A few years later, Efiwym, my wife, noticed water on the wall under the upper cabinet. Was the shower drain leaking again? I opened the cabinet doors and I did not see any staining on the plywood panel. Begrudgingly, I took the dishes from the top shelf to remove the panel. Water rolled off the panel as I removed it. I reached up to check the drain nut. It was tight. Maybe, my bead of silicone was not generous enough under the drain flange. It could be an easy fix this time if it was just another and better application of silicone.
The announcement was made, “Do not use Mom’s and Dad’s shower!”
That following day, I removed all the dishes and shelves from the cabinet. I secured the cabinet so I could sit in it. I loosened the nut and went upstairs to clean up the shower floor and drain flange. What I discovered next just left me deflated. There was a 3-inch crack in the shower floor coming off the drain opening.
I have no issues with fiberglass shower enclosures. Even those builder grade ones are fine. But I think the weak spot on those units is the drain area. It appears that there is just a thin layer of fiberglass flooring by the drain. Add to that, the plumber cut an 8-10-inch round opening through the 1/2 plywood subfloor for the drain. There is no support in the drain area and the shower floor flexes when you stand on the drain. Hence the crack.
I pondered the problem as my DIYer brain went to work. We were not planning on replacing the shower. That conversation came several years later. Could the shower floor be repaired? What could I use? The Internet was finally a source for me. I read some articles online. One article suggested to use car body filler. My concern was that the filler might not be strong enough and it might crack too.
Here was the plan. I would use car body filler and wire mesh to repair the crack. I would add silicone to the drain flange and reattach the drain. Around the drain I would apply layers of filler to build up the floor. The filler would cover the crack and flange. As to not make it look obvious, I would apply filler to create a square layer around the drain.
I removed the shower doors to give me better access to the drain. With masking tape, I taped about a 10-inch square around the drain. I started applying my first layer of filler. I laid the metal grate on top. I cut a hole in the middle for the opening of the drain. I would apply additional layers a few hours apart. I tried to create a smooth finish but was unsuccessful. I believed I could sand it later. After a couple of days, the metal grate was buried in the filler. I tried to feather the edges of the filler around the tape. The finish was rough, but it made it slip-resistant.
I removed the tape around the filler. The filler seeped under the tape. The lines of the filler edges were not clean. Just a little sanding to clean it up.
We had placed most of the dishes back into the cabinet but left the panel off. I started the shower and ran downstairs to check for leaks. No leaks. With my flashlight, I looked and looked, and no water was evident. Success. A sense of Zen calmness came over me for about a minute. Back upstairs to shut off the water.
The drain cover could not be used because the filler and metal grate were partially in the drain opening. No problem. I removed the metal tabs off the bottom of the cover, applied some silicone to the bottom of the cover and placed it on the drain. Done.
I reinstalled the shower doors with the announcement, “Mom’s and Dad’s shower is fixed!”
After awhile the car body filler started to discolor. I wasn’t sure if it was the iron in the water, but it was turning orange. I tried to sand the finish, but I think I needed a grinder. The square around the drain was obvious and ugly and I hated it.