Homemade fiberglass shower surround?

[Alan Gage]

I've got an odd shaped shower in my place (42x60) and have been kicking around what to use for a shower surround. I'm not a big fan of the prefab surrounds and would probably have trouble finding something in my size anyway.

One thing I keep coming back to is a homemade fiberglass surround over cedar (or whatever else I might want). Seems relatively cheap, easy, and I think it would look great. Put up cement board, drainage plane, cedar, and fiberglass cloth saturated with epoxy over that. It would all be one piece so no seams.

Why not? It's good enough for boats. 

Alan

[firefox]

Doing inside corners is a real bxxxh. I would wrap the fiberglass cloth around something
to make a side, then take the cured sides and bolt them together at the ends, after aplying some of the resin to the mating surfaces.

You have to be able to stretch the cloth over something and clamp it in place while spreading the resin, otherwise the ends of the cloth just curl up
like a fringe in the breeze. Don't ask me how I know.

You can end up with something very nice if you take your time and use dyes and a second clear coat. Do a little homework on this and it will pay off big time.

Bruce

[UK4X4]

I have done this in the UK in my old house

I used 1/2' marine ply glued and screwed together for the sides
and 3/4" marine ply for the base with a 2x1 frame to stiffen it

This was then stained and covered in 3 layers of resin- no matt was used as the assembly was stiff enough
The sides were screwed to the walls and the base left under the assemblies weight

After about 8 years the hard water was spoiling the surface by leaving ingrained limescale marks.

At this point a bathroom refurb was overdue - so I just sanded it lightly- added another layer of resin and then tiled over the whole assembly.

Its over 13 years now and never a leak

This pic you can see the shower and the white limescale



This was also home built - recycled joists and floor boards from another old house- the boiler is hidden behind the RHS door

[NM_Shooter]

Getting a planar surface will be tough.  If you are not too concerned about aesthetics, why not use the hard white plastic splash sheets that are made for wet areas?

[Squirl]

I would think it was possible.  I have done some fiberglass work on boats, and never found it very enjoyable.  I don't know how much you have worked with fiberglass, so I will share a few of my notes.
Are you going to leave it clear coat?  If so, the areas that I would overlay the cloth always looked like crap.  That could be from my relatively low level of experience.  There was always a textured surface.  This would have to be smoothed by extra resin, paint, gel coat and lots of sanding.
Fiberglass and polyester resin will break down in UV light.  That is why they usually have a gel coat or protective layer. 
My fiberglass gave off fumes and smelled for days.

Not a big fan of large tiles, eh?  Probably cheaper, easier, and longer lasting.

[JRR]

The smell of polyester resin and MEK peroxide!  You never forget it.  I also did a bit of boat repair ... way back when.  Then I built a two-place custom sports coupe car body with gull wing doors ... this was a couple of years before the first Corvette "Sting Ray"was introduced.  My car's body shape lost its uniqueness when the Sting Ray came out.  Very similar.  This story dates me pretty well.  Wish I had kept that car ... now I don't even have a photo.

Good luck with your project ... I don't want to help... enough fibre-glass for me!

Have you consider glass (or plastic) blocks?

[Don_P]

I did the plywood and fiberglass method on one years ago when living in a shop I had rented. I had bartered for some West System epoxy and it worked ok. It was a non skid surface, even on the walls.

[Alan Gage]

Well it's good to hear from some people who have done it before.

UK4x4 - you said you didn't use any fiberglass, just resin. I had the same thought as I was going to bed last night. I'm so used to needing fiberglass for strength that it didn't occur to me I might be able to omit it all together. Maybe at the corners it would be nice to keep it from cracking but otherwise would it really be necessary? It certainly would make the process a lot easier.

I like your wood counter top too. I was thinking of doing the same thing in my kitchen. Did you coat it with resin as well? What did you use for wood? I was thinking about veneered plywood.

I know what you guys mean about the smell of MEK, that stuff is nasty. If I do it I'll be using a 2 part epoxy. Still smells but not near as bad. There are no windows in the bathroom so UV shouldn't be an issue. I did wonder about a couple coats of varnish or something along those lines. I wonder if that would make cleanup easier and maybe keep deposits from damaging the epoxy?

I have a little experience with fiberglass, not a lot. I come from the canoeing/kayak world so I've done some minor repairs, made a few fiberglass seats, and a wood strip canoe. The wood strip canoe is what got me thinking about fiberglass and resin for the shower.

A couple shots of the canoe after fiberglassing the outside:


20101207_003 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr


20101207_002 copy_web by Alan  Gage, on Flickr

A few coats of Spar varnish came later to fill in the weave and provide UV protection.

I'll try and make up my mind over the next couple days. I need to before I can move on. Thanks for the input.

Alan

[UK4X4]

I used resin only not tape - you will only get cracks if the assembly is not strong enough

All the joints overlap the 1x2's at each corner- glued and screwed.

resin was rollered on

first coat sunk in the other two on top.

never bothered with varnishing on top as the resin is way harder and I did't want flaky delamination

I looked at it as if it needs re-coating, its only a quick sand and another coat of resin down the line.

Yes resined the bathroom top too, but that one I sanded and polished as gets splashed more regularly and made it easier to clean

If you want a rough grippy finish - lightly sprinkle sugar on the wet resin- then scrub thoroughly with hot water
when dry- you'll have a nice grippy surface as used on custom fiberglass windsurfing boards

[nathan.principe]

I think this is a cool idea!  one I havent ever thought of. I have made two pirogues and a skiff before from scratch using fiberglass cloth and west system epoxy.  Takes a little getting used to but is very do able!  also keep in mind that its the epoxy that gives the water proofing and the fiber glass that gives the strength.  If it were me I would start by fiberglass taping the interior seams and when cured "feather" the edges of the tape by sanding.  this will give you a smooth transition into the next coat of epoxy.  Then cut your cloth into individual panels for each side of the surround and install them one by one, over lapping the tape at the seam, also feathering the edges in preparation for the final coat of epoxy or varnish.  My fear of trying to install one big piece would be the curing time of the epoxy as well as just over all managing of that big of a piece of cloth and struggling to keep it from wrinkling or bubbles

[MushCreek]

If you think about it, a boat is subjected to a LOT worse than a shower is. The boat has to deal with the forces of waves, etc., UV light, and actual submersion in water, versus just being splashed. I would think a couple coats of West epoxy, topped with polyurethane varnish would last for years. Wish I thought of that before I installed an ugly, expen$ive fiberglas pre-fab in my barn.......

[NM_Shooter]

How about a wood strip shower?

[Alan Gage]

How about a wood strip shower?

That was my original idea. 

Alan