Colette

Tile guy dropped a tile on the brand new bathtub and chipped a hole the size of a nickel. White American Standard tub. porcelain over steel. They claim a repair will be invisible and hold up over the life of the tub. I want to replace the tub. Advice?

nealtw

Tell him you want a letter from his insurance company saying that they will cover the garrentee for five or ten years.

Colette

Good idea, Neal. Thanks. I also want to know if anyone has experience with these repairs. Do they work? Are they invisible?

nealtw

Evan if it perfect, you will look at it every day. He won't want to talk to his insurance company and may come up with a better solution.

BridgeMan

If it's really a steel tub, a patch is not likely to hold up long-term. Too much flexing with temperature changes and foot/butt traffic. But if it's cast iron, might be a different story. But either way, I'd tell him I want a new tub. He wrecked it, he buys it.

I've seen more than just a few repairs. They were all easy to see, especially on steel tubs, and moreso the older they got. Only exception were those in acrylic tubs/sinks/showers. Repairs by the right person last forever, and difficult to spot with the naked eye.

Redwood

I'd tell him sorry no deal...

New Tub!

Tell him he is free to install the "Fixed" tub at his own house.

isola96

Accidents happen touch up filler usually holds up well.
I have had this happen to me the bigger the tile the harder to handle if the thinset is not mixed right tiles will be harder to stay on using small size roofing nails to hold tile is a good idea and works.

SkipPenn41

Tell him to make the repair.
If you are happy with it fine
If not he can then replace the tub.
At his expense
It's his choice to possibly pay twice or just replace the tub the first time

Pipe22

TerryDM

I like this idea best. I was leaning toward the new tub option too, but give him the chance to repair to your satisfaction and get that guarantee in writing.

cmunroproducts

Colette, absolutely in a perfect world, replacing the bathtub is what we all would choose.. Unfortunately, it's not quite that easy. The mess, time, the hassle to rip out the bathtub to replace because of a chip may not be worth it; Hire a Professional company. Check how long have they been in business, what is the warranty, etc.. We have completed thousands of small chip repairs(small to us, large to you), like yours, for over 40 yrs... Yes, it can be repaired to unnoticeable and can last the life of the bathtub...