Repairing a hairline crack in bathtub

[Jon Parker]

Got a 2 inch hairline crack in the bottom of the bathtub. Seems to be watertight but want to get it patched up.

Seems to be a choice of repair tape, or a kind of resin kit which involves mixing two parts together to form a resin which gets spread over the crack wtih a syringe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vyX4GJaus

Anyone else care to suggest the way forward? Do I need to drill at both ends to stop it spreading? I'm reluctant to drill whilst it's still watertight. The bathtub is white fortunately so I don't have to worry too much about colour matching.

Thanks
Jon

[newshound]

Acrylic?

If it's GRP then GRP patch on the back, presumably.

[Jim K]

Jon Parker <jonbo...@googlemail.com> Wrote in message:

In the car repair world, matching white paint is a nightmare.
--
Jim K


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[Jon Parker]

Acrylic.

[tabb...@gmail.com]

I tried a resin repair with plenty of fibreglass mat. Worked great for a while then cracked off. Tried it again with much bigger mat area & more reinforcement. Same thing followed. You're screwed.


NT

[Bill]

In message <f609fa7f-a35f-46d5...@googlegroups.com>,
tabb...@gmail.com writes

>I tried a resin repair with plenty of fibreglass mat. Worked great for
>a while then cracked off. Tried it again with much bigger mat area &
>more reinforcement. Same thing followed. You're screwed.

Would epoxy resin rather than the car repair type resin work? Certainly
it does inside wooden boats, and to repair a crack in a fiberglass
dinghy. In the outdoors, on the upturned dinghy, it has yellowed
significantly, though.
--
Bill

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[James Stewart]

"Jon Parker" <jonbo...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:690ae265-affc-46b0...@googlegroups.com...

cast iron?

[Richard]

Probably bugger up the finish on the acrylic though.

[spuorg...@gowanhill.com]

On Thursday, 8 November 2018 07:56:48 UTC, James Stewart wrote:
> cast iron?

Duck tape?

Owain

[alan_m]

On 07/11/2018 21:32, Jon Parker wrote:

> Got a 2 inch hairline crack in the bottom of the bathtub. Seems to be watertight but want to get it patched up.

Check the underside of the bath.

To give the base some strength the manufactures glue/bond a sheet of
chipboard to the base of the bath. Sometimes this board is exposed and
sometime this board is further covered in a layer of fibre glass/resin.

Whilst dry this board serves its purpose but as soon as it gets wet it
has the strength of soggy Weetabix. Once the strength goes the base of
the bath can flex a lot v v more and your crack may widen and let
through more water. I have the tee shirt!
As a precaution I recommend that you perhaps prop up the base using
scrap wood wedged between the bath base and the floor.

Is one side of the crack at a higher surface level than the other side
of the crack indicating that the underlying strengthening fibre shell
may have also cracked?

With a hairline crack the filler probably needs to be very liquid for it
to enter a thin crack by capillary action.

When I broke up my old acrylic bath and disposed of it in 3 rubble sacks
the construction appeared to be a 1/8th inch thick one piece molding of
the inner bath strengthened with layers of glass fibre/resin and with
the chipboard base glued on afterwards. This inner layer was very
brittle, albeit the bath was around 20 years old.

>
> Seems to be a choice of repair tape, or a kind of resin kit which involves mixing two parts together to form a resin which gets spread over the crack wtih a syringe
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vyX4GJaus
>
> Anyone else care to suggest the way forward? Do I need to drill at both ends to stop it spreading? I'm reluctant to drill whilst it's still watertight. The bathtub is white fortunately so I don't have to worry too much about colour matching.
>
> Thanks
> Jon
>

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

[Ian Jackson]

In message <d538bc05-9f9a-4a40...@googlegroups.com>,
spuorg...@gowanhill.com writes

Although it's not very elegant, that's a fairly good idea (although
don't choose a cheap brand). If (when) it does eventually start to come
adrift, it's easily renewed.
--
Ian

[Nick Odell]

On 07/11/2018 21:32, Jon Parker wrote:

I tend to agree with those who say you are probably stuffed and looking
at a new bathtub - ouch!

And I agree with those saying that if you attempt a repair (knowing the
probability of long-term success is pretty low) supporting it from
underneath so that it can't move or flex again is essential.

I would go for an acrylic solvent myself. Yes, I think I would drill a
tiny hole at each end of the crack and then maybe dissolve the shavings
in the clear solvent to boost the colour. It's never going to look
perfect again but that might help.

IIRC pure ether dissolves acrylic but nowadays I think you can buy
acrylic welding solutions which contain the solvent loaded with
dissolved acrylic. A quick google on the subject brings up a few
solutions (sorry about the pun).

Hope this helps. Do let us know what you decide to do and how it works out.

Nick

[James Stewart]

"Jon Parker" <jonbo...@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:690ae265-affc-46b0...@googlegroups.com...

DENSO tape underneath .......should last a long time and waterproof .......

[James Stewart]

"James Stewart" <jim.g...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:9IYED.157233$xH4....@fx33.am4...

just slap it on it will stick...wear gloves ...

[The Natural Philosopher]

DUCT tape.

> Owain
>


--
A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on
its shoes.

[The Natural Philosopher]

On 08/11/2018 10:10, alan_m wrote:
> On 07/11/2018 21:32, Jon Parker wrote:
>
>> Got a 2 inch hairline crack in the bottom of the bathtub. Seems to be
>> watertight but want to get it patched up.
>
> Check the underside of the bath.
>
> To give the base some strength the manufactures glue/bond a sheet of
> chipboard to the base of the bath. Sometimes this board is exposed and
> sometime this board is further covered in a layer of fibre glass/resin.
>
> Whilst dry this board serves its purpose but as soon as it gets wet it
> has the strength of soggy Weetabix.  Once the strength goes the base of
> the bath can flex a lot  v v more and your crack may widen and let
> through more water.  I have the tee shirt!
> As a precaution I recommend that you perhaps prop up the base using
> scrap wood wedged between the bath base and the floor.
>

I bonded srap ply to te sides of mine as well using car body filler when
I installed them. And kept on adding till there was no flex left.

> Is one side of the crack at a higher surface level than the other side
> of the crack indicating that the underlying strengthening fibre shell
> may have also cracked?
>
> With a hairline crack the filler probably needs to be very liquid for it
> to enter a thin crack by capillary action.
>
> When I broke up my old acrylic bath and disposed of it in 3 rubble sacks
> the construction appeared to be a 1/8th inch thick one piece molding of
> the inner bath strengthened with layers of glass fibre/resin and with
> the chipboard base glued on afterwards. This inner layer was very
> brittle, albeit the bath was around 20 years old.
>
>
>
>
>
>>
>> Seems to be a choice of repair tape, or a kind of resin kit which
>> involves mixing two parts together to form a resin which gets spread
>> over the crack wtih a syringe
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vyX4GJaus
>>
>> Anyone else care to suggest the way forward? Do I need to drill at
>> both ends to stop it spreading? I'm reluctant to drill whilst it's
>> still watertight. The bathtub is white fortunately so I don't have to
>> worry too much about colour matching.
>>
>> Thanks
>> Jon
>>
>
>


--

[Brian Reay]

Jon Parker <jonbo...@googlemail.com> Wrote in message:

> Got a 2 inch hairline crack in the bottom of the bathtub. Seems to be watertight but want to get it patched up.Seems to be a choice of repair tape, or a kind of resin kit which involves mixing two parts together to form a resin which gets spread over the crack wtih a syringehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vyX4GJausAnyone else care to suggest the way forward? Do I need to drill at both ends to stop it spreading? I'm reluctant to drill whilst it's still watertight. The bathtub is white fortunately so I don't have to worry too much about colour matching.ThanksJon

I repaired one in a composite sink as a temp measure with fibre
glass resin and Matt from Halfords.

The crack was quite large, but hairline (a hot cooking pot was
dropped into the sink). It sealed fine until we replaced the
sink.
--

[Jim K]

Brian Reay <no...@m.com> Wrote in message:

> Jon Parker <jonbo...@googlemail.com> Wrote in message:
>> Got a 2 inch hairline crack in the bottom of the bathtub. Seems to be watertight but want to get it patched up.Seems to be a choice of repair tape, or a kind of resin kit which involves mixing two parts together to form a resin which gets spread over the crack wtih a syringehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8vyX4GJausAnyone else care to suggest the way forward? Do I need to drill at both ends to stop it spreading? I'm reluctant to drill whilst it's still watertight. The bathtub is white fortunately so I don't have to worry too much about colour matching.ThanksJon
>
> I repaired one in a composite sink as a temp measure with fibre
> glass resin and Matt from Halfords.

I don't think my Halfrauds has got a Matt working there these days...

--
Jim K

[Ian Jackson]

In message <ps1s51$3lk$2...@dont-email.me>, The Natural Philosopher
<t...@invalid.invalid> writes

>On 08/11/2018 09:12, spuorg...@gowanhill.com wrote:
>> On Thursday, 8 November 2018 07:56:48 UTC, James Stewart wrote:
>>> cast iron?
>> Duck tape?
>>
>DUCT tape.
>

Some brands are indeed called 'duck tape'!
>>
>
>

--
Ian

[The Natural Philosopher]

And should be banned

>>>
>>
>>
>


--
If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will
eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such
time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic
and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally
important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for
the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the
truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

Joseph Goebbels

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 9 November 2018 06:20:22 UTC, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
> On 08/11/2018 22:13, Ian Jackson wrote:
> > In message <ps1s51$3lk$2...@dont-email.me>, The Natural Philosopher
> > <t...@invalid.invalid> writes
> >> On 08/11/2018 09:12, spuorg...@gowanhill.com wrote:

> >>>  Duck tape?
> >>>
> >> DUCT tape.
> >>
> > Some brands are indeed called 'duck tape'!
>
> And should be banned

next the duck sticky tape company will be imprisoned for hate speech toward ducks.

[Chris Holford]

In article <ps1h1j$r1t$1...@dont-email.me>, Nick Odell <nick@themusicworksh
op.plus.com> writes

ISTR that it is chloroform which dissolves acrylic and is the solvent in
acrylic glues.

--
Chris Holford

[Kathy A Yarbrough]

I have a hairline crack in my fiberglass tub. It is very small. Could it leak down o to the floor below?

--
For full context, visit https://www.homeownershub.com/uk-diy/repairing-a-hairline-crack-in-bathtub-1325637-.htm

[newshound]

On 04/09/2020 18:30, Kathy A Yarbrough wrote:
> I have a hairline crack in my fiberglass tub. It is very small. Could it
> leak down o to the floor below?
>

Depends on whether it goes all the way through. It might just be in the
gel coat, in which case it probably won't leak. You can do a temporary
fix on the inside with PVC electrical tape (or the wider, thicker stuff
if it is too big). If it does go right through, but is not flexing too
much then there are various ways of patching the outside. Easy ones
include Denso Tape (or Sylglas) and Flashband.

[alan_m]

On 04/09/2020 18:30, Kathy A Yarbrough wrote:

> I have a hairline crack in my fiberglass tub. It is very small. Could it
> leak down o to the floor below?
>

Yes

The bathtub will have a strengthening piece of chipboard on the
underside of the base. This will get damp and very soon get to the
stage where has the strength similar to weetabix that has been sitting
in a bowl of milk for half an hour. It will not longer support the base
of the bath and the crack will get significantly worse very quickly.
If when standing in an empty bath the base moves or bends significantly
then perhaps this strengthening board has already started to degrade.

It may be wise to remove the bath side panel and support the base of the
bath with scraps of wood wedged between the floor and the base of the
bath, especially in the area of the crack.

You could use a FINE fibreglass mat and resin (aka car body repair kit)
to seal over the top of the crack but it is unlikely that the finished
result will be cosmetically pleasing. You will have to scuff the
existing bath finish to get the repair to bond to the bath. If the resin
remains sticky after,say, 24 hours sprinkle some talcum powder over the
repair

Before my (planned) bathroom refurbishment I had a similar crack in a
plastic (fibreglass) bath and managed to keep the floor dry for around 6
months by repairing. However the problem did get worse by the time the
bath was removed and I doubt if the bath could have lasted much longer.

[tabb...@gmail.com]

The op might like to consider the cost of the damage from the bath bursting. If it's where that doesn't matter, then sure it can be bodged up with fibreglass mat & resin, or even just cement/concrete. For the latter, put a plastic bag on the floor, pile the mix onto it & push it sideways until it presses against the bath's underside. A complete bodge of course. Probably best to do both, GRP repair then support with cement.


NT

[alan_m]

Agreed, but either bodge repair is only a short time solution.

The problem is if the crack is in the base of the bath. The
strengthening board will be either glued to the base of the bath or
incorporated within the fibreglass. This will prevent localised
repairing from the underside. Water penetrating the crack will run along
the whole length of this chipboard which usually extends three quarters
of the total length of the bath. Once the chipboard has lost its
integrity because it has become wet/damp then the base of the bath will
flex even more and the existing crack will open up more and, in my
experience, other cracks will appear. Any rapid failure is likely to
occur when someone steps into a bath full of water. Even if the bath is
further supported underneath a large amount of water can leave from a
relatively small or thin crack before it can be emptied via the plug hole.

These baths are very brittle and when I removed mine it was disposed of
in 3 rubble sacks. A couple of blows with a sledge hammer easily broke
into large pieces and stamping on it wearing my steel top capped boots
further reduced to very small pieces. The gell coat easily parted from
the underlying fibre mat which possibly indicates that once cracked
water can also penetrated underneath the gell coat. My old bath was 25+
years old.

[tabb...@gmail.com]

On Friday, 4 September 2020 23:03:46 UTC+1, alan_m wrote:

Yeah, the op should be under no illusion that any such repair is just a bodge. I know from experience that fibreglass patching on baths can separate off. I don't normally suggest bodging things, but if it gets a bit of time to arrange a new bath then fairy nuff. If the bath is above someone else's expensively decorated flat then replace it pronto. OTOH if it's somewhere it can do no harm if it breaks then it may last well if the board is removed, it's fibreglassed and /well/ supported.


NT

[Brian Gaff]

Well, that very much depends if the crack goes all the way though. Of course
if the crack is caused purely by age and stress, it will get worse over
time. If its caused by an accident, then it may well be fixable as I saw in
another thread on this news group. However, I think it would be prudent to
put something under the bath to catch drips in any case if you intend to go
on using it.
Brian

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[alan_m]

On 05/09/2020 09:48, Brian Gaff wrote:
> Well, that very much depends if the crack goes all the way though. Of course
> if the crack is caused purely by age and stress, it will get worse over
> time. If its caused by an accident, then it may well be fixable as I saw in
> another thread on this news group. However, I think it would be prudent to
> put something under the bath to catch drips in any case if you intend to go
> on using it.
>

With a crack in the base of a bath I'm not sure you could actually tell
if the crack was just in the gell coat or if it had propagated through
to the base board until it was too late. On baths were the board is just
glued to the base this board would hide any penetrating crack. You will
not know until the chipboard looks wet. On baths where they cover the
baseboard with a thin layer of fibreglass you cannot even tell if the
baseboard is getting wet until the bottom of the bath gives way.

With a bath full of water and a weakened base of the bath tub I don't
think it would be a few drips!