Restoring a Cast

Oct 17, 2023

By Megan Johnson

In the third installment of this four-part series, our DIY newbie astutely shops Facebook Marketplace and learns how to reglaze a cast-iron tub.

When Regan Wood stepped backward in flip flops into a bucket of expensive stain, it didn't exactly feel like the end of the renovation was in sight. However, the project has turned a corner.

Back in December she was in the thick of her former hunting cabin's transformation and felt like the project was moving at a "glacial pace." Five months later, she's seen a significant amount of progress, including the completion of the windows and the painting of all the beadboard.

"We’re close to being done," Wood noted in late March. Still, it's an uphill battle, which feels "like one and a half steps forward, then one step back."

There have been several unique mishaps in recent months, including the stain incident. But learning how to be their own interior designers proved to be another challenge for Wood and her partner in the renovation, Tara Cox, and that came to a head during the bathroom renovation. Originally it had a claw-foot tub in one corner, as well as an old vinyl shower.

"It was like a ’70s vinyl shower," says Wood. "And those totally skeeve me out." The shower was torn out to make space for a washer/dryer, which the duo was determined to have so cleaners could wash sheets when flipping the property for renters.

"It seemed like a perfect space to just slide the washer/dryer in, since the plumbing was already there," says Wood, who, coming from a New York City apartment, admitted that the house seemed "so spacious." She had never owned a washer/dryer and assumed it would fit into the space. But when she first saw it installed, she realized just how large it was. "I was like, Oh, wow, it's really big. It's basically like, right now feels like a laundry room that happens to have a toilet," she noted. "It never occurred to me to map out the size of the washer and dryer in the room. I’m sure a designer would have said, ‘Let's measure this out.’"

Wood realized that the room would have been "much more spacious" if they had gone for the walk-in shower instead of the cast-iron tub, as Cox suggested. Looking back, she wonders if she made the right decision. "Tara and I have gotten along and been on the same page with most things. But there were a few things where we disagreed, and she really wanted to tear out the tub and put in a walk-in shower," adds Wood.

Ultimately Wood's wish to restore the tub, which had sat in the living room for about nine months while it was being used for storage, won out. While it was in good shape, the tub was "really dirty looking." First, Wood used abrasive scrubbing products like Bon Ami or Comet to clean the tub repeatedly. After about six runs scrubbing it, Wood was ready to use the Bathworks Refinishing Kit she spotted when it popped up in an ad as she watched another restoration video on YouTube.

Cleaning the tub was a serious task.

Using protective gloves and eyewear, she prepared to apply the etching powder, which serves as an industrial-strength cleaner for the tub. She applied the Easy Etch, rinsed it, and let it dry. While the box suggested you use a hair dryer to make sure it's bone dry, Wood chose to use a space heater instead, closing the door and pointing the space heater directly at the tub, which worked really well.

Using a space heater was an innovative way to avoid standing around with a hair dryer.

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Next, she took the tack rag and ran it over every inch of the tub to remove every speck of dust, sand, or cat hair. She taped off the drain and hardware with painter's tape. Because Wood chose the kit with the nonslip additive, she mixed the paint and the hardener, and applied it to the tub using the foam brush and foam roller that came with the kit. The coating had to set for 24 hours before Wood could remove the tape. Now it's done, and Wood says it "looks pretty great."

She admitted she kind of regrets using the gritty nonslip additive, since some of it was pulled up onto the side of the tub. Luckily it's barely visible. The bottom is a little bit scratchy, but Wood would rather have it be safe for people crawling in and out.

To furnish the property, Wood has found herself traveling far and wide to pick up items she's spotted on Facebook Marketplace. "Second to Reddit, my favorite source is Facebook Marketplace," says Wood, who admitted she went down "rabbit holes for hours" searching items that were up for sale. "It's been a gold mine! Everything is just so affordable because it's a lot of people who are just trying to clear things out," she notes.

In a one-day "whirlwind road trip," she completed 13 hours of driving, heading down to Pennsylvania and back up to the Catskills to pick up items, ranging from upholstery to farmhouse tools. While it's been incredibly time consuming, she's hoping that translates to "a space that has got a lot of soul and feels layered and interesting."

Now the property is close to being done. The duo is waiting on the electrician, since rules now state that properties considered to be more than a 60% gut renovation must have a smoke and carbon monoxide detector hardwired outside every room. But first, they have to pass their upcoming bank inspection.

See what happens in the upcoming final installment of a Catskills cabin reno DIY Diary, where this DIY newbie reveals the final result of her massive renovation project.