Howdy,
My fiancee's current house has a fiberglass built-in tub/shower unit. It
has a "soft spot" in the floor of the tub that flexes when you step on it.
Its also starting to show some cracks in the surface coat. The spot is
perhaps 6"x12" or so. The cracks don't appear to be through the material
and there don't seem to be leaks (yet).
A plumber who looked at it confirmed that the tub was fiberglass and that
it was a pretty good brand. He'd never seen anything like it. :-/ He's
gonna check to see if the company has a warranty against defects (tub is
<10 years old), but even if they do, the company will most likely pay for
the tub only, not the labor to remove the bad one and install the new one
(plumber estimates that at $1k to $1.5k).
Here's my question...
Is there any reason that cutting a hole in the subfloor underneath the tub
and then fiberglassing on a repair patch (with some reinforcement &/or
bracing to the subfloor) wouldn't work? On the surface, this seems to be
a no-brainer as at least something to try... If it doesn't work, we've
gotta yank the tub anyway, right? Only thing this would leave would be a
12x12 (or whatever) square hole in the subfloor under the tub. We'd even
be able to put the piece back in, with a small frame around it, from
underneath. Total cost on something like this is <$20... Just some
fiberglass material.
Let me know. Seems like I should at least try it.
Mark
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