On Sun, 22 Mar 2015 08:40:46 -0400, John wrote:
On 3/21/2015 3:11 PM, micky wrote:
On Sat, 21 Mar 2015 03:22:06 -0600, wrote:
I keep seeing these walk in bathtubs advertised on tv commercials. They
have a side that opens like a door. THey are intended for the elderly.
The concept makes sense, because I am aware of how difficult it is for
elders with health issues. .....
I don't want to hijack your thread, but I assume anyone who wants to
answer on topic will still be able to. ;-)
I don't like my tub in part because it's not deep enough**. So I called
Bathfitter to find out if they could put a deeper tub on top of mine,
without moving the hot and cold valves, and if it woudl be strong enough
that I could still sit on the edge of the tub. That is, would the part
above my original edge be strong enough hollow, or could they reinforce
the side of the tub where it was taller than my own tub?
So far, they have refused to say a thing unless they can send out a
salesman, or whatever they call him. The guy says only the technicians
know and they are all out looking at bathrooms. I think I asked if I
could leave a messsage so that one of them could call me, but if I did
he said no.
After some diligence, I found a competitor, ReBath. I should call them
next.
Without changing the existing plumbing? If the faucets exit the wall
above the existing tub I suppose that could be done. Most I have seen
Yes, they do exit the wall above the tub.
They are the limiting factor on how high I'd want to go with the new
tub. I need to measure again but it's 4 or 5 inches.
Only the overflow/drain lever is below the top of the tub.
are mounted through the tub wall so filling above that point would not
be a good idea. Not to mention the overflow outlet which must be through
the tub wall to be of any use.
I've already inverted the overflow/drain lever to be able to fill the
tub between 2 and 3 inches higher. This makes the fill level so high
that it's easy to slosh water on the floor. Raising the tub would
alleviate that. But IIRC I wanted to raise the tub 4 inches, and I
would want to raise the max water level 2 to 4 inches too. That is the
point, not to stop splashing water out but to have deeper water. . For
final questions like that, I'd want them to come out to the house, but
my first question doesn't require them to visit. (Plus I'm annoyed at
how they're treating me.)
The overflow isn't clogged but it doesn't really prevent overflows, in
the tub or in the sinks, in my experience. Even if the water is
running say 3 or 4 out of 10. Certainly not if it's running faster..
Has anyone else ever verified that their overflow really works?
The overflow drains so slowly, that I've considered splurging and
letting it drain while I'm using the tub, replacing the water lost with
hot water. I sort of have to do that anyhow, because the water feels
colder as time goes on, even though it's not colder. It just seems that
way.
Or I could block the overflow completely and rely on myself to never let
it overflow. I did that in Brooklyn and in the 10 years I used that
tub, I never forgot to turn off the water. And I remembered the week
before I moved out, to take the tape off the overflow pipe, so the new
tenants would have the overflow working again. (Had I forgotten, I
woudl have called my roommate who was still there for 2 weeks and had
him do it, or I'd have written the new tenants.)
(This luxury tub didn't use the usual method, but one I've only seen in
some old, nice hotels: a pipe sticking up a couple feet outside of the
tub, with a tube inside the pipe and a porcelain handle to lift the tube
and rotate it a bit. In one positiion, it falls down and plugs the
drain (except the overflow which works because there are big holes neear
the top of the tube, that lets the water go from outside the tube to
inside the tube and down the drain). In the other position, it's held
up and the water drains out of the tube at floor level. I put 3M
magic tape around the big holes and the tape worked for 10 years too,
even though it was under water whenever I took a bath. When I removed
it, it wasnt' perfect anymore, but would have lasted another 10 years. )
..
No plumbing work at all would seem
unlikely here. Something like a free standing claw foot tub maybe.
Frankly, I wouldn't do all that work without replacing the valves,
overflow etc. with new anyway.
I don't see the point to that. They work fine. I just replaced the hot
and cold stems with new. The first stems lasted 35 years and in
another 35 years, I'll be dead. (Actually, I think the stems would
have lasted a lot longer if I had used flat washers like it seems I was
supposed to. I used beveled ones and the plumbing guy said that forced
the washer to bulge sideways, and damage the brass band around the
washer. And one washer screw head broke off, but I probably could
have done a better job of getting it out, or alternatively, putting
another screw in.)
(I've saved all the old parts in case I get desperate for parts. People
here said I woudlnt' be able to get new stems for a 35 year old fixture,
and it's true that the new stems are 1/4 or 3/8" longer than the old
ones, and stick out that much farther than the shower/tub diverter knob,
but it's not a problem. Oh, and they both used to be right-handed
but now the hot water is left-handed. That's okay too.
But I'm sure Bathfitter will try to sell me new fixtures and more, and
that's why they want to come out.
No wonder they didn't want to commit without an on sight inspection.
John