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Best adhesive? Expansion + wood/fibreglass bath?


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Posted (edited)

We have a 1 inch crack on the outer lip of our bath.

 

It's been fine for nearly 12 months, but I had my first deep and very hot bath a few days ago..... and fat git here obviously cracked it slowly getting in and out. Wife & kids no issues. Having sat on the lip & faffed around in the bath, there is slight flex around this area, but it isnt bath removal bad by a long shot.

 

I have braced it underneath with wood & gorilla glue to expand into any small gaps the wood isnt firm up under the bath. Just to prevent any middle-bath flex.

 

However, for the critical lip... due to the uneven nature of the fibreglass/rounded lip nature i'm not convinced gorilla glue will expand enough.

 

I am going to put a couple of lengths of wood under the lip, then some legs down to the floor (per mock up attached).

 

However to fill/rigid bind the wood to the fibreglass, i'm struggling to think the right glue to expand into the gaps, yet set rigid to stop the minor flex experienced.

 

Any suggestions? Thanks

 

 

 

 

Edited by Andehh
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Posted (edited)

I am guessing this is an acrylic vacuum formed shell, then reinforced with GRP.

 

Replace it. See if it is covered by your house insurance.

Edited by SteamyTea
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Posted (edited)

Hadn't considered insurance, however.... having endured 3 years of construction I'd prefer to fix, fill/touch up and forget and see where we are the next time I decide to plonk myself on the edge of the bath.

 

Edit: Despite my best efforts I can't seem to make the crack any bigger, so I don't think it's terminal just yet!

Edited by Andehh
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13 minutes ago, Andehh said:

Despite my best efforts I can't seem to make the crack any bigger, so I don't think it's terminal just yet!

The crack may well stay the same.

Trouble is that water can get through the crack, then onto the GRP substrate.

Normal polyester resin, when consolidated with glass fibres is not intrinsically water proof.

So once water gets between the acrylic shell and the GRP, failure has started.

A similar problem happens on boats, they call it osmosis, though this is not really the correct term.

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It was a cheapish bathroom due to funding issues, so I don't need it to last forever, just a few more years. Hence checking the wisdom here if there is a better way to stiffen it all up before I fix the crack/magic man back in

 

 

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