jimmypl
Nov 30, 2012, 07:00 AM
I'm pretty sure I have the same tub , but I am absolutely sure I have the same problem. I did my renovation in 2010 and installed the tub myself , with the help of a friend. We are both long time licensed pipefitters, with combined experience of 50 years in construction. Our experience is more in industrial heating and cooling , but I have done almost every kind of residential plumbing and construction work as well as worked on major projects. My renovation was actually the whole house, after I had a fire, so I GCed myself. This project really gave me a good idea of what kind of people are out there doing work for homeowners, so I sympathize with your issue with your contractor. These contractors swooped in on me like vultures, they said post fire renovations were a specialty . I did hire my friend and a couple of other individual contractors.
We followed the installation instructions to the letter on this tub. The tub comes with a thick piece of styrofoam that is placed under the tub as a support/spacer. We made sure that was in place. I am wondering if your contractor did or didn't but it seemed like something that could easily be thrown away and mistaken for packing material. That said, I suppose if you can prove that it was installed incorrectly your contractor is liable . I never heard cracking , but I noticed what appeared to be cracking or lines horizontally on the bottom around edges and it looked like it was from the inside. Later vertical lines appeared further up on the sides of the tub. I was taking a bath and noticed these were CRACKS and water was getting out and dripping through the floor. Considering I did install this tub correctly I feel it is a manufacturer issue, and this styrofoam probably compresses creating stress on the tub material. I bought the tub at Lowe's and I haven't resoled it yet, but here is my worry. Even if the manufacturer replaces the tub , what about the installation? We are talking about ripping apart a bathroom that was renovated less than 2 1/2 years ago that will cost much more than the tub. I am considering 2 options one of which I used on my other tub/shower after the fire , which was a sprayed finish , that cost about $600, but I think the cracks will have to be repaired first. The other option is a "Bath Fitters" relining. I hope this is not all out of my pocket, but I am assuming the cost of the tub would be all I would get from the manufacturer and LOwe's doesn't cover anything that has already been installed I suggest you discuss these issues with your contractor and try to work together to resolve it at the lowest cost to either of you.
We followed the installation instructions to the letter on this tub. The tub comes with a thick piece of styrofoam that is placed under the tub as a support/spacer. We made sure that was in place. I am wondering if your contractor did or didn't but it seemed like something that could easily be thrown away and mistaken for packing material. That said, I suppose if you can prove that it was installed incorrectly your contractor is liable . I never heard cracking , but I noticed what appeared to be cracking or lines horizontally on the bottom around edges and it looked like it was from the inside. Later vertical lines appeared further up on the sides of the tub. I was taking a bath and noticed these were CRACKS and water was getting out and dripping through the floor. Considering I did install this tub correctly I feel it is a manufacturer issue, and this styrofoam probably compresses creating stress on the tub material. I bought the tub at Lowe's and I haven't resoled it yet, but here is my worry. Even if the manufacturer replaces the tub , what about the installation? We are talking about ripping apart a bathroom that was renovated less than 2 1/2 years ago that will cost much more than the tub. I am considering 2 options one of which I used on my other tub/shower after the fire , which was a sprayed finish , that cost about $600, but I think the cracks will have to be repaired first. The other option is a "Bath Fitters" relining. I hope this is not all out of my pocket, but I am assuming the cost of the tub would be all I would get from the manufacturer and LOwe's doesn't cover anything that has already been installed I suggest you discuss these issues with your contractor and try to work together to resolve it at the lowest cost to either of you.