Should I lay steel tub in mortar, or use manufacturer's provided foam pad?

[amodoko]

One last question, the tub I bought says to use it's styrofoam pad as the support under my steel tub. It says removal of the pad will void the warranty. The thing is, the user of this tub will weigh 425 pounds... and even though the tub is steel and should hold up fine... I'm a tad concerned that a styrofoam pad may not be enough.

Should I void my warranty, go against manufacturer's instructions, and lay the tub in mortar? Or should I just stick with the styrofoam pad?

 

[johnjh2o]

Use the foam pad. If you use mortar you will create hard spots under the tub which the manufacture is trying to avoid with the foam.

John

 

[amodoko]

Ok, thanks John, I appreciate it! I will use the foam pad then. I was concerned because the man that will be using the tub is 425 pounds, and he had cracked a previous tub that was a fiberglass tub. Even though this tub is steel, I am still concerned. The tub is just a basic steel tub that was $100. It shouldn't crack since it is steel, but it could bend if the foam pad wore down over time due to his extreme weight... right?

If the tub did bend, couldn't it put a strain on the tub shoe - drain connection, possibly causing a leak in plumbing? I may be overthinking this, but I wanted to make sure the foam pad could support a 425 pound man. I know cast iron would be better, but I did not want to deal with the installation of such a heavy tub since I would be doing it myself... so steel was the next best option.

Anyways, I'm still going to just install it with the foam pad, but still want to hear your thoughts about potential bending, etc. I even tried contacting the manufacturer about the weight of the user and the pad... and they won't give me a response.

 

[johnjh2o]

It will be OK just be sure you put a 2x4 ledger strip across the back.

John

 

[amodoko]

okay, thanks a bunch John, I will definitely put the stringer/ledger up on the back. Take care