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When we had acrylic shower units installed in our house apparently our employee did not know that they require concrete support under their floors. We learned about this the hard way when one of them broke with use, and we were obliged to replace it. We've used the others only infrequently since making this discovery.

Obviously it would be difficult to put concrete between an installed unit and subflooring now. Additionally, a warranty claim is not possible due the installer being under our employ (we paid him hourly), this problem is now ours to fix. Is there a product that could be used that would provide sufficient support? I assume we need something that would expand slightly to completely fill the gap with exerting too much pressure on the acrylic shower unit.

Thanks for your answers or suggestions!

J Crosby
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Bill Bell
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    What access do you have to add _any_ material? Expanding foam could work, but how would you get it to where it needed to go? – JPhi1618 Jul 03 '19 at 21:09
  • @JPhi1618: Thanks for responding. I can remove a strip of drywall from the base of the wall of an adjacent room. I was just looking around the 'net for possibilities and came upon the polyurethane foam that's used for supporting fence posts. Is that what you have in mind? – Bill Bell Jul 03 '19 at 21:14
  • Why can't you just go back to the contractor and seek warranty repair work? Depending on how long ago this occurred, this could be an option. – J Crosby Jul 03 '19 at 21:23
  • @JCrosby: Thank you. Please see my comment to J Raefield's answer. Put briefly, I need to solve this for myself. – Bill Bell Jul 03 '19 at 22:17
  • What's below them? – Harper - Reinstate Monica Jul 04 '19 at 01:49
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    Pump mortar back in there via the removed drywall strip, using a grout bag. You could use bent cardboard to create "forms" to hold it till it firms up...? – Jimmy Fix-it Jul 04 '19 at 03:41
  • @Harper: Apologies for delay in responding. Subflooring about 9/16-inches thick. Thanks for considering my question. – Bill Bell Jul 04 '19 at 17:32
  • @JimmyFix-it: Thank you. I can assume that mortar loses none of its volume? I suppose that must be true, given that I've never seen loose brick. :) – Bill Bell Jul 04 '19 at 17:36

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The problem with expanding foam products is that you cannot effectively "control" the expansion, so it may expand in the gap to the point of damaging your acrylic from the other direction! The type that would be less likely to do that will also not really provide meaningful support; it will just compress with the flexing of the acrylic and you are back to square one.

I think a warranty claim against the installer is your best option. He did it wrong, he should make it right. He will not like it though because it will likely be impossible to remove the shower units without damaging them, they usually adhere them to the walls with construction adhesive.

JRaef
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  • Thank you. In most circumstances, you would likely be right. However, this work was done quite some time ago, and the individual I referred to as a 'plumber' was working for me on an hourly basis. This is my own headache to deal with. I take your point about what would be likely be expanding foam. I have no experience with it myself. – Bill Bell Jul 03 '19 at 22:15
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    Cans of expanding spray foam should be relatively safe if you use a little at a time. The danger is the foam needing to expand but having no where to go. Then it can reform the shower. – JPhi1618 Jul 03 '19 at 23:29