Crack In Tub Surround

How to Fix a Hairline Crack in a Fiberglass Tub; Paint the crack using the fiberglass adhesive or What is the Best Way to Remove an Old Fiberglass Tub Surround.

If it s a plastic tub surround, I would repair it temporarily with 100 silicon. I would then plan on replacing the surround completely within a month or two.

Baltimore Maryland Bathtub, Tile Tub Surround Refinishing. Tub Coaters, bathroom reconstruction, old bath tub crack. How do i fix cracks in my hot tub.

Apr 22, 2005  A. If your one-piece tub and surround has visible cracks in the bottom and along the edge between the tub and surround walls, and if it gives a bit when.

How to Repair Cracks in a Tub Surround. A tub surround fits the walls around a bathtub to protect the walls from water. Tub surrounds are available in acrylics or.

Q. My husband and I need help deciding whether we should replace a 25-year-old, acrylic, single-unit tub and shower surround when we remodel the bathroom. The tub has some 2- to 4-inch hairline cracks in the bottom and one at the junction of the tub with the surround wall. There is some flex to the bottom of the tub when we stand on it.

We plan to replace the bathroom flooring, vanity top and faucets.

How should we get the tub out, and what kind of tub should we put in its place. The bathroom is small, and the door is only 24 inches wide with the trim on.

A. If your one-piece tub and surround has visible cracks in the bottom and along the edge between the tub and surround walls, and if it gives a bit when you stand on it, you definitely need to replace it. The cracks in the tub are almost certainly allowing some water to leak underneath, and the longer you wait to replace it, the more risk there is of dry rot and other moisture-related problems.

Responding to your first question about whether you should remove and replace the tub and surround before the other remodeling, the simple answer is yes.

To get it out, you ll need to break it into smaller pieces that will fit through the door. With some elbow grease and a utility knife or a small handsaw, you can probably extend the crack between the tub and the surround from one end to the other and then remove the surround in one or two pieces. The tub will get through the door when turned on its side.

Regarding a replacement, unless you want to tear out part of a wall to get another single-unit tub and surround in there, you will have to settle for a separate tub and surround walls. With average tubs around 30 inches wide by 5 feet long, you may even have trouble getting a one-piece surround unit through the 24-inch door, in which case you might need to settle for a three-piece surround.

In general, the fewer seams you have in the tub and shower walls, the easier it will be to keep clean. But the slight inconvenience of cleaning corner seams and another at the tub edge seems a better option than taking out walls to get a one-piece tub and surround unit in there.

I assume that either you know what you are doing when removing the present unit and installing a new tub, or at least have access to help and information. There are a few other issues you might want to consider when doing this job.

One is that when you have the tub out, check the floor and supporting joists under the tub area carefully for dry rot or weak spots. If there is significant damage, you ll need to do some carpentry to replace or repair joists or floorboards before installing a new tub and new flooring.

If the walls behind the present tub and surround unit are regular drywall, even if it s in good shape and not mildewed and spongy, you should replace it with concrete board, which is impervious to moisture.

Finally, if you don t already have a powerful vent fan installed in the bathroom, now is the time to put one in while you are already making a mess remodeling. A good fan will vent shower steam and prevent problems with condensation, mildew and peeling paint.

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Cracked tub surround has to go