I have a fiberglass tub that has a 2 in crack in the bottom. There are no pieces missing but water can leak through the crack. The house is on a slab so there is no access to the area under the tub. The floor beneath the tub has some give to it. Can the crack be repaired w/o removing the tub? Should some foam or other material be put beneath the tub to support it to prevent it from cracking again? Thanks.
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tub crack
Our local plumbing store has an employee that is trained to fix fiberglass tubs on site. I have witnessed him perform magic and save the day. However, the general rule of thumb is any crack (not a chip) on the standing portion of the tub cannot be fixed.
It can be fixed, but as the previous post indicates fixing a crack in the standing area is iffy. Best fix in the standing area would be to grind away the gelcoat, put down a layer of glass, then replace the gelcoat, but it will leave a large (8-12" square) rough area. Fixing just the crack, such that the "damage" is limited to a roughly 4x4" area, would be much less likely to hold, if the problem spot is a place where people stand.
I used to think that maybe drilling a small hole and injecting foam would help, but I've thought about that over the years and I doubt that it would do any good. The force from someone standing can be 200-300 psi, which is much more than the foam will support.