I am remodeling our bathroom, and we got a new tub/surround made by American Standard. They're both direct to stud installations.
The tub came with a large piece of horizontal plywood along the entire bottom of the tub, and two vertical runners attached to the bottom of that, which I assume are supposed to help prevent bowing of the fiberglass tub.
I followed the instructions, measured and leveled the ledger boards to their minimum height, then used a bed of mortar (more two large globs so it would squish out)
I dry fitted everything (drains, water lines, etc) with the tub in place like 3 times, everything looked great. Tub was really flush against studs, and it was sitting on the ledgers really well.
The issue came when I actually installed it over the bed of mortar. We lifted it, and set it in place, squishing down the mortar. Then all of a sudden it wouldn't go down any further, so I figured we were good. Just as a quick test I poured water all along the corners & rim and it all ran down into the tub and down the towards the drain. GREAT! RIGHT? NO! After I ate some dinner I came back and noticed it wasn't actually ON the ledgers. It was about 1-2mm off in a few different spots. It's SUPER solid as far as sitting on the mortar, and it doesn't move AT ALL. Luckily I put plastic between the mortar/floor and mortar/tub though.
The question is, should I try to remove it and place it again, even though it'll be a pain in the arse and potentially damage the tub. OR should I just fill some of the minor gaps between the tub edge and ledger with some sort of foam/silicone so the edges have something to rest on (other than the screws holding the tile flange in place), and just leave it as is, considering the water is traveling where it should, and the base of the tub is really well supported?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Best Answer
The ledgers are not meant to carry any weight. All weight should be supported by the base of the tub. The only weight that the edges of the tub should carry would be the weight of the wall panels which will be reduced as the top edge will be screwed to the studs.
If it was me, I would first remove the screws and gently pry up on side of the tub to see if the plastic separation will allow the tub to lift freely. If I felt too much resistance, I would leave it be, reinstall the screws, and continue with the wall panel install.