannot be stripped.
A previously applied finish can be removed by sanding or chemically stripping. To sand a finish off without causing damage to the underlying gelcoat takes days and creates a big mess. Chemical strippers are either too aggressive and will strip the gelcoat with the paint, or are too gentle and take as much time as sanding. Either way, the cost is too great to make it worthwhile.
What are your expectations?
What final product are you paying for?
Are you being overcharged?
Think very carefully before you choose a company based on low price,
you might get stuck with a high replacement cost.
It's a terrible thing for us to have to tell someone who chose a lower priced company that we can't fix what the other company left them with. Refinishing a composite bath unit is a one shot deal, folks. Compare offers and take notes.
Click here for a guide to comparing offers for bathtub refinishing...or reglazing or whatever you want to call it.
Select one of the three rectangular buttons below for more info on identifying, estimating, and ordering bathtub refinishing by Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
Wall Tile Refinishing
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More refinishes
wall tiles
Many problems, many choices
A bathtub is a single object to paint with caulking sealing the all of the edges.
But a tile wall is about 400 - 500 objects, i.e., individual tiles and segments of grout. Each tile or segment of grout has 4 edges each, which is where paint usually fails; that equates to 2000 areas that have to be prepared properly. Hairline cracks in tile or missing grout won't be repaired by paint and are one of the major contributing factors in failed tile refinishing. Tile refinishing is not as easy as bathtub refinishing.
However, if the tile and grout is prepared correctly, i.e., missing or cracked areas repaired, then tile refinishing can be a viable design option in lieu of costly replacement, and will last as long as the tile wall remains solid and the surface is maintained.
When tile is an oppressive monotone color with no character, refinishing it to another monotone color will still feel oppressive with no character. Worse, because all of the tile and grout will be the exact same color with no variations, it will immediately be recognised as having been painted over. Now it's not only oppressive and boring it's also a cheap makeover.
The tile in the photos below were refinished by Joy of St Croix.
The bathroom was 10' x 3.5' and was brown and orange mottled tile with mustard yellow cabinets and walls. Talk about oppressive.
Joy of St Croix's solution was to brighten the area by refinishing the square field tiles white, but give them black speckles to break up the stark and sterile look. The trim tiles go black with white speckles for contrast and to create a separation for a different color on the walls above, thereby creating depth in the small area.
It's no longer sterile, it has character and be decorated in different ways. It's no longer the spooky bathroom in the back bedroom, it's now the only room in the house with its own charming and welcoming little bathroom.
Good design starts with considering the person using the room.
Good refinishing starts with a solid foundation, too.
step 1
What's the tile's
real condition?
Is your tile cracked or have missing grout? You need to agree on the actual condition of your tile so that we can accurately estimate. Photo Guides and written descriptions will help you identify your project's scope.
step 2
What would you
really like?
Sometimes we limit our options by assuming that there are no options. Tile refinishing doesn't have to be limited to one solid color. What design thrills you?
step 3
Joy of St Croix
publishes our prices.
If you have ever ordered anything online then you can do this, too. No need to wait for office hours -
Order from your home after dinner, or from the jobsite at any time.
Select one of the three rectangular buttons below for more info on identifying, estimating, and ordering bathtub refinishing by Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
Clawfoot Bathtubs and Old Sinks
Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More restores antique clawfoot bathtubs, and both pedestal and farm sinks.
Restoration by Joy of St Croix is an elite service.
A brand new clawfoot bathtub or farm sink can be purchased online, right now, for less than half of the cost of restoration by Joy of St Croix.
A brand new clawfoot bathtub or farmsink has better cast iron and more durable porcelain than any antique.
For sale online can be found 4', 5', even a six foot tubs with a single backrest, a double backrest, or a slipper foot - anything you want.
Online, right now.
If you insist on having your clawfoot bathtub or antique sink refinished you will easily find someone eager to paint it in exchange for your money.
They will use the exact same paint and methods that they use to paint the regular built-in bathtubs or sinks they paint that end up peeling.
The difference is that they'll charge you more for painting a clawfoot as if they're doing something special...and you'll pay it because it's a few dollars less than our published prices.
But that's not what this is - That's not what we do.
If you want to learn more, click here.
So, that's it...that's what we offer
in regards to refinishing tub and tile
Since 1980 Joy of St Croix has been refinishing, bath surfaces. We've seen a lot of companies do poor work and even less do good work. The number one way to get a good deal in anything is to know what your expectaions are and to get an offer in writing. Please, check out our comparison guide below.
Select one of the three rectangular buttons below for more info on identifying, estimating, and ordering bathtub refinishing by Joy of St Croix - Tub Repair and More
Comparing Offers on Refinishing
OK, so…you need a bathtub refinished or reglazed or whatever it’s supposed to be called, and you pull out your phone and look up “bathtub refinishing or reglazing or whatever you call it”.
You scroll for a bit…
You like a company’s name so you follow the links that lead you to decide to contact the company.
~ You can afford their price,
~ they have a warranty,
~ they have 100 years of “combined experience”,
~ they can do it next week
BAM – your research is done.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?
What are your expectations?
What final product are you paying for?
Are you being overcharged?
Think very carefully before you choose a company based on low price,
you might get stuck with a high replacement cost.
It's a terrible thing for us to have to tell someone who chose a lower priced company that we can't fix what the other company left them with. Refinishing a composite bath unit is a one shot deal, folks. Compare offers and take notes.
Click here for a guide to comparing offers for bathtub refinishing...or reglazing or whatever you want to call it.