Making a Concrete Bathtub for Dummies

concrete bathtub mold

We've noticed several times that the worst of the freelancers writing the how-to instructions that pop up in the many niche sites filled with former eHow.com posts were, to be polite, prone to exaggeration. One thing they exaggerated on a regular basis was the amount of information they got from their alleged references. Today's nominee is an example of such exaggeration, a Hunker.com post tlted "How to Pour Concrete Bathtubs," posted by Steve Smith back when he called himself S. Baselice.¹

Baselice's references were for a content farm post about how to make forms and for a company that sells formed concrete for kitchens and baths (counter tops and curbs, not tubs). The first is probably where Steve got the notion that your first step is to,

"Design the tub on AutoCAD software. This way you can accurately break down the number of forms you will need to cut for your concrete tub."

We guess that's good information for pouring a foundation, which is the focus of the content farm post he tried to use. Once he got past that, though, Baselice / Smith was in a heap of trouble. You see, to make a concrete bathtub, you use a form for the interior that is oblong, rounded, and domelike. You also need to allow for the drain. Steve, on the other hand, seemed pretty sure both the interior and exterior forms would be rectangular:

"...for a 2 by 4 foot tub that is 2 feet tall, cut two 2 by 2 foot boards, and two 4 by 2 foot boards... Measure the inner width and length of the tub to cut and install the inside forms in the same manner..."

We guess that set of forms would work if you want a rectangular tub, though we think Steve did a pretty crappy job of describing how the inner form should be installed. It has to be suspended, right? and he didn't mention a single word about the drain and the overflow, nor did he suggest a slant on the floor so the tub would drain toward one end.

As for finishing the job, all Baselice / Smith has to say is,

"Mix the concrete and pour it into the mold. Then let dry. Remove the forms to create your tub."

That's all you do? No polishing? no cleanup? no curing? What kind of cement do you use? How do you prevent bubbles and voids?

With crappy instructions like those, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Smith is the (not-so-) proud recipient of today's Dumbass of the Day award.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   ehow.com/how_4967522_pour-concrete-bathtubs.html

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