Crack in shower pan leaking water into basement! :eek:

I have got a really old shower stall that now has a crack in the fiberglass pan and is leaking through into my basement!! (it's a 1st floor shower). I have got some plumbing experience with replacing the bathroom sink and some basic carpentry skills as well (have replaced a door). How hard would it be for me to rip this thing out and get it replaced? It looks like a really expensive job from what I can gather on the web and all the plumbers I know are booked up for a while. I doubt I can fix the crack without replacing the shower and I'm betting the floor space has to be totally removed because of the water damage. Any advice would be really welcome. I'd much rather spend less money and do it myself as I dont have several G's to spend on this project!!!
Thanks!

You're right, it probably can't be repaired easily...is this a tiled wall, fiberglass pan, an all-in-one single piece, or paneled walls with separate pan?

Finding an exacty replacement can be tough, the height to meet up with the sidewalls can give you grief, then getting the old one out without ruining the walls is an issue.

If you decide to tear it out and want to put in a tiled shower on your own, check out www.johnbridge.com

To make the new one last longer, if you can find a replacement, set it down in a mortar or plaster of paris bed while wet. This will fill in all of the gaps underneath, preventing it from flexing, and making it feel much more substantial. My unprofessional opinion.

Shower pan by Lasco

If the fiberglass shower pan is cracked, it has to be replaced.

Once you have a new shower pan, the rest gets easier.
It's mainly time that you would be paying for. the materials aren't that much.

Not all pans look like this, John Bridge says the pan is the liner below the tile. I think he knows what he's talking about.
John Bridge shower pan explanation

shower

Are we calling a shower base a pan?
Back here a shower pan is what is laid and waterproofed around the shower drain before the ceramic tile is laid that is the base.
I know you know....

Thanks for all the responses and helpful advice! This is an all in one piece with one paneled wall. Yes, a pretty botched job not done by me! I didn't know a pan was a term only used for a tile base. I think I am going to have to replace the whole thing as this a really worn old unit and I'm thinking probably with a new fiberglass unit. Any ideas on how I can lay the base? I'm pretty sure I have to replace the wood in the floor after I rip it out and do some repairs also.

Temp fix

Is it fiberglass like speed boats are made out of? As a temp fix maybe you could get a fiberglass repair kit and put a patch on it to keep it from leaking until you replace it?

We did a patch on a speed boat with a kit and it's very easy to do. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work on the shower floor.

Because once cracks start on a solid preformed pan, they just get bigger.

If it's a one-piece fiberglass enclosure, those can sometimes be repaired.

Cracks stop if you drill holes in the ends of the splits? Works for airplanes. Drill crack and weld. In this case drill and patch fiberglass

Jason