Claw Foot Tub feet questions

[yona4u]

I am having an old cast iron claw foot tub refinished. The contractor who is doing the refinishing is licensed and insured, however, I'm wondering about how he's handling the feet for the tub.
Most places remove the feet and have them done separately.
This guy is leaving them on.. does not want to mess with the bolts or anything, but two feet are somewhat loose and two are not. He said that this is okay because that way the tub will give a little when water and a person are added.
Is this right?? Please help... It goes against my common sense. How can they be okay with some being loose and some not???
I am worried because we are totally redoing this bathroom and it will have granite flooring. I do not want the tub to end of damaging my floors.

The other question is about the joists under it. The floor joists are pretty thick since this is an old house. They are spaced in such a way that there will be one almost right under where the feet will be placed. Is this okay? I have read where you should put extra floor joist, but our contractor said we have plenty of floor support. What do you think?

Thanks so much,
Yona4u

[C NUMB]

He said that this is okay because that way the tub will give a little when water and a person are added.

Yona4u

I am sorry, but I am laughing at that statement. You need to have the legs removed and refitted so they are not loose.

Also, not sure about the floor situation but I would be putting extra support if at all concerned. If it is like a Kohler clawfoot cast iron tub your floor will need to handle a lot of weight. That one full of water is close to 900lbs without anyone in it.

Kohler suggests: Floor support under bath must provide for a minimum of
47 lbs/square foot (227 kg/square meter) loading.

[yona4u]

Hi there,

Thanks for answering.

Yes, I can understand why that statement would crack someone up. It doesn't make any sense. I think he's probably worried about breaking the bolts while trying to get the feet off. I don't know, but hopefully things will work out.

As far as the weight is concerned, this is a 26W x 60W tub that is cast iron, but as you can see it's not real big. My contractor said that we have adequate floor joist. I just wanted to see what someone else would say.

Is there a way to figure out how our joists will handle that specific tub? Like if the floor joists are 2x8's spaced so far apart, plus have hard wood flooring on top of them, then a layer of dura rock, then our regular tiles... do you think that's good?

Appreciate the help. I also posted a question under the toilet forum too.. if you'd like to help me there?

Thanks again!!
Yona4u