A bit about me the Ugly Tub GUY

[uglytubguy]

Just joined and thought I would introduce myself.

I am Mike, AKA "The Ugly Tub Guy" I have been working for myself for the last 24 years. Still BROKE!
My first business was an asphalt repair business. I lost it after a divorce. (bankers don't like to loan operating capital to divorced owner operators).
I started doing odd jobs for real estate investors for about 2 years and discovered my next business.
Bathtub and counter top refinishing. Things took off and I was back doing well until the housing bubble
burst and my health took a bad turn. I closed up shop and did the jobs that I could do.
Now I am trying to rebuild the refinishing biz to a point that I can have someone run it, or sell it and
focus on something more passive. I am 44 now and know I need to make sure I no longer have to be
physically present for money to be coming in.

I have an interest in ecommerce, real estate, and forex trading.

Look forward to being involved with like minded people.

Regards
Mike "The Ugly Tub Guy"

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Welcome to the forum @uglytubguy.

Sounds like you have a lot of value to contribute here as well with your experience. Looking forward to reading more from you.

 

[uglytubguy]

Welcome to the forum @uglytubguy.

Sounds like you have a lot of value to contribute here as well with your experience. Looking forward to reading more from you.

Thanks Allen! Hope I can contribute and learn as well.

Getting vinyl on the truck soon, have some cards and a crappy website so far. Gotta love bartering when your broke! LOL

 

[ZCP]

Sounds like time for an uglytubguy 'what not to do' AMA followed by you publishing it as an ebook.

What are you doing today to get you where you want to be?

 

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[uglytubguy]

Sounds like time for an uglytubguy 'what not to do' AMA followed by you publishing it as an ebook.

What are you doing today to get you where you want to be?

Thanks for the reply ZCP.

I doubt there will be a "what not to do" ebook, but I have considered a video course on how the average home owner could do it
themselves or refinishing training. I am self taught and have learned lots of tricks.

What are you doing today to get you where you want to be?

I have contacted my vinyl guy to give him what I would like to say on the truck, so he can do his magic.
I am also working on a plan to get back in with the apartment communities and reclaim my place as the local repair rep for
the tub manufacturers.

 

[Jam Wheel]

Your short blurb of a story gave me a thought.

Is there any way you could systematize/package your knowledge in tub + counter refinishing into a package for homeowners to buy? For example, put the instructions along with all the materials and tools needed into a single box/package? Maybe I am way oversimplifying this process I like the video course idea, but home repair stuff always scares me because I am never sure what to buy at the store and how it all works. Just throwing out an idea to get the best bang for the buck for your knowledge.

 

[Bigguns50]

Welcome @uglytubguy ! You're gunna like it here I'm sure.

We have granite counter tops and the guy who installed them also repairs them. He said he's in the process of getting out of being in the field so much and doing the heavy work. He has one full time guy now that goes with him. His employee does all the repair work and Juan(owner) supervises. Juan still has to do heavy lifting when installing though.

He's had an agreement with one granite company for several years and they keep him busy. He's not an employee of theirs.

 

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[SteveO]

Hello Ugly Tub Guy. Thanks for your story.

As an apartment owner, I have a love/hate relationship with tub coatings.

I have bought a number of buildings where every tub has been coated. As luck would have it, they are chipping or peeling. I have stripped the coating off of a few of them but that is a messy and tough job. We tried to get the coating companies to strip them but their cost was too high ($300 or so).

We have just changed out the tub in most cases. This is always a pain in the a$$. Besides the fact that we always have to repair or replace the tub surrounds, we sometimes need to fix the floors and always need to remove the cabinets and toilets. We usually have to knock holes in the drywall in order to maneuver the tubs in and out.

It seems like the ones that have rust and really need the repairs don't hold up. The rust always comes back through.

I have changed out 12 tubs in the past year. 10 of them were due to the fact that they were coated and now chipping/peeling.

Do you have solutions that address these problems?

 

[uglytubguy]

Your short blurb of a story gave me a thought.

Is there any way you could systematize/package your knowledge in tub + counter refinishing into a package for homeowners to buy? For example, put the instructions along with all the materials and tools needed into a single box/package? Maybe I am way oversimplifying this process I like the video course idea, but home repair stuff always scares me because I am never sure what to buy at the store and how it all works. Just throwing out an idea to get the best bang for the buck for your knowledge.

Hey Jam Wheel,

I have given that some thought in the past. The company I get my coatings from will private label and there is no problem
with curing, as with the box store epoxy kits. The big issue I have found, is DIY'ers rarely follow directions and muck it up, and
the coatings are much better sprayed. I have yet to come up with some sort of disposable sprayer. One other issue would be
that it requires that a mask be worn if sprayed. if I can find a way to get past those set backs, I would be all over that idea.

Thanks for your input. Very much appreciated

 

[uglytubguy]

Welcome @uglytubguy ! You're gunna like it here I'm sure.

We have granite counter tops and the guy who installed them also repairs them. He said he's in the process of getting out of being in the field so much and doing the heavy work. He has one full time guy now that goes with him. His employee does all the repair work and Juan(owner) supervises. Juan still has to do heavy lifting when installing though.

He's had an agreement with one granite company for several years and they keep him busy. He's not an employee of theirs.

Thanks for the idea Bigguns50!

This is exactly my intention after I get reestablished.

Hello Ugly Tub Guy. Thanks for your story.

As an apartment owner, I have a love/hate relationship with tub coatings.

I have bought a number of buildings where every tub has been coated. As luck would have it, they are chipping or peeling. I have stripped the coating off of a few of them but that is a messy and tough job. We tried to get the coating companies to strip them but their cost was too high ($300 or so).

We have just changed out the tub in most cases. This is always a pain in the a$$. Besides the fact that we always have to repair or replace the tub surrounds, we sometimes need to fix the floors and always need to remove the cabinets and toilets. We usually have to knock holes in the drywall in order to maneuver the tubs in and out.

It seems like the ones that have rust and really need the repairs don't hold up. The rust always comes back through.

I have changed out 12 tubs in the past year. 10 of them were due to the fact that they were coated and now chipping/peeling.

Do you have solutions that address these problems?

Hello Ugly Tub Guy. Thanks for your story.

As an apartment owner, I have a love/hate relationship with tub coatings.

I have bought a number of buildings where every tub has been coated. As luck would have it, they are chipping or peeling. I have stripped the coating off of a few of them but that is a messy and tough job. We tried to get the coating companies to strip them but their cost was too high ($300 or so).

We have just changed out the tub in most cases. This is always a pain in the a$$. Besides the fact that we always have to repair or replace the tub surrounds, we sometimes need to fix the floors and always need to remove the cabinets and toilets. We usually have to knock holes in the drywall in order to maneuver the tubs in and out.

It seems like the ones that have rust and really need the repairs don't hold up. The rust always comes back through.

I have changed out 12 tubs in the past year. 10 of them were due to the fact that they were coated and now chipping/peeling.

Do you have solutions that address these problems?

Hi SteveO!

The biggest problem that I have found with apartment and hotel owners, is that they tend to be unwilling to spend the money to have it done right the first time. They usually want fast and cheap. That creates big headaches for guys like you.

My suggestion would be to hire someone for day labor or your own crew to strip the old coatings off. It will be cheaper than
the big oufits $300. You can get the stripper pictured at HD big box for around $25 per gallon and it is sprayable. It is all I
use now.
If there is rust, sand as much off as possible and treat with a rust converter that turns it into a primer. Most auto stores have
it. It isn't a real cure but will buy you much longer life. Note that many of the converters take 24 hours before they can be coated over.

Next, have a quality refinish done by a good company or individual. Pay the price for good work. You can ask other flippers/investors,
etc. They should know of some. Also, make sure that they prime first and never let them use a poly based coating. They yellow
when bleach is used. Make sure it is an epoxy or acrylic coating.

This whole process should cost more than about $600-$700 depending on the going rates where you are.

Done right, it should give you several more years out of a tub.

Hope that helps some. Feel free to give me a shout if you would like to ask in person. I suck at typing! Just type "my username" dot com
into your address bar to see my ugly mug.

pic of stripper below.

 

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[AllenCrawley]

pic of stripper below.

Was anyone else disappointed after clicking the image?

 

[uglytubguy]

Was anyone else disappointed after clicking the image?

Not sure what you mean? Were you expecting something else or did it not work for you?

Just showing what I have found to work best for the price.

btw, Love the saying in your avatar!

 

[AllenCrawley]

Not sure what you mean? Were you expecting something else or did it not work for you?

Just showing what I have found to work best for the price.

btw, Love the saying in your avatar!

It was a weak attempt at humor, lol. You said it was a pic of a 'stripper'.

 

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[uglytubguy]

It was a weak attempt at humor, lol. You said it was a pic of a 'stripper'.

LMAO!! didn't catch that. I would post the right pic if I had one.

 

[SteveO]

@uglytubguy Where can I buy this product? I need to strip two tubs tomorrow.

Thanks

 

[MitchC]

The mask and the sprayer issues sound like great barriers to entry that may not be too hard to overcome, otherwise another and I think really good business model could be to brand well, systemise the process, get contracts etc and then franchise it out to different areas. There's a lot of people who would love to buy a job/business like that.

Anyways welcome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

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[SteveO]

I think I found it at Home Depot. Thanks for the information.

 

[uglytubguy]

@uglytubguy Where can I buy this product? I need to strip two tubs tomorrow.

Thanks

You can get it only at the big box Home Depot that I know of.

Have to search if you don't have one. Lowes don't have it here.

 

[uglytubguy]

The mask and the sprayer issues sound like great barriers to entry that may not be too hard to overcome, otherwise another and I think really good business model could be to brand well, systemise the process, get contracts etc and then franchise it out to different areas. There's a lot of people who would love to buy a job/business like that.

Anyways welcome


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for your suggestion. Bookworm Mitch.

Thats why I am here. The input has been great so far and I wanna get in the fastLane ASAP.

This seems like the place to get it done and keep me on track.

 

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