Bathtub blues

[xiphias]

Right before Arisia, I attempted to fix the tub enclosure of the bathroom, which needed to be regrouted.

When I went to regrout the tub, a chunk of the tiles just collapsed, because, unbeknownst to me, the blueboard behind the tiles had rotted and fell apart. Since that time, we've had a second shower curtain on a tension rod covering the wall of the tub with the hole in it, as a temporary solution.

Unfortunately, the tension rod is pushing the tub enclosure apart, and the rod has been falling down every day for a while now.

But now it's falling down while we're using the shower. Which means that the temp solution is at the end of its usefulness as a temp solution.

We didn't have the money or the time to fix the tub correctly back when it happened, which is why we used the temporary fix. And we've got even LESS money now, and not really any more time.

So I've got no clue what I'm going to do now.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Stretch the second curtain tight and fasten it across the hole with sturdy tape or glue? When there was a hole in my tile, the previous inhabitants did this with garbage bags, though it worked only indifferently since it was only taped at the top, and stuff would sometimes come out of the bottom.

Use chunk of contact tile or similar to patch it? Labor trade with someone to get it done?

[silver1226.livejournal.com]

is that spike?
^ *points to icon*

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

It is indeed. Most of my icons are. :)

[cheshyre]

Ian's at work right now, but I think I know his answers to these:
(1) duct tape won't hold inside the shower
(2) can't put in replacement tile for the hole, because there's nothing to glue the tile *to*. That's what rotted away: the backing board *behind* the tiles

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

*nods* Some kind of tape holds inside showers, because mine held from whenever the previous tenants put it up until over a year after I moved in, when I began to renovate. And it was right where the water hit. Unfortunately, I don't know what kind of tape it was. The contact tile would have to be big enough to adhere to the unbroken tile around the hole, and you'd have to use a strong enough glue to have it grab without pressing, since that would likely just make more hole.

[ckd]

My first reaction is to suggest duct-taping the shower curtain to cover the hole; that's the "repair" the landlord put in place (using a trash bag) when one of my roommates fell and knocked a hole through the tile wall once.

I don't know how practical it is in your particular situation, but the rule is duct tape or WD-40, and this doesn't sound like a WD-40 kind of problem.

[unquietsoul5.livejournal.com]

Duct Tape doesn't deal well with moisture and will probably not hold for long. Weather stripping insulation tape might work better for a temporary fix.

Sorry

[wargoddess.livejournal.com]

The time for temp solutions is over. Prevail upon merkcomet or marquisedea for the use of their shower while you rip yours out completely. Make sure you get a good look at the under flooring as well, it would suck to end up in merkcomet's apartment unintentionally. Once you have the bad crap ripped out, start buying the materials a bit at a time and putting it back together. Don't go with tiles, try to get the plastic panels for the walls instead. When you caulk the tub, make sure to fill it completely with water and leave it full until the caulk dries. That is my considered advice and I am unanimous in this!

>^,^

[gingicat]

http://www.bostonbmrc.org/bostonbmrc/index.html

[chanaleh.livejournal.com]

I propose the traditional Jewish solution: a fundraising campaign for sponsorship of tiles ;-) Though to be truly traditional each tile would have to bear the donor's name... and that could get, y'know, silly.

[hfcougar.livejournal.com]

I'm sure many people would pay to be in xiphias's shower.

[jhitchin.livejournal.com]

Don't tempt me.

[cheshyre]

Yeah, but there are some names you may not want to be confronted with while using the shower.

[mattblum.livejournal.com]

You might try to find industrial-grade duct tape, which is coated with polyethylene. It's used in HVAC systems, so its ability to stand up to moisture is, as you'd expect, far superior to that of standard-grade duct tape. I'd think most Home Depots would carry it.