Hello,
I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of where
you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack. How can I repair
this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire stall and
replacing it with a new one. Can someone give me some advice on what is the
best approach to repairing this crack. Is there a product like at HomeDepo
where you can suggest I try using to repair this. Thanks for your advice!
Pete

Yeah, there are products out there, though a crack in the floor doesn't
sound good. I've been told that this is a repair that you really want
to have a professional do. There are people who patch tubs for a
living.

"Pete" wrote in message
news:MsBLf.20656$yw4.12882@trnddc05...
Hello,
I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of where
you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack. How can I repair
this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire stall and
replacing it with a new one. Can someone give me some advice on what is
the best approach to repairing this crack. Is there a product like at
HomeDepo where you can suggest I try using to repair this. Thanks for
your advice!
Pete


Odd thought, but you might want to post this in rec.boats. As the other
person said, you might want a pro to do this work, but if you really want to
do it yourself, I'm sure you'll get some great fiberglass repair suggestions
in that other newsgroup.

You should also look into what caused the floor to crack. Was there enough
stability under the floor or is it in mid air and able to over flex?


"marson" wrote in message
oups.com...
Yeah, there are products out there, though a crack in the floor doesn't
sound good. I've been told that this is a repair that you really want
to have a professional do. There are people who patch tubs for a
living.

Replace it with a cast iron tub.

On 24-Feb-2006, "Pete" wrote:

I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of where
you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack.

Is the crack right through the floor and leaking? It might be a surface crack
that is not critical.

How can I repair
this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire stall and
replacing it with a new one.

If the crack has severed the reinforcing, you will have to remove it to repair.
That kind of fracture will require reinforcing on the backside to repair. If the
crack is just in the resin/gelcoat and the glass fibers are intact, you can sand out
the surface until you get to the fibers and then fill the sanded area til it's back to the
same thinkness as the adjacent material. What you fill it with will depend in part on
what it's made of - acrylic, polyester, vinylester etc. I've never dealt with glass reinforced
acylic so you'll have to use google. For gelcoat, you can repair it as you would a boat:
http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/repairingCompositeKayaks.htm

Mike

"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...

On 24-Feb-2006, "Pete" wrote:

I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of where
you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack.

Is the crack right through the floor and leaking? It might be a surface
crack
that is not critical.

How can I repair
this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire stall and
replacing it with a new one.

If the crack has severed the reinforcing, you will have to remove it to
repair.
That kind of fracture will require reinforcing on the backside to repair.
If the
crack is just in the resin/gelcoat and the glass fibers are intact, you
can sand out
the surface until you get to the fibers and then fill the sanded area til
it's back to the
same thinkness as the adjacent material. What you fill it with will
depend in part on
what it's made of - acrylic, polyester, vinylester etc. I've never dealt
with glass reinforced
acylic so you'll have to use google. For gelcoat, you can repair it as
you would a boat:
http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/repairingCompositeKayaks.htm

Mike

If appearance is not a major concern. A basic fiberglass patch kit should
do the trick. These usually come with a can of resin and one of hardner
plus an assortment of fiberglass fabric patches (matts). Get these at most
hardware stores.

The resulting repair looks like a "bubble gum" or "big bandaid" patch but
it will hold the water in.

With a bit of careful sanding before and after applying the patch, and some
matching color Gel coat, you can blend it in reasonably well. It will be
difficult to make an invisible repair though.

"Doug Kanter" wrote in
:


"Pete" wrote in message
news:MsBLf.20656$yw4.12882@trnddc05...
Hello,
I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of
where you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack. How can
I repair this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire
stall and replacing it with a new one. Can someone give me some
advice on what is the best approach to repairing this crack. Is
there a product like at HomeDepo where you can suggest I try using to
repair this. Thanks for your advice!
Pete


Odd thought, but you might want to post this in rec.boats. As the
other person said, you might want a pro to do this work, but if you
really want to do it yourself, I'm sure you'll get some great
fiberglass repair suggestions in that other newsgroup.



Problem is;fiberglass(epoxy resin) takes a few weeks to cure to FULL
strength. I would not buy my epoxy resin from HD,either.
West Systems,System Three,or RAKA.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

"PipeDown" wrote in
nk.net:


"Michael Daly" wrote in message
...

On 24-Feb-2006, "Pete" wrote:

I have a Fiberglass shower stall in my bathroom, and on the base of
where you stand to take a shower, there is a hairline crack.

Is the crack right through the floor and leaking? It might be a
surface crack
that is not critical.

How can I repair
this small but needed repair without tearing out the entire stall
and replacing it with a new one.

If the crack has severed the reinforcing, you will have to remove it
to repair.
That kind of fracture will require reinforcing on the backside to
repair. If the
crack is just in the resin/gelcoat and the glass fibers are intact,
you can sand out
the surface until you get to the fibers and then fill the sanded area
til it's back to the
same thinkness as the adjacent material. What you fill it with will
depend in part on
what it's made of - acrylic, polyester, vinylester etc. I've never
dealt with glass reinforced
acylic so you'll have to use google. For gelcoat, you can repair it
as you would a boat:
http://www.greatlakeskayaker.ca/repairingCompositeKayaks.htm

Mike

If appearance is not a major concern. A basic fiberglass patch kit
should do the trick. These usually come with a can of resin and one
of hardner plus an assortment of fiberglass fabric patches (matts).
Get these at most hardware stores.

The resulting repair looks like a "bubble gum" or "big bandaid" patch
but it will hold the water in.

With a bit of careful sanding before and after applying the patch, and
some matching color Gel coat, you can blend it in reasonably well. It
will be difficult to make an invisible repair though.




Several layers of fiberglass cloth(from a boat products store) and epoxy
resin;do the *whole* bottom,not just the cracked area,then fill in with the
finishing coat of epoxy/filler(fumed silica).Then use a tub refinishing kit
from HD,the one for fiberglass tubs.

Hint;System Three(systemthree.com,IIRC) has a booklet you can download for
free that is EXCELLENT for learning about epoxy-glass work.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net