Replace or repair a cracked shower tray?

[Revolvor]

Our shower tray cracked during our latest trip. There had been a small hairline crack in the glaze for a while

It looks like a major job to replace, involving a lot of labour to remove the sink unit and shower surround.

Does anyone have any experience of having a shower tray replaced, and how did it compare to the £450 quote I've had to have it repaired by Speedcoat, with a 10 year warranty?

 

[Kelvin8tor]

I tried the expanding foam idea but didn’t work for me so I very carefully cut the top off using a Stanley knife and replaced the low density polystyrene rubbish support material used by Benimar that over time became compressed !

I had good success with the method that I used and a lot less involved than your repair which looks excellent by the way if my repair had not worked I would have tried to do something similar to your repair My shower tray did not have any foam underneath it was straight onto plywood this perhaps is why it was successful and simple
Unfortunately I no longer have pictures of the damage on my tray but still have a picture of the completed job

 

[benimardriver]

I had good success with the method that I used and a lot less involved than your repair which looks excellent by the way if my repair had not worked I would have tried to do something similar to your repair My shower tray did not have any foam underneath it was straight onto plywood this perhaps is why it was successful and simple
Unfortunately I no longer have pictures of the damage on my tray but still have a picture of the completed job

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Yes , I had a strange situation in that after I cut off the top I found a overall thin top layer of low density packing grade polystyrene . Underneath this was low grade block polystyrene surrounding the tray drainage pipe but big gaps also around the pipe . Part of the way back it was only thin plywood supporting it with nothining under the plywood for support !! This was on a earlier Benimar Europa 6000 ST 2002 model . No wonder the company subsequently went broke with this quality of build . SAdly it sounds as though it’s not an uncommon problem in this area with other makes and years . I recommend going full on if a crack appears and investigate and replace the supporting material . If anyone afraid of carrying it out contact me and I may be able to help

 

[dawsey]

On my previous van, I had my drain fracture in exactly the same way. Repaired it myself with builder's foam underneath to support the tray and the actual crack with Araldite and car touch up paint. Bit of Wet&Dry to blend in and to quote Eric Morecambe -you can't see the join'.

I did ours the same way. I didn’t bother with the foam underneath though. Good old Araldite, marvellous stuff. An hour or so of scratching around and zero cost.

It seems to me that the issue is that the drain is always a weak point due to a lack of substrate/support under it so these camper shower trays are prone to failing like that. Mine has been fine since the repair, but we are now much more careful not to stand directly on the drain.

 

[benimardriver]

Has the Bedec multi surface paint worked ok. I’ve looked and it says water based, so not sure. Would love to paint my shower tray as well. I had it Speedcoated but had a blowback up the grey waste pipe that discoloured the tray in areas. My fault as I had forgotten about my adding citric acid to the grey tank and then a quantity of bleach

How long have you been using the tray now it’s been painted.

I’ve messaged the company and asked, but it’s good to hear from someone who has actually used it.

Thanks in advance

I did this repair a few years ago now . I used the hippo pro 3 sealant on the underside of the tray in large amounts to stick it back down on the reinforced base and seal it . The white Bedec paint I painted over complete tray and it went on easily and being water base no strong odours . It still looks good todate . Hope this helps

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[BouncyBoatFolk]

Has the Bedec multi surface paint worked ok. I’ve looked and it says water based, so not sure. Would love to paint my shower tray as well. I had it Speedcoated but had a blowback up the grey waste pipe that discoloured the tray in areas. My fault as I had forgotten about my adding citric acid to the grey tank and then a quantity of bleach

How long have you been using the tray now it’s been painted.

I’ve messaged the company and asked, but it’s good to hear from someone who has actually used it.

Thanks in advance

Thanks for the heads up on the re-active power of bleach on Citric. I frequently travel with a few litres of citric wash in the grey tank sloshing about, it's always a surprise how much gunk it dislodges. Luckily, we don't carry bleach on board.
Mike.

 

[benimardriver]

Thanks for the heads up on the re-active power of bleach on Citric. I frequently travel with a few litres of citric wash in the grey tank sloshing about, it's always a surprise how much gunk it dislodges. Luckily, we don't carry bleach on board.
Mike.

I will try that to deodorise the tank