Your clawfoot tub is beautiful, unique, and has cradled you during many relaxing baths. And now, it’s not a relaxing item – it’s giving you trouble figuring out how to move such a cherished piece of furniture. Fortunately, with proper planning you can get your clawfoot tub out of your bathroom and into its new home safely. It may require the help of professional movers or several friends, but our tips will get you started.
Image by Enon Hall
A clawfoot tub has a relatively straight-forward shape, aside from the claw feet, of course. Measure the tub, from top to bottom, starting at the rim and moving to the bottom of the claw foot, and also measure across.
Then, map out your path of exit from your home, measuring all hallways and doorways. Keep in mind that you may have to remove doors from hinges to fit the tub through. This shouldn’t be a hindrance, as if you’re already moving couches or large La-Z-Boy style reclining chairs, you may have to do this anyway.
If your tub has removable feet, however, the move may be considerably easier. If that’s the case, remove the feet after you disconnect the tub from your water supply, wrap them in bubble wrap, and pack them separately from the tub.
On moving day, the first thing you want to do is turn the water supply to your tub off, if not disconnecting the water main all together. Once you’ve done that, use a wrench to loosen the faucet spout until you remove it completely. Disconnect the drain assembly and clean out any debris in the drain. Use a rag or microfiber cloth to wipe out the pipes.
At this point, your tub is disassembled from the water supply and you can safely remove the feet. Before doing so, lay a moving blanket below the tub to avoid scratching the floor or the tub after you remove the legs. Also wrap moving straps around the tub. (Trust us, it’s easier to do this now!)
After your moving blankets and straps are beneath the tub, have your moving buddy lift up one corner of the tub while you unscrew a foot. Work your way around the tub, lying the tub down gently on the moving blanket after each foot is removed.
Wrap the moving blanket(s) all the way around the tub and secure with packing tape or duct tape. Make sure the tape doesn’t touch the tub itself, as it may leave residue that is difficult to remove.
Image by Rebecca Landis/Flickr
There are three ways to move a clawfoot tub: hard, harder, or easy. To do it the hard way, load the tub on its side onto a furniture dolly. Make sure your friends are supporting the tub to keep it on its side as you navigate the tub through your pre-plotted course in the house.
The harder way is to use the moving straps to carry the tub to its destination and load it up a ramp onto the moving truck. If you have to transport the clawfoot tub up or down a long staircase, this might be the only way to move it yourself.
The easy way is to call professional movers to take care all the heavy lifting. Your movers will wrap your tub properly, move it safely, and even insure it so that you’re fully protected if something does happen to damage your prized clawfoot tub during the move. Best of all, moving a clawfoot tub might be even more affordable than you think, so why not get a professional moving quote from imove today?
Featured image by ilovebutter/Flickr