We have a ~4 year old fiberglass tub. It is a non-standard size (extra long, wide and deep). It was relatively new to the house when we bought it 3 years ago.

It cracked when my husband was taking a shower. He immediately turned off the water and kept the tub dry while we tried to figure out how to fix it. He had a couple of people (including our regular plumber) come to the house to advise. Since we’re short on money (and hubby isn’t so handy), we went with a company that cut a fiberglass mat to size/shape and adhered it to the bottom of our tub (I guess they sanded down the crack and filled it with cement first). This is supposedly a long-term fix and will make the bottom of our tub more secure than when it was first installed.

We kept it dry for 3 days. When I took the first shower, there was some standing water in the bottom of the tub (old house, slow drains) and I noticed that their was an air pocket over the old crack and when I stepped on it, air bubbled out of the side of the mat. This was concerning to me because obviously water would get under the mat and would eventually get moldy/mildewy. Gross.

So they came back today to look at it, and since the glue was secure in most places, they just caulked around the edge and told my husband that he needed to maintain the caulk in the future.

After spending almost $500, this seems like an unreasonable solution to me. What are your thoughts? Is it reasonable for us to accept that the mat was not completely adhered to the tub and it is now our responsibility to maintain a bead of caulk around the mat?