Plumber cracked the new tub and offered silicone. When a repair is enough and when to demand a new one

Silicone stays soft. In a crack, it lets the break keep moving and leaves a surface a real repair won't bond to later, according to Anew Surface, a tub repair company in Newport, Kentucky. Its structural repairs on acrylic and fiberglass tubs start by cutting out weak material and drilling small stop holes at each end of the crack, then rebuild stiffness before the finish is matched. Epoxyworks, the magazine of WEST SYSTEM epoxy maker Gougeon Brothers, describes grinding a bevel 12 times as wide as the laminate is thick on both sides of the break and filling it with layers of fiberglass cloth. With access from below, a plywood patch bonded with thickened epoxy can stiffen a cracked floor.

Anew Surface says repair is reasonable when the damage stays within the shell and the tub is otherwise sound. Replacement makes more sense when water has reached the subfloor or framing, or the failure covers much of the floor. Installers prefer to patch because tubs usually go in ahead of the drywall, tile and floor, which makes a swap messy and expensive, Epoxyworks notes. Anew Surface puts a full replacement in the Cincinnati area at $10,000 to $14,000 with plumbing, tile and labor.

The manufacturer will not pay. American Standard's warranty on its Master Series acrylic tubs excludes installation damage whether a plumber, the owner or anyone else caused it. Kohler's warranty on plastic baths excludes damage from improper installation or accidents. That leaves the cost with the installer. A contractor's general liability policy may cover accidental damage to a customer's property but usually not the cost of redoing its own work, and that work includes materials the contractor supplied, Wexford Insurance explains. Who bought the tub can decide whether the insurer pays.

Paper and photos settle these disputes. Both tub makers require the sales receipt and model details for any claim, and Wexford lists photos and project messages among the records that count in a claim investigation. A homeowner can photograph the crack before anything goes on it and ask for the plumber's proposed fix in writing.