AboutDana Bostick Expertise Pretty much any residential plumbing questions. Note: I live and work in Southern California. We do not as a rule use boilers, hot water or steam heating systems or wells so my knowledge in those areas is limited. There are others here that can probably answer those questions better.
"We all is city folk" out here! What is a "well" LOL
Experience Licensed General Contractor with Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical sub-licenses
I have a hairline crack in my shower (the kind where the sides are tile, the
door is glass, the bottom is fiberglass. The crack is in the fiberglass part. I
think it is the original 70s like the house. My husband is a good car
fiberglasser. Can I have him fix it, or can I just put a strip of silicone on it?
The shower base is pitted and unsightly, but we don't have the money to redo
the bathroom, so I'm trying to keep everything together until we do. Unless
you think the shower pan can be refiberglassed by a professional to be long-
lasting and not tear up the rest of the bathroom.
Also, I have just finished ripping out all the caulk that attaches the bottom
pan to the tile and the glass door b/c we had a leak in a corner. I had put in
DAP 3-hour caulk, not knowing it was silicone, and when I tried to lift off the
tape, the drying silicone came with it, so I'm starting over again. I'm thinking
to use acrylic caulk this time like I did originally. It lasted several years, and
it's so much easier to get out when it fails. Do you have any suggestions for
me on both projects?
ANSWER: Hi Valerie,
Yes, fiberglass can be repaired and refinished just like a boat or car body.
The trick to using silicone and tape is to pull up the tape while the silicone is still wet. Acrylic is fine too and can be "tooled" using a wet sponge eliminating the need for tape.
Good Luck,
Dana
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks so much, Dana.
My husband says that we need to tell if the fiberglass tub has epoxy or
polyester filler so we know what to use to repair it, but I can't find anything on
the internet that addresses this? Can you help here?
Answer Hi,
Here are a couple of links that might be helpful:
My research says that they are polyester fill and I have had Lasco out to repair some badly damaged tubs during construction. I could not tell that they had made a repair when they were done.
Good Luck,
Dana
