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chriskelly13

hairline cracks in Kohler Mendota cast iron tub--anyone else?

chriskelly13
16 years ago

The plumber got the 375 pound Kohler Mendota cast iron tub in place and noticed a small area of cracks in the surface. They only are on the surface, enough to hold dirt as the pix link below shows. Of course the cracks are right near the drain in an obvious spot.

The plumber's wholesaler and himself called Kohler and were told "remove the tub for a replacement." No other help or even apology. Obviously this is not ideal, and we don't want him to haul the tub down (the dumpster is gone now) and haul up another.

Any suggestions before I start calling Kohler myself. As a former Wisconsin girl, this was disappointing. Shouldn't Kohler make some sort of good will gesture to compensate for their poor quality control?

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:1472022}}

Comments (19)

  • johnmari
    16 years ago

    Actually, these days, a complete replacement with a new tub is pretty dang good, and although they certainly could have been more gracious about apologizing for the inconvenience, I'm actually rather impressed with Kohler's response to the issue. Most companies would send out a "repair technician" with a little bottle of epoxy porcelain paint and call it good, since warrantees usually specify repair or replacement at the manufacturer's discretion.

  • cynandjon
    16 years ago

    are they just in the finish or is it down into the cast iron.
    IF its in the finish I believe it could be reglazed. But if its down into the cast, I wouldnt want to keep it.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    The dumpster shouldn't have anything to do with it, won't they want the old tub back when they replace it? If not, you'd be nuts to throw it out. I'm sure you could sell it for something to someone who won't mind the cosmetic blemish for a big discount.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    I wouldn't expect Kohler to reimburse you for having your plumber have to do the work twice. You should always inspect a big item like that thoroughly before installing it. It's one of those "learning the hard way" things. It may not be poor quality control - it may have been damaged in shipping/handling too.

  • chriskelly13
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Actually it is a bit hard to inspect a 400# cast iron tub upended in a wooden crate. So the plumber only noticed the hairline cracks when it was in place. My plumber is sending a guy who does touchups, and hopes to be reimbursed by Kohler. I should point out the problem is cosmetic, not structural. And the baked on finish couldn't have been cracked like that during transit.

    The plumber was so relieved he didn't have to haul it down the 2 flights of stairs and a new one up. And to the plumber's credit, he pointed it out right away. I couldn't justify changing it for the cosmetics of a bath tub, although I'm disappointed that a company like Kohler doesn't have better quality control.

    I'm going to call Kohler tomorrow to see what they have to say.

  • cynandjon
    16 years ago

    You should tell them that you didnt buy as a second you payed top dollar and expect quality. Unless they want send you a new one, they should return some money.
    I did that once for defective Armstrong floor covering that had a flaw, I noticed it AFTER it was installed.They returned some of my money.
    LOL its worth a try.Even if you dont care about the money, its the principal.They shouldnt let defective stuff out.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    I'm in the midst of buying a new 400# cast iron tub and the place I'm buying it from is very specific about the fact that you're supposed to uncrate it and inspect it as soon as you get it.

    Actually I just pulled up the installation instructions (available online) for the tub and the first section (after the warning that the thing is heavy and to follow local plumbing codes) is the "Before you Begin" section and says to "carefully uncrate and inspect bath for damage." Not that it helps you much but maybe someone who is reading this can learn from the experience (small consolation).

    In Kohler's warranty they do specify that at their discretion they can repair, replace or "make appropriate adjustment" - so if you can keep it, trying to negotiate a discount is a good idea. Kohler might not pay for your plumber to fix it though. Before you incur any other expense I'd call Kohler and explain that the tub is already installed, the damage is only cosmetic and you'd like a discount off of your imperfect tub per their warranty and you'd like to have it fixed in place, how would you go about doing that? Could your plumber do it and be reimbursed? They may want to send one of their people out to do it but personally I'd ask first and not assume. As Mari pointed out, companies are sticklers about how they honor their warranties.

  • chriskelly13
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Just called Kohler and they claimed "spider cracks" never are a manufacturing defect and that they are not liable. The cracks were not caused by them and we should have inspected.

    Okay, I buy the inspection part. If our plumber had uncrated the 400 lb. tub in the 95 degree weather and somehow crawled inside, he may have noticed the cracks.

    However, Kohler claims someone dropped something on it. I am 99.9% sure the plumber did not. Don't know the process of shipping to the wholesaler and here to the house, so I suppose someone could have dropped something through the crate to cause cracks in the surface of a cast iron tub. Hope I never drop my shampoo bottle, since the surface must be awfully delicate.

    Plumber will send out his guy to see if the area can be fixed (Kohler said it can't be fixed but also said they had a list of local people to hire.)

    Bottom line: don't buy from Kohler. Yes, it was our fault for not inspecting the item before installation. But I don't buy the explanation someone dropped someone on it to cause the defect. Very disppointed with the customer response. At least they could have reimbursed the surface fix.

  • kgwlisa
    16 years ago

    I would not give it up at this point. Ask the plumber to get his wholesaler into it again - they likely have more pull than a single person buying a single tub. They were willing to replace the entire tub for him, at the very least they should be willing to do what they said they'd do before. I would question the wholesaler as to whether or not this tub was actually brand new and not a return. The first thing I thought of when you said there were spider cracks around the drain is that someone had overtightened the drain (my shower base manufacturer warned me that if you get a "gorilla" for a plumber this can sometimes happen). If you're sure your plumber didn't inflict the damage, I would suspect that the tub had been installed somewhere before.

    Alternately the tub could have been damaged somewhere in transit - again this should be an issue the wholesaler should be able to take up with their shipper. I'm half wondering if the wholesaler didn't even take it up with kohler but rather was going to do the swap for you just like that because it's easier.

    Ultimately you will decide how much effort you want to want to expend to get whoever is responsible to pay for the fix. It could be the wholesaler, it could be the shipper, it could be a manufacturing defect. Everyone is going to want to pass the buck on it too, but I'd keep after the plumber and wholesaler because I think it is more likely damage than a defect. At the same time you might want to tell Kohler that you want someone out there to SEE the defect (be careful not to say the word "damage") and actually make a determination about whether it is a defect or not - because surely they can't do that over the phone. Ask to speak to a supervisor if necessary.

    It sucks that you are dealing with this with your brand new tub though :(.

  • snooper
    16 years ago

    I 'm not an expert on "fixing" the hairline cracks...but I would think that whatever type of procedure they use now to fix it will not be the same "baked on finish" nor will it last as long as the original finish. Are you going to be comfortable with a temporary fix?

    I would ask the wholesaler to replace it.

    I hope things work out well for you.

  • patricianat
    16 years ago

    Years ago I was looking at a new house to purchase. It was the house I liked best of all the houses but there was a crack in the cast iron tub. I told the realtor that I wanted the house but wanted the tub changed out. He told me they would repair it. I said, "Nope, gotta have a new tub." Finally, my husband agreed to repairing it and if it did not last, the builder who was a neighbor would redo bathroom. When I moved in I was elated to see the new tub. Sparkly bright. A few months later, the realtor (who was a member of our church and frequent guest) told me they had repaired it. I moved from that house 5-6 years later. The tub looked great. I had occasion to visit that house two years ago (which was 30 years old). The bathtub was the same. The owner told me she had recently had it painted (professionally) as it had started to wear. It looked great. I normally do not advocate for repairs, but I can vouch for tub repair.

  • chriskelly13
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks everyone for your input. The plumber will bring in his guy (currently on vacation) and will give touchup a shot. I just couldn't accept the plumber and his young assistant needing to carry the thing down the stairs and lug a new one up.

    Kohler's attitude stinks, however, and I am going to send a letter to their president, Herbert V. Kohler, Jr. Will follow-up if I hear anything back.

  • dianechandler
    5 years ago
    Our experience with a Kohler cast iron pan was that we were forced to use framed shower doors because the glass companies would not guarantee a frameless would withstand more than a couple of years. They cited that the adhesive would not securely adhere the small panel guide used on frameless doors. Instead, the cast iron required adhesive be used on a full track (as used with framed shower doors) which would provide much wider support. Beware of cast iron pans for walk-in showers.
  • HU-229740923
    2 years ago

    I just had a similar experience as the OP. Our spider cracks were at the head edge of the tub - became apparent when the tub was cleaned after installation and the construction dust got into the cracks. Ugly. We are stuck with it, with no compensation or assistance from Kohler, just a sweet, apologetic Kohler rep. We may try to repair it (was searching and that's how I came across this thread) I will look into Toto for our next tub, per another person on this thread.

  • Marina Wain
    2 years ago

    There must be a quality control issue bc the same thing happened to my tub. Discovered the crack by the drain after the tile installation. I called a company to repair and they said since it so close to the drain that it would eventually rust and need constant repair. The wholesaler said he never heard of that happening to the tub. Any luck finding someone to repair ?

  • deenasteinberg
    last year

    My Kohler tub started developing same type of cracks 10 months after install and mild use. Now more and more appearing. I am livid as replacing will mean besides cost of tub, replacing tile and shower doors etc. and another long period without use of my only bathroom. This happened 10 years ago to a new Kohler sink which gave me pause in buying the tub but i thought Kohler was only choice for cast iron and I was assured the sink problem was extremely rare. picture is of just one of several cracks. I'd like to hear if anyone found solutions to this.


  • HU-229740923
    last year

    @deenasteinberg

    I haven’t looked for a solution to our cracks - and thankfully they haven’t worsened

  • deenasteinberg
    last year

    thanks. good to hear they haven't gotten worse. I'm very anxious about mine.