Clawfoot Bathtub

The Catholic High School of Baltimore needed a clawfoot bathtub for their production of “The Women.” The direction I was given was a line from the show: “This bathroom is ridiculous!” With help from my friend Mike and my daughter, I think we delivered. The tub started with a 3/4″ plywood base with 1×3 ribs all around. A ring of 3/4″ plywood locked the tops in place, making the entire thing surprisingly rigid. Using some thin plastic laminate for the straight sides, Mike and I used “monster mud” (a mix of paint and drywall compound) over the wire-framed ends. He smoothed everything out and we spray-painted the entire thing gold and added some gold glitter for extra sparkle. My daughter and I used expanding spray foam to create “bubbles” on a sheet of luan plywood that would rest just inside the tub. Mike found some great claw feet on an old table that looked perfect once we painted them. The original plan was to cover the rim with fur, but I couldn’t find a loud enough pattern, but the zebra-print was a great alternative. As a finishing touch, Mike made a goose-neck faucet that looked like an actual goose, with wings for handles. “Ridiculous” indeed!

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