We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.
--
Graeme

On Sunday, 18 June 2017 08:13:51 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.

I tried twice to use the usual fibreglass repair method, didn't last either time. I don't know if it would have a chance if you totally immobilised the joint with mortar under it.

If you insist on trying:
drill a tiny hole at ach end of the crack to stop it spreading
apply resin then layers of fibreglass & resin
feather the outer edges rather than leave them abrupt
I'd also support the join & more with a solid lump of mortar to try & help it survive.


NT

On Sunday, 18 June 2017 08:13:51 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:
We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Is there any accident you could have to the bathroom that would be an insured risk?

Support it underneath with expanding foam and then use a sheet of pond liner? Pump the waste water out into the basin or loo with a small submersible pump.

Or install an temporary cheap shower cubicle in a bedroom and keep coal in the bath.

Owain

wrote:

Is there any accident you could have to the bathroom that would be an insured risk?

From messages elsewhere, the claim has already been refused.

Graeme Wrote in message:

We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.

No & it will look **** whilst you're trying.

Shurely by the time youve got access under it you're 1/2 way to
getting it out?
--
Jim K


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In message ,
writes

Or install an temporary cheap shower cubicle in a bedroom and keep coal
in the bath.

grin Luckily, because this house is ex B&B, there is no shortage of
baths and showers. Funnily enough, there is a ground floor bathroom
which we have never used. It is a real carbuncle on the side of the
house, and the plan (round tuit) is to remove the sanitary ware and use
it to store coal and firewood.

Picking up other points, I mentioned in the original post that an
insurance claim has been refused. Perhaps I should have told them I
dropped something in it. Too late now.
--
Graeme

On 18/06/2017 09:07, jim wrote:
Graeme Wrote in message:

We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.

No & it will look **** whilst you're trying.


I got the impression that the OP already said it looked **** before the
bath split.


--
Adam

On Sun, 18 Jun 2017 08:10:32 +0100, Graeme
wrote:


We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower.

snip

That reminds me that giving our plastic corner bath another couple of
layers of fibreglass (over the existing) and supporting the base
stiffener pad with a cement plinth from the floor was worth the
effort. ;-)

If you could get access to the underside, depending on how flat it was
and if you like the whole 'Steampunk' look g, maybe a pad of a
suitably thick (15-18mm?) ply, bonded to the underside (and if not
flat over the area that has cracked, a brass strip) with the likes of
CT1 and a batch of stainless steel screws (with screw cups?) from the
inside out and possibly supported underneath with some expanding foam
.... would hold everything in place for now??

With it held stable some funky quality tape PVC strips to cover the
crack on the inside, with some dummy ones to add to the effect? ;-)

Cheers, T i m

In message , ARW
writes
On 18/06/2017 09:07, jim wrote:

No & it will look **** whilst you're trying.


I got the impression that the OP already said it looked **** before the
bath split.

Adam, the whole bathroom is avocado. Of course it looks **** :-)
--
Graeme

On 18/06/2017 08:10, Graeme wrote:

We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age. It
cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.


Snap! Been there and have the T shirt - the repair may not look pretty.
I believe my bath colour was called champagne - the colour of a light
brown ****.

You will find underneath of the bath the base is/was strengthened with a
piece of chipboard and now it has become wet it has the consistency of
porridge.

What I did as temporary fix (for nearly a year until replacing the bath).

Wedge as much scrap wood as you can under the bath to completely support
the base, including the bits away from the crack. The bath legs are now
somewhat redundant after this failure. If the crack still moves after
this exercise then fibre glassing on top will just fail again very shortly.

Get a glass fibre repair kit (car repairs) and fibre glass the inside of
the bath. First hand sand the surface of the inside of the bath around
the crack to form a key (power tools are too aggressive and the acrylic
will melt and clog the sand paper rather than keying it). Resin then
layer glass matting, possibly using the finer matting that looks like
tissue paper as the top layer

If after, say, 12 hours the repair feels a bit tacky/sticky sprinkle
some talcum power over it.

It may not be too difficult to get the bath out without damaging the
surrounding floor/tiles too much. I took the bath out whole and then
managed with ease to break it down into two rubble sacks for disposal.
The bath cuts easily with a sharp wood saw and once you have made some
cuts bits break off easily by just bending through 90 degrees. Wear eye
protection as the the inside thin layer of the bath will break off as
sharp shards of plastic.

Getting a new bath in may be difficult if you have pipes running through
the legs etc. In addition measure the bath before removal as I found
common size replacement baths were a different size to the 1980s fitted
bath (by about 1 inche in length - the old bath being shorter.)



--
mailto: news {at} admac {dot] myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In message , T i m
writes

With it held stable some funky quality tape PVC strips to cover the
crack on the inside, with some dummy ones to add to the effect? ;-)

Wifey said chuck an anti slip mat in the bath to hide the crack :-)
--
Graeme

On Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:32:06 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:

grin Luckily, because this house is ex B&B, there is no shortage of
baths and showers. Funnily enough, there is a ground floor bathroom
which we have never used. It is a real carbuncle on the side of the
house, and the plan (round tuit) is to remove the sanitary ware and use
it to store coal and firewood.

Picking up other points, I mentioned in the original post that an
insurance claim has been refused. Perhaps I should have told them I
dropped something in it. Too late now.

The reason for their refusal may have been that it was avocado


NT

On 18/06/2017 11:36, wrote:
On Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:32:06 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:

grin Luckily, because this house is ex B&B, there is no shortage of
baths and showers. Funnily enough, there is a ground floor bathroom
which we have never used. It is a real carbuncle on the side of the
house, and the plan (round tuit) is to remove the sanitary ware and use
it to store coal and firewood.

Picking up other points, I mentioned in the original post that an
insurance claim has been refused. Perhaps I should have told them I
dropped something in it. Too late now.

The reason for their refusal may have been that it was avocado


NT


My old avocado bath was replaced by the insurers when I broke it.
I was on the steps changing the light bulb when the wife opened the door
and knocked the steps and and I put my boot on the bath edge hard enough
to crack it.

On Sun, 18 Jun 2017 10:49:45 +0100, Graeme
wrote:

In message , T i m
writes

With it held stable some funky quality tape PVC strips to cover the
crack on the inside, with some dummy ones to add to the effect? ;-)

Wifey said chuck an anti slip mat in the bath to hide the crack :-)

Is the right answer (please tell her from me)! ;-)

I guess if your house is your life then having it like they seem to
suggested we should on the TV makeover programs, like a hotel or
holiday apartment then a (fixed and watertight) crack in the bottom of
the bath would be unacceptable, but ITRW and especially if you make a
feature out of it ... ;-)

Personally, whilst I try to make the best of those jobs I do do in the
house (and why I really have to go back and do them again) there are
more important things to do, like going out and doing stuff, while we
still can.

e.g. Now I just need some 3-4mm thick marine ply to do a job on my
dinghy so we can get out on the water and someone else can finish the
house when we are gone. ;-)

Cheers, T i m

In message , T i m
writes

Personally, whilst I try to make the best of those jobs I do do in the
house (and why I really have to go back and do them again) there are
more important things to do, like going out and doing stuff, while we
still can.

Hallelujah. That is exactly our view, more and more so as time passes.
We're retired now, and there is some stuff we *have* to do, but we try
to spend more time doing stuff we want to do rather than stuff we have
to do.

We bought this house 15 years ago, knowing that a lot of things need
doing, some minor, some fairly major. We have done quite a lot, but I
happily accept I'll be in a box before it is all perfect. So what? Our
son will inherit the lot, and he can fix it, live with it or sell it.
His choice.

Getting back to the bathroom, we are already using another one, so the
broken one is not urgent. Unfortunately, the damaged bath is the length
of the room, so walls on three sides, and there is boxing on the 4th
side, at the non tap end. Removing the bath by cutting it up may be
possible, but getting a new one in without damaging tiles? No. We
could remove the bath and replace with a shorter bath, or just a shower,
but that would expose non tiled areas, and zero chance of finding
matching tiles.

It would worry some people (my brother would be round the rafters), but
I just accept that it will or will not be done when I die.
--
Graeme

In message , alan_m
writes

Snap! Been there and have the T shirt - the repair may not look pretty.
I believe my bath colour was called champagne - the colour of a light
brown ****.

Extremely helpful post. Thanks Alan.
--
Graeme

On 18/06/2017 13:09, Graeme wrote:
In message , T i m
writes

Getting back to the bathroom, we are already using another one, so the
broken one is not urgent. Unfortunately, the damaged bath is the length
of the room, so walls on three sides, and there is boxing on the 4th
side, at the non tap end. Removing the bath by cutting it up may be
possible, but getting a new one in without damaging tiles? No. We
could remove the bath and replace with a shorter bath, or just a shower,
but that would expose non tiled areas, and zero chance of finding
matching tiles.

In cases like that I find its easier to just try and find tiles of a
matching size, but contrasting to the original - i.e just make a feature
of the change. I needed to tile a bit in our utility room, where it had
been tiled in a deep royal blue tile. No chance of finding a
replacement. So doing the infill in white tiles with a transition strip
at the change looks ok.

So could you get the bath panel off (even if it means wrecking tiles on
it)? Fixing the crack with access to the underside will be much easier.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Unfortunately, the problem with aged baths is that over time the internal
stresses tend to make them split if slightly out of level. I'd not want to
trust any repair as the crack will just tend to run on and on, at least from
the experience of one I've seen. Its getting it to bond with the old
material of course that is the challenge.

Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"Graeme" wrote in message
...

We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago, and,
given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age. It
cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc. all
match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the problem,
the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and every surface
except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll never match now.
Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not be possible, so
the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.
--
Graeme

Yes and of course there is nothing in the style book that says everything in
a bathroom has to be the same colour. A bit of creative thinking is needed I
think.
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"jim" k wrote in message
...
Graeme Wrote in message:

We have a bath which was here when we bought the house 15 years ago,
and, given the colour (avocado), is probably at least twice that age.
It cracked, right across the middle, with me standing in it, enjoying a
shower. No, not an insured risk.

Ideally, we would rip the lot out and replace, but that is not an option
at present. Bath, bidet, toilet, basin, splashback, towel rails etc.
all match, and yes, they are as awful as they sound. To compound the
problem, the bath was installed then boxed in to hide pipe runs, and
every surface except the floor and ceiling tiled with green tiles I'll
never match now. Removing just the bath without breaking tiles would not
be possible, so the whole lot would need to be replaced.

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.

No & it will look **** whilst you're trying.

Shurely by the time youve got access under it you're 1/2 way to
getting it out?
--
Jim K


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

On 18/06/2017 08:10, Graeme wrote:

So, is it possible to repair the bath? It is some sort of plastic or
acrylic. Perhaps fibre glass or similar from below? It needs to be
functional rather than pretty.

If you can get to the underside then I would:

Apply resin and mat to the underside - do a wide strip going at least 4
and preferably 6" either side of the crack - build up several layers.

Then support from the underside to the floor.

Now roughen the clean an area say 1" either side of the crack on the
"finish" side of the bath, and cover the crack with a fibreglass loaded
resin past[1]. That will let you get a completely smooth finish, but the
fibres in it make it much stronger than normal car body filler type
materials.

[1] The best one I used I got years ago from a specialist model boat
suppliers (Prestwich Models). They supplied it in small tins, but it was
something they had repackaged from a more industrial sized supply I
would guess. Looking at their current web site, they now supply
microfibres separately for adding to resin and making your own.

These folks also do a pretty extensive range of stuff that might help:

https://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

In message , Brian Gaff
writes
Yes and of course there is nothing in the style book that says everything in
a bathroom has to be the same colour. A bit of creative thinking is needed I
think.

Brian, there is creative and creative :-)
--
Graeme

On Sun, 18 Jun 2017 13:09:24 +0100, Graeme
wrote:

In message , T i m
writes

Personally, whilst I try to make the best of those jobs I do do in the
house (and why I really have to go back and do them again) there are
more important things to do, like going out and doing stuff, while we
still can.

Hallelujah.

;-)

That is exactly our view, more and more so as time passes.

It does seem to be time / age related doesn't it (in some quarters).

We're retired now, and there is some stuff we *have* to do, but we try
to spend more time doing stuff we want to do rather than stuff we have
to do.

Exactly.

We bought this house 15 years ago, knowing that a lot of things need
doing, some minor, some fairly major.

I bought mine (on my own) nearly 40 years ago and we also have a
similar range of jobs that still need doing.

We have done quite a lot, but I
happily accept I'll be in a box before it is all perfect. So what?

Exactly. When I'm about to take my last breath I hope I'll be
reminiscing about all the good things we did rather than that wall
that needs re-plastering. ;-)

Our
son will inherit the lot, and he can fix it, live with it or sell it.
His choice.

Bingo. Why should they be in any better position than we were. ;-)

Getting back to the bathroom, we are already using another one, so the
broken one is not urgent.

Understood.

Unfortunately, the damaged bath is the length
of the room, so walls on three sides, and there is boxing on the 4th
side, at the non tap end. Removing the bath by cutting it up may be
possible, but getting a new one in without damaging tiles? No. We
could remove the bath and replace with a shorter bath, or just a shower,
but that would expose non tiled areas, and zero chance of finding
matching tiles.

So I understood.

It would worry some people (my brother would be round the rafters), but
I just accept that it will or will not be done when I die.

I guess all that is a function of who else comes in your house, what
they would then think of you for having it in whatever state or how
much you are bothered by what they think. Ok, it has to be reasonable
and useable but the thought of living in something akin to a showroom
wouldn't be 'living' in my mind.

I have also been very fortunate that all my girlfriends and both my
wives (not *all* of them were around at the same time g) have shared
a similar view to me and so we have generally done stuff together.

The current Mrs is also more than happy to roll her sleeves up and
muck in with whatever going on, be it taking the plaster off a wall,
building a kitcar or refurbishing a boat. ;-)

I am very happy to say I very rarely have to say 'I'd better do / not
do xyz' because of 'her indoors' (but I'll often run it past her in
any case, as she would with me). ;-)


Cheers, T i m

"dennis@home" Wrote in message:
On 18/06/2017 11:36, wrote:
On Sunday, 18 June 2017 09:32:06 UTC+1, Graeme wrote:

grin Luckily, because this house is ex B&B, there is no shortage of
baths and showers. Funnily enough, there is a ground floor bathroom
which we have never used. It is a real carbuncle on the side of the
house, and the plan (round tuit) is to remove the sanitary ware and use
it to store coal and firewood.

Picking up other points, I mentioned in the original post that an
insurance claim has been refused. Perhaps I should have told them I
dropped something in it. Too late now.

The reason for their refusal may have been that it was avocado


NT


My old avocado bath was replaced by the insurers when I broke it.
I was on the steps changing the light bulb when the wife opened the door
and knocked the steps and and I put my boot on the bath edge hard enough
to crack it.


They believed that?! Sounds like an Ealing comedy.
--
Jim K


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