Just had both my master bathroom and spare bathroom remodeled. In the spare bathroom, removed the tile wall and tub and had a new acrylic tub and acrylic shower wall with frameless doors installed. In the master bathroom, removed the same but had a acrylic base with center drain installed along with the acrylic walls and frameless doors. Now first thing I noticed is how flimsy the acrylic wall is. Is this normal? in some place, if I push the wall, it is hard. in other places, when I push it, it has alof of flex. right where it attaches to the shower pan, in several spots, its almost like there is a dead air space behind the wall. took a first shower in it and on the window ledge, I set my shampoo bottle on it and the flex caused the acrylic to detach from the sealant that is on the edge. also noticed in both showers, a loud creaking in the master bath and a loud popping in the spare bath. I had a company do the install and it almost seems like such a piss poor job. someone tell me if the acrylic wall and setup is just this flimsy or was it a piss poor install on the contractor part. for the price I paid for this job, almost seems worthless. seems like if I fell into the shower wall, it would come apart.

 

Did you choose the shower units? Can you link to them so we can see what was bought? Free standing acrylic units are usually pretty stable, but cheaper ones need walls to back them up, such as durock, green board, etc. Knowing how they installed the bases will help, too. Some models require nothing for a firm footing, while others need a thinset type mortar to sit on. We'll wait on the numbers.

 

We can't comment without seeing or knowing what you have. But... there are some pretty cheap plastic/acrylic showers and surrounds. A good quality unit, properly installed is quite solid and can last for decades. Cheaper units, especially if not installed properly can start showing cracks pretty soon. Deeply formed areas like soap shelves can show problems first.

Price is not an absolute indicator but if you look around at similar units I avoid anything in the bottom 1/4 to 1/3 of the price spectrum. They tend to be vacuum formed plastic. The forming process makes some parts very thin and can introduce stresses in the plastic making them susceptible to cracking. Also the ABS plastic commonly used is difficult to repair and almost impossible to make an invisible repair.

 

Need those pictures.
A window inside of a shower was one of my first red flags.
Should be 0 flexing anywhere if it was done right.

 

these are the 2 showers. acrylic was supplied by the company. don't really have much info on it

 

South Florida Shower Liners | Shower Liners South Florida | Bathrooms Plus

this is a link to the company.

 

the windows were there when I bought the house. no getting around that.

 

It seems they have an unlimited lifetime warranty, so it may be time to test that if you are experiencing problems with the installation.

 

just a shame that it has only been 2 days in. here are some pictures of several areas

there areas where the gap is in the sealant, I can easily push the wall in.

 

I don't know specifically what those panels are on your walls but most like that do require some type of backing. I usually put up cement board or Hardie Backer and glue the sheeting to that. The backer provides support so it's not so floppy between joists and the front sheeting provides the pretty.

 

Do you have any idea how these panels were adhered to the wall? When you say you can push in the wall, is it because there is no backer or is it because the wall is puckered out?

 

The short version is that you bought a cheap product and the installers did a lousy job. You paid enough to buy a decent used car and now your house is worth less than it was before. Plastic junk is what you have. That's what it looks like from here.

Jaz

 

I'm a little confused here. Normally when an installation of this type is done..... the new product directly covers the old.

Were there no walls before ?
Or to restate that.... were products like sheetrock removed from the walls ?
Were these panels installed directly to open studs ?

 

Pilot Dane:
PJ:
The company linked to looks like they provide bath liners, and that is probably what you have.

As posted already, there are specific guidelines for installing the liners and your contractor may have missed every point.
The side walls (a 3-wall system) are applied over old tile or new prep is made. Either way, there should be no flex in the walls.

I attend factory training and don't want to go into the manner that the panels are secured (instructed by our particular manufacturer).

It's enough to say that you should be able to stand on the base or tub liner and push on any part of the wall and it should feel just as solid as tile or anything else.

There will be voids, but nothing large or wide enough to flex.

I would probably call the company and tell them to come get their stuff out.

 

I don't recognize what they used but it sure looks like the liner is just a piece of Formica laminate (like what you would use on a kitchen countertop) that they glued (or tried to glue) to the walls. If so, I didn't know anyone did that...



???

 

I had tile walls before that were separating. they removed the tile wall and tub.

 

my first thought when I took a shower was, if I was to ever fall into the wall, it would buckle. almost makes me wish I would have had tile redone as this seems so flimsy. something that wouldn't last the next 20 yrs.

 

So the tile wall and backer/sheetrock was removed and all that was left was the studs?? Definitely have them come back out and remove it and refund your money. That is no way to install anything.

 

We just had both our bathrooms remodeled. Just like you, we had that old 70's 4" square ceramic tile... pink, yep, pink, on the walls. My wife's brother is a plumber for probably 30 years now & we had him come & do the remodel on all the plumbing & bathroom remodel.
We had him do exactly what you had done, remove the tile on the wall, remove both tubs. Then go back with one tub & one shower unit. Both with 3 piece fiberglass surrounds. We bought ours from Lowes but I dont remember the brand.
He removed everything down to the studs & went back with green board & I think ended up using a piece or two of cement board, I think. Our master bath has a window but it wasn't on the wall with the surround so it wasn't affected. The other bath does not have a window at all. Although we didn't have window facings etc to work around & caulk around etc, but ours seems solid & isn't spongy the way you are describing & ours doesn't separate when you push on them etc like you're showing in your pics.

I dont know, but I think you have issues with the way they were installed & I agree, at best, I would call the guy & have him come back & at least look at it. I'd be willing to bet, he didn't put anything behind the surrounds. I might suggest that you get a 2nd opinion if the original installer starts giving you the run around.

All I am saying is, I had the same work done you had done & I am not having any of the issues you are (at least at this point). Mine was finished in September I think.
Part of your issue maybe a cheaper product, I don't know, but I think your contractor just didn't put any backing/support behind the surround & there is nothing back there to support it. Just based on my limited recent experience.

 

this was a pic I took after they stripped the master bathroom. since I was not home to watch it, don't know how it was set up.

 

@chandler, the picture I just posted was what the bathroom looked like before it was redone. after they stripped it. not sure what was used for the backing. I do remember the old tile had a greenboard behind it. I would of assumed this contractor had done the same, but with the way the walls flex, seems like there is either very little support behind it or non at all.

 

While green board is moisture resistant I would not use it behind anything in a tub/shower surround. You want something like Hardie Backer or cement board that does not break down when wet. You can remove the escutcheon from the faucet and you should be able to see inside to tell if there is any backing and of what type.

 

this was the contractors response when I asked him if he fixed the flex in the walls of the acrylic. I am not expert so based on his response, is he right or feeding me some BS