Our house has those one-piece fiberglass (or something like it) bathtub/tub-surround thingees. In other words, the tub and the area surrounding the tub on the walls is one big unit. It’s handy in some ways, because there’s no tile to worry about, no tile grout to get dirty, etc. And it’s easy to clean.
BUT…
The tub in the main bathroom started creaking oddly when I stood in it. I got down and looked closely, and there’s a CRACK in the bottom of the tub! Not a big crack, but it Definitely Should Not Be There.
Does anyone have any experience with these kinds of tubs? Are they repairable, or are we going to have to spring to have the whole thing replaced?
I am a large person, 6’4" and well over 300#. I have found that some of those tub enclosures are not well installed, and rock or deform when I stand in them.
The bottom of the tub is likely supported by a frame of 2x4"s or just individual pieces of wood placed under the tub bottom.
On some enclosures, the wood frame is actually a part of the tub.
If this wood rots, or if it wasn’t installed properly, it can allow the tub to flex too much and break. This is what it sounds like has happened in your case.
It may be that the crack can be sealed up and the support reinforced from below. Most likely the tub enclosure is going to have to be removed (less traumatic than you might think) but it’s probably going to be expensive, whether you replace the enclosure or not.
If you don’t deal with this crack (which is leaking some amount of water, be assured of that fact) then your floor will rot.
Wolfrick, that’s what I was figuring. The house itself is on a slab. I guess I just figured there would be some kind of wood framing or supports underneath, though.
I was looking around online for a bit and I see that two-piece (tub and enclosure separately) are available. The ones at Lowe’s weren’t THAT expensive ($400 or so for the pair), but I’m guessing the labor’s what’s going to eat me alive, right?
Depends on how adventuresome you are about replacing things yourself. A pre-built tub enclosure is probably not as difficult to install as a lot of home things – just take out the old one and then put in the new and grout it. (We’ve been installing a new floor in our house, so I know all about adventuresome!)
You might want to talk to the folks at Lowes or Home Depot to see if they offer any classes on how do to that yourself, or have any good books and suggestions. They’ve often got people who can walk you all the way through whatever it is you want to do.
When we finish the floor, our next project is going to be replacing the kitchen counter tile, so I may be a grouting expert in the near future! :eek: And if I can do it, you can, too, trust me!!
Mama Tiger, we put down a new floor in the kitchen earlier this year, so I know whereof you speak. And I got to attend and assist last year when my sister and her chums put up tile up in the kitchen over her new counter, so I know a little about that too.
I’m just a bit leery about something quite as large as this though. But I’ll go down to Lowe’s or Home Depot tomorrow and check prices and ask for advice.
I had a ceramic tile shower enclosure installed recently. The walls and floor were covered with “wonder” cement & fiberglass board. The floor was covered by a sheet copper pan 4" deep, with soldered corner seams, over the entire area. The drain came up through the bottom and sealed. The pan was filled with slightly dampened sand, shaped to conduct water to the drain. Tile was laid in dry grout, then dampended to set and finally grouted between the joints. All of this to positively preventing any deformation of the bottom of the floor with person in shower.
It seems to me that the fiberglass shell should either have support member across the floor (or bottom of tub) to prevent distortion and subsequent dracking or breaking. Auto body shops routinely repair broken fiberglas in situ. This may be an option. Work the phones to locate craftsman to do an in place job. Still may need to install supports or grout or ???
Archergal…you need J B Wield. This stuff is great. Just follow the instructions and proceed. It will be gray. Then purchase some porceline/white paint in the real small bottles that have a brush attached to the inside of the cap. Just be sure to allow the J B Weld product to dry completely before applying the paint to match you tub color. Prior advice about supporting the tub is of utmost importance to not have a reoccurance of the problem. Of coursed if you’ve got the bucks…find a recomended handyman to replace the whole unit. Good LucK!
I had a stress crack in a fiberglas tub surround that started to leak and I did a poor job of repairing it with a do-it-yourself kit.
A few years later another crack appeared and I looked in the phone book under “Bathtubs and Sinks - Repairing and Refinishing”. The guy did a very nice job fixing my botched job and repairing the other crack. The price seemed very reasonable. The repair guy said they do both fiberglas and acrylic tubs. He said that sometimes the tub is not properly installed and then they need to get support under the floor AND do the repair. Not the problem in my case.