Replace shower pan

Skipg wrote:
Looks like its smooth plastic on the bottom of the pan, I don't see any fiber cloth so I believe it's plastic not fiberglass.

You have to look underneath the pan(on the backside) to see the fibers. You won't see the fibers through the gelcoat which will be smooth( think of how smooth a boat hull is). If it is a non reinforced thermoplastic and it is cracked , it probably is cracked through and is leaking on the floor. Look through your access panel with a flashlight and you can tell.

With this new stuff on the market you do have a choice of repairing or replacing.

Incredibly easy to use and is strong enough for commercial plumbing use. So hard it can be sanded down after application. Can even be applied underwater!!! Ace Hardware carries it.

I used it on my shower pan three years ago. You can barely see the patch and 3 years and counting no leaks. I cracked my pan by putting heavy items in the shower to store when traveling. The bouncing up and down cracked the pan.



http://www.jbweld.com/product/j-b-waterweld/

The first time ours cracked was 5 years ago, but the basics have not changed. The RV dealer,one on the largest in Florida, wanted 8 hours labor to remove the surround and replace the pan. 8 hours back then @ $110.00 per hour!!

My wife an I did it ourselves in 5 hours, and that included building a new support platform.

If you are even slightly handy, you can do it yourself.

Make sure the pan is propery supported. We found that the OEM supports were higher in the back than in the front and thus the pan sat off the support platform and flexed each time it was used, thus the crack.

Looks like its smooth plastic on the bottom of the pan, I don't see any fiber cloth so I believe it's plastic not fiberglass.

I would first look underneath to see if it is leaking, it maybe just a crack in the gel coat if it is reinforced fiber glass. Let us know if you see water underneath reaching the floor then a repair can be described.

You have to pull the shower surround and the glass walls/door to replace a shower pan. IF the pan is just cracked, it is better to have a qualified Fiberglass repair done on it. Usually, you can gain access to the bottom to install a wood support to help support the area of the crack after the repair to prevent future cracks. Doug

Until it is properly repaired a small amount of water will seep through each time used and eventually rot the floor beneath. There are certified contractors that can repair the pan... I have used a Dupont certified contractor to repair several for others, over the years.