I just bought a new house and have found that, apparently, the tub was not very well installed. I smelled something strange in the closet that is on the backside of the faucets/drain and, when I opened up the access door, discovered a build-up of mold. I have pinpointed the problem to be instability of the tub, which was causing cracks in the caulking and letting water through. For the time being, I have recaulked with silicone caulk, but I would like to fix the instability.
The tub is for a three-wall enclosure. With the little access I have, I have shimmed under the the side of the tub with no wall (i.e. between the foundation and the apron). This has given better stability to the overall structure; however, the floor of the tub is still unstable. When I step into the tub, the floor of the tub gives a little, which creates instability. From reading other posts, I understand that the installer should have put mortar under the tub to prevent this type of instability. He didn't. Given that the tub is fully installed now and I have very little access, is there anything that I can do to support the floor without completely pulling out the tub and starting over (and, ideally, without cutting a lot of sheetrock around the tub)?
The tub is for a three-wall enclosure. With the little access I have, I have shimmed under the the side of the tub with no wall (i.e. between the foundation and the apron). This has given better stability to the overall structure; however, the floor of the tub is still unstable. When I step into the tub, the floor of the tub gives a little, which creates instability. From reading other posts, I understand that the installer should have put mortar under the tub to prevent this type of instability. He didn't. Given that the tub is fully installed now and I have very little access, is there anything that I can do to support the floor without completely pulling out the tub and starting over (and, ideally, without cutting a lot of sheetrock around the tub)?