If your tub ends up with a crack in it, you might be in kind of a panic right about now. It may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but a cracked tub can lead to leaking water and water damage to the floor. Can you repair a cracked tub? The plumbing experts at POM Plumbing have some advice for you.
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The Cause of the Crack
The first thing we have to discuss is how your tub came to be cracked. If the crack is along the side due to some accidental collision or acute damage, you’re in luck. That kind of crack can easily be fixed with some epoxy or a tub repair kit. However, if the crack has simply appeared and is along the floor of the tub, things become a bit more complicated. This is a stress crack, which can happen after many years of use, especially if many people are using it or if users are very heavy. Fortunately, there are some fixes that may be able to help you with a stress crack in your tub.
Repair a Cracked Tub Temporarily
The first thing you must know is that a stress crack in the floor of an acrylic tub isn’t something that can simply have a bandaid slapped on it. Because it’s caused by stress, any fix will only be temporary. However, if you need an emergency fix that may last a few weeks at best, epoxy will do the trick.
Applying epoxy and pressing it into the crack may allow you some extra time to organize a replacement. However, in the end, if you don’t have the tub replaced, the crack will simply keep appearing, worse each time. Each time it reappears, there’s the possibility of water getting in and leading to water damage on the floor beneath. This can cause structural issues to your floor. That’s incredibly dangerous when the weight of the tub relies on it to hold it up.
Repair a Cracked Tub “Long-Term”
If you’re up for some ugly repair work that might end up making things worse if done wrong, there is one more solution. An acrylic tub getting a stress crack is typically because there isn’t enough support beneath it. Fixing the support issue and then patching the crack might be enough to prevent the crack from returning for many months. However, the end goal should still be replacing the tub.
To give additional support to an acrylic tub, you’ll have to make things worse before they get better. Using a drill, create a hole at each end of the crack. Add a few in other areas of the floor of the tub that could use more support as well. Once the holes are drilled, you’ll want to spray an expanding foam into each of them. Do this until the hole is filled completely. This foam will expand beneath the tub and firm up, providing some more support to the tub floor. Any excess foam should be scraped away. Then, a tub repair kit should be used to waterproof the areas of the tub floor that were damaged.
Tub Replacement
When it comes time to replace your tub, POM Plumbing is here to help. Ensuring a new tub is installed properly is extremely important. Let us help with the installation to guarantee your plumbing continues working as intended.
