Another bathroom question. I'm in the process of completely redoing my
bathroom, including sheetrock. I was able to get the old sheetrock off
from above the shower/tub with no problem, but am thinking about how I
will get the new sheetrock in place and held until I can get it
secured. It's an old building with high ceilings so it'll be larger
and heavier than usual.

Using a ladder, obviously, I want the ladder as close to the wall as
possible. I want to put one end of the ladder in the tub, but the tub
is fiberglass and I don't want to punch a hole through the bottom.
What can I do to protect from that? At first I thought a thick
padding, but now I'm thinking a piece of plywood to distribute the
weight while being more solid.

The Dave© wrote:

Another bathroom question. I'm in the process of completely redoing my
bathroom, including sheetrock. I was able to get the old sheetrock off
from above the shower/tub with no problem, but am thinking about how I
will get the new sheetrock in place and held until I can get it
secured. It's an old building with high ceilings so it'll be larger
and heavier than usual.

Using a ladder, obviously, I want the ladder as close to the wall as
possible. I want to put one end of the ladder in the tub, but the tub
is fiberglass and I don't want to punch a hole through the bottom.
What can I do to protect from that? At first I thought a thick
padding, but now I'm thinking a piece of plywood to distribute the
weight while being more solid.

Depends. If the bottom of the tub is not embedded in cement, it
may still flex or crack where the edge of the ply carries more weight.
I'm leary of "stuff" falling in and scarring the surface too.
Dob't know if it's practical in your case, but I cut a heavy piece
of plywood to fit on the lip of the tub, against the wall. Nothing
can get down into the tub.

You might get away with a hunk of heavy carpet, then the ply on top
to distribute the load.

Jim