Cracks in Bathtub

Question

We just moved into our new construction home 3 months ago. Very fine hairline cracks have started to develop in the top corners of the bathtub ledge (they are very hard to see in person without a flashlight, so not anything extreme). We also just noticed inside the bath, what we thought was them just spilling some grout, is also tiny little holes/defects in the finish.

How rapidly do things like this get worse? Also, is it still safe for our child to take baths? Is this an easy fix or should we be contacting the builder? I’m really worried maybe the tub was installed improperly. We previously had an issue right before move in with the hot water pressure in the tub, which they fixed, but then resulted in a leak, which they also fixed. Thank you for any insight!!

Answer 1

Not hazardous for the child, IMHO, but definitely a builder warranty repair issue - the cracks indicate installation not done correctly, tub not supported correctly and cracking with use as weight is put on it through use, or handled roughly to crack it on installation.

The finish surface defects indicate that you have a tub which is either a second, or which was someone else's quality control reject they opted to install at your house rather than dispose of, or a different kind of installation screw-up such as spilling PVC cement or some other solvent on it (I can't quite tell from here.)

It won't magically get better, but your builder will quite likely try to delay until your warranty (if you actually have any warranty) expires, because a correct repair is expensive and extensive. I'll hope for your sake they have more integrity than that, but I won't bet a box of doughnuts on it.