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aemeijers

wrote:
On Feb 11, 2:15 pm, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Feb 11, 2:16 pm, wrote:

My cheap vinylbathtubhas become brittle over time and now has
several places where it has actually failed and has cracks that would
yu would think would cause the tub to leak. It does not leak however
and I'm guessing that it it actually a vinyl sandwich with closed cell
foam in between.
I know that the solution is to tear out and replace the tub but winter
in Minnesota is not a good time to do this job. Thankfully the tub
doesn't leak but I am curious if anyone knows why it wouldn't leak
even though it isbroken. I would also like to know whether it worth
it for me to consider patching thesebrokenspots and what my optiions
might be.
One idea I have is to cover thebrokenplaces with epoxy. Another
idea is to cover the spots with the sticky marine tape that they use
on boat decks or even cover the entire tub with this stuff. Any other
ideas are appreciated. The longer I can avoid replacin this crappy
bathtubthe better for me.
Lawrence in Minnesota
Better than just epoxy would be some fiberglass cloth and epoxy
thickened with filler. It won't be pretty, but it should seal the soon-
to-be leaks. Rough up the area where you will be using the glass so
the epoxy has some bite.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

thank you for that excellent idea. I could just cover the entire tub
with epoxy and cloth for a permanent repair?
That would cost you more than a new builder-grade tub. If you can live
with a plastic surround rather than tile, and can come up with a clean
way to make the transition from the tub walls to any surrounding tile,
changing the tub and the surround shouldn't be that bad a job, even in
winter. A cast iron tub (my first choice) and a tile surround, would
take 2-3 days. You get an experienced bathroom remodeler, they can
probably do a rip-n-replace of a plastic tub and surround in a single
day, other than any needed replacement of floor covering (since the
front floor edge of new tub almost never matches the old one.)

Yeah, a PITA, but doable. And do you really wanna mess with this more
than once?

(Don't feel bad- my main bath has a 1960 denture-pink cast iron tub with
matching mud-bed tile. But aside from a few tiny-nick rusty spots near
drain that I keep meaning to epoxy, it is in fine shape, so I can't
justify replacement. And although ugly, it is better than the cheap 1979
plastic almond-color shower stall in the bath in the addition.)

aem sends...