1992 Hot Springs Classic, purchased new, always winterized and covered.

I opened it up last week and was heartbroken when I saw this huge crack in the shell. They should have known better than to design it with a square edged corner, a rounded corner in the cutout probably would not have let the crack start and propogate. Not looking forward to a three or four digit repair bill. This has the Endurol thermoplastic liner. I'm not afraid to tackle a project if it will save me a boatload of money. Any suggestions on a fix? (Just had to show the cool location, just outside my bedroom doorwall).

Wow, Nice Crack !!

The only way to do it right is to dig from underneath, scrape and sand the area (larger than you need, you might as well do as much as possible while your in there. wipe down with acetone and use the Permailite crack repair kit from Watkins. You may need 2 kits. You mix the glue, brush on a layer, attach included fibreglass mesh, and put on another good layer of glue. Where your crack is there isn't too much foam to dig.
Hope this helps - Good Luck

Pete
HotSpring Tech
'91 Classic

Thanks for the reply. Where can I order the kit? Does it include a cosmetic filler for the crack? Should I drill an 1/8" hole at the terminus of the crack to keep it from propagating? And finally, can I use the foam-in-a-can to repair the foam I dig out? I am still waiting for the local dealer to quote the repair, 4 days now.

I've only seen tubs crack that much from the pad/deck settling. I see a header under the deck in the picture on the right side and what looks like a singular 4X4 in the center maybe? Is the seat that has a crack in it sitting right over that header? Did the rest of ther deck settle slightly?

Just want to make sure that you don't go through the trouble of fixing it and have it happen again.

Good eye Dan.

I'm not sure where to get the glue except a HotSpring dealer. Permalite crack repair glue.
I would definitely fill in the crack from the inside with the same glue - it won't smooth too well so may not look great, but the Permalite glue is white.
You can use the Great Stuff foam - use the fast acting. It will still take a while to expand.
You will need to seal the foam with something.
Drilling a hole is OK, just make sure you don't go too deep and hit plumbing, just a surface drilling. Call the dealer back - they should want this kind of revenue. It will be expensive.
I would ask what they would charge to do it if you dig the foam. That's the part most of us hate. Except Dan who has the PERFECT set up to fix leaks - ENVY !!
Of course you will have to get it down from the deck - Fun.

Pete

It has been up there for 17 years, and I built the deck quite solid, I added a hammerhead support the first year centered under the tub with a 4x6 post on a 42" deep concrete foundation with twin 2x10 at the top of the post supporting the 8" joists, which are now on 12" centers after going to Trex. Don't think I have any settling. It has a 2 year old Trex decking under the tub. I can work on it without dropping it to the ground, it will stand on its edge while on the deck. I wrap it with a 2" rachet strap to hold it in place. That is how I replaced the decking under the tub.

Looks like a weekend project to stand the tub up, with a little help from my friends, dig out the foam and use the repair kit and refoam the hole and keep my fingers crossed it worked and the crack won't leak or keep going.

One thing to remember with the classic is that it isn't supported by the edge, it has a 42" square support grid. But that pushes the loading to 240 pounds per square foot, that could be the issue, going from two-by fir decking to 1"+ flexible Trex. Hmmm, may have to make a change when I get it up on edge. But, then, it cracked in the winter when empty. Did get to -10F one night. That is cold enough to make me want to crack. How old is that tub in people years, about 80?

Thanks for the suggestions.

Finally getting around to the repair this weekend. Got the repair kit from my local dealer (the one that never responded to my request for a quote to fix it, I probably wouldn't have wanted to pony up the cash anyway). They had to order it and that took a few weeks.

I now see that the crack extends into the "backwasher" box, complicating matters.

My question is this: When I put on multiple layers of glass and adhesive, is it better to start narrow and go wide or go wide and narrow up successive layers?

The large crack repair kit includes buckets, gloves, paintbrushes, fiberglass insulation, stirrers and the cosmetic repair kit with the abs pellets. Just over $100 delivered. I bought a quart of acetone for cleanup, I need to get the Great Stuff foam yet.

Wish me luck.

I go with the same size and only 2 layers - you may not have enough glue if you only got 1 tub. One layer is usually enough. For the cosmetic repair pellets - did they tell you you need MEK to melt them?

I'm wishing you great success !!!

Got it prepped for the repairs, foam stripped out, sanded just waiting for the weather to cool down, they recommend doing it at under 70 degrees or the epoxy sets too fast. The big crack repair kit would need a gallon, not a quart, of the epoxy to go with all of the fiberglass they gave me. Just hope I have enough epoxy, will have plenty of fiberglass left over.

But, wow, the cosmetic crack repair has about a half ounce of pellets and a foam texture tool and it was $80!!! And I have to find the MEK.