So, I'm not a plumber, but a homeowner who does a fair amount of work on my own - except for more involved plumbing jobs. I can read manufacturer's installation instructions, though.
The plumbing estimator came out to look at installing a drop-in acrylic tub that I had purchased. He said that they would drop the tub into my frame, measure to locate for the drain and overfill locations, then pull the tub out to complete the drain/overfill, add the mortar bed, then drop the tub back in to complete the installation.
The plumbers that came out originally wanted to use a can of expanding insulating foam that they got at Home Depot, but said they would use mortar if I wanted that. I also wasn't crazy about getting that goop anywhere close to the acrylic finish. I know folks use the foam for this purpose, but an old plumber told me that mortar was the tried and true method, so I opted for that...
So, they proceeded to drop the tub in, located and installed the drain/overfill, but never pulled the tub out to add the mortar bed. Instead, he troweled the mortar into the space, then used a stick to push it into place under the tub. Might be wrong, but I also thought tubs were supposed to be weighted with water while the mortar cured.
Getting down to look at their work with a flashlight, it doesn't seem like the mortar bed is very compacted under the tub (looks like someone tried to pack it with a skinny stick), and while the feet of the tub are resting on the floor, about the last foot or so of the back of the tub's basin is unsupported.
In addition, there was supposed to be a bead of silicon on the frame to drop the lip of the tub into, per Kohler's instructions. Nope, didn't get that at all...
Overall to me, it just seemed like a lazy/shoddy job. I've called their office to speak to the supervisor about it, but I'd like to hear from you pros. Do I have basis for complaining, or is this typical?
The plumbing estimator came out to look at installing a drop-in acrylic tub that I had purchased. He said that they would drop the tub into my frame, measure to locate for the drain and overfill locations, then pull the tub out to complete the drain/overfill, add the mortar bed, then drop the tub back in to complete the installation.
The plumbers that came out originally wanted to use a can of expanding insulating foam that they got at Home Depot, but said they would use mortar if I wanted that. I also wasn't crazy about getting that goop anywhere close to the acrylic finish. I know folks use the foam for this purpose, but an old plumber told me that mortar was the tried and true method, so I opted for that...
So, they proceeded to drop the tub in, located and installed the drain/overfill, but never pulled the tub out to add the mortar bed. Instead, he troweled the mortar into the space, then used a stick to push it into place under the tub. Might be wrong, but I also thought tubs were supposed to be weighted with water while the mortar cured.
Getting down to look at their work with a flashlight, it doesn't seem like the mortar bed is very compacted under the tub (looks like someone tried to pack it with a skinny stick), and while the feet of the tub are resting on the floor, about the last foot or so of the back of the tub's basin is unsupported.
In addition, there was supposed to be a bead of silicon on the frame to drop the lip of the tub into, per Kohler's instructions. Nope, didn't get that at all...
Overall to me, it just seemed like a lazy/shoddy job. I've called their office to speak to the supervisor about it, but I'd like to hear from you pros. Do I have basis for complaining, or is this typical?
