Bathtub conundrum

[Lamby]

We recently purchased this home and the garden tub had a crack in it (the house was built in '83). We hired a bathtub refinishing company to come out and reinforce it with foam and install an inlay.

I don't have any experience with this but I was a bit worried when he finished the job within the hour. After I paid ($550) he left and I went to look at the tub. I noticed that the edges were not sealed down. After his vacation, he came out and put a bead of epoxy around the perimeter of the inlay. It is pretty heavy in some areas and is lumpy. He said that he "may" have to come back and sand it down.

Later, when showering I noticed that the mat bubbled somewhere near the center. I discovered that if you push the bubble, a stream of water comes out the side of the mat. We called him and showed it to him, he mentioned that he could fix it, we said that we had lost confidence in him and would like our money back. He said that wouldn't happen. He also said that he felt that we were taking advantage of him. Since then, I have found that water is getting under the inlay in another area.

At this point I have no idea what to do. I have a reference for a very reputable guy who said that he would remove the mat, refoam under the tub, and rebuild the bottom with 4 layers of fiberglass. Will this leave me with a sturdy reliable tub?

I would really appreciate any advice. Oh, and apparently in Georgia it is not required for him to be licensed.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

It's unfortunate that you have had to deal with all this, but the truth is that you should have had the old tub thrown out and a new one installed. Bathtub liners are not a proper way to fix anything.

Regardless of what has happened, having the tub replaced by a professional plumber is still your best course of action.

If you are worried about the 550 you lost, document everything with pictures and take the "bath fitter" to small claims court.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Lamby]

For clarification, it was a small mat installed over just the bottom of the tub, not a liner covering the entire tub.

We chose this method because, after being out of work for 9 months, we had to move in order to get employment. It took us nearly a year to save up enough to actually "fix" the crack. I would dearly love to replace the tub and its tile surround, but we had hoped to wait for a year or so...

 

[hj]

I do not know where you found this guy, but around here, the repairers do NOT put a "mat" on the bottom of the tub. They repair the crack and refinish it so you do not know where it was after they are done.

 

[Cacher_Chick]

As HJ said, fiberglass can be repaired, but when it is done properly it will look like a new tub, not a hacked up patch job.

 

[Lamby]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice. I appreciated hearing from those who don't have a vested interest in what they tell me. Just a little gun shy here.