Should You Refinish or Replace Your Bathtub?I have a 36"x36" standing shower stall that has a cracked shower pan floor. Can that be fixed ? OK - terminology issue here. The "shower pan" is a collection liner than underlies the shower floor itself, and is designed (if built and plumbed right) to trap any leakage from the shower floor and route it to the same floor drain pipe. Example image here, copper in this case - It sounds like your are saying the shower floor or base unit failed - likely a fiberglass or plastic shower, which commonly fail due to incomplete support under them. This can be repaired if fiberglass, but is not usually done unless just microcracking, as it is hard to find an expert - usually you have to have a car body fiberglass specialist or a surfboard repair expert do it, and the color will not match perfectly unless you get a new gelcoat over the entire base unit. Cost about $300-500, ASSUMING the material can be repaired - true fiberglass can, thermoplastic can sometimes be welded but anyone's guess how long it will last without cracking again, plastics like PVC can rarely be fixed so they will hold someone standing on them.

Any sort of repair is likely to crack again, because you have done nothing to remove the cause of the cracking which is standing on a base that is not fully supported over its full extent. Some cheepo or desperate plumbers try injecting non-pressuring type expanding foam underneath to improve the support - this does a great job of supporting it but unfortunately supports mold, so starts stinking in short order as a rule.Party Furniture Rental Mississauga The normal fix is to remove and replace it, because once it is out there is no sense in putting a damaged one back in for the small increment in cost. Red Sheer Kitchen CurtainsRemoving it means taking the shower wall liners or the bottom row or two of tile out so you can get the new base unit into place (because they overlap it), then replacing them. Outdoor Furniture Photoshop

So, the $3000 range indicated is indicative of this type of job, which typically runs from a very low of around $1500-2000 for an identical base unit, to more typically $3-5,000 depending on whether a shower enclosure or tile walls. Of course,when the new one is put in, it is CRITICAL that it be fully supported - this means rubbing plumbers rouge or similar marking substance on the bottom, test fitting it, and then lifting it out and checking that all the stiffener ribs and support pads made contact with the pan, and making adjusments as necessary until it has full contact, then standing in it and rocking back and forth to check for any points not making full contat and fixing them. The $10,000 plus numbers you got must have been for entire shower replacement down to the joists and studs, and the $30,000 range number would be typical for a full bathroom remodel with new shower or shower/tub and doors and surround, wall finishes, vanity, sink, toilet, and flooring and door.Eric and Laura Rudeseal had already started tearing out the baseboards and door frames in their Arlington home when they realized there might be lead-based paint.

With two young children and a third on the way, they recognized the need for safety while remodeling the 1964 home Eric Rudeseal grew up in.They tried a home test kit but still weren’t sure whether they were dealing with lead. So they ordered blood tests for 2-year-old Trevor and 6-year-old Kassidy. Results indicated both had been exposed to the toxic heavy metal. But to their surprise, paint wasn’t the source.After a lot of expense and help from an expert, they found the problem: their bathtubs.Dean Lovvorn, a Plano-based lead risk assessor, specializes in finding the source of low-level lead exposure in children. He said the No. 1 source today is still lead-based paint, even though it has been banned since 1978. But he’s finding through his work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area that bathtubs are the second most common culprit.The lead comes from cast iron or steel tubs coated with a porcelain glaze. As the glaze wears down from age and use, the lead in the glaze can leach into bath water.

Young children who drink bathwater or put their wet hands or toys in their mouths during bath time are at greatest risk.There is no safe level of lead exposure in children. Even a small amount can cause damage that lasts a lifetime.Exposure is measured through a blood test. A blood lead level of less than 5 in children can cause decreased academic achievement and a lowered IQ as well as problem behaviors and attention deficit disorders. Blood lead levels less than 10 in children have been linked to delayed puberty, decreased IQ and decreased hearing.Tests in August showed Trevor and Kassidy had lead levels of 4.4 and 4.5. They had been taking baths when they stayed overnight at the home while their parents did the remodeling. A separate test also showed lead leaching from the bathtub in their existing Arlington home.“It was kind of a surprise,” said Laura Rudeseal, who is familiar with lead poisoning because of her training as a registered nurse. She said she’d never heard of the dangers from old bathtubs.

Her children only take showers now. The couple hope to eventually replace the tubs in their home to remove any risk from lead.“It’s infuriating to me that it’s still an issue,” Eric Rudeseal said.Tamara Rubin knows well the dangers of lead. Two of her sons have brain damage from lead poisoning suffered in 2005 due to unsafe practices by a painting contractor. She has since founded the nonprofit Lead Safe America Foundation and is putting the finishing touches on a documentary, MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic, which will be released next year.She said she often finds bathtubs tainted with lead — they are everywhere. Yet people don’t know about the risks.“It’s always tested as a last resort in a family that has an exposed child,” she said.The use of porcelain glazes containing lead is not regulated, although many American companies have voluntarily stopped using them. The Healthy Homes and Lead Safety group, which is based in North Carolina, states that some manufacturers were using lead in the glaze of certain bathtubs as recently as 1995.Adding to the problem is the number of building supply centers that recycle old bathtubs for installation in newer homes, Rubin said.

Lovvorn’s 1992 Plano home has a tub that leaches lead. The 1977 home in Dallas’ Lake Highlands area where his daughter and grandchildren live also has a lead-glazed tub.Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services say lead found in the glazes of bathtubs is a potential hazard, but it’s unclear how much of a hazard.A home test kit available in the paint section of most hardware stores can detect the presence of lead. Lovvorn is quick to point out that the chemicals in the test kit may permanently stain the bathtub. He recently covered his daughter’s tub with pink and red blotches while sampling for lead. It serves as a reminder, he said, to keep the kids out.National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week, which starts Sunday, aims to raise awareness about lead poisoning and the risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers it the most preventable environmental disease among young children.Rubin said what’s most surprising is how uneducated people are about the risks from lead poisoning.

Most of the lead hazard information is directed at low-income families, but lead poisoning strikes at every income level, she said.“Education needs to have a broader base,” Rubin said. “That’s why I made the film, because I wanted to reach out to the whole country and not just limit it to low-income families.”Many children exposed to lead will not show any obvious symptoms. That’s why some health experts recommend that all children be tested.The state of Texas requires lead testing only for children on Medicaid and those living in targeted neighborhoods with a large number of older homes. But even those children aren’t always tested.“If all children had their blood tested, they would see a big outcry,” Lovvorn said.IN THE KNOW/Check your tubUse a home kit to test for the presence of lead (available in the paint section of most hardware stores) or call an expert to test it for you.If your tub has lead, you can have it professionally refinished. Be aware that the finish can wear off over time and re-expose the lead.