Cracked acrylic wash basin

[Fredxx]

Apart from finding suggestions that a bath tub might last 10 to 15 years, I'm struggling to find out any information on the strength of acrylic bathroom furniture over the passage of time.

In this case a wash basin has cracked from a falling soap bar; this was a 3" round 'football' soap bar! The landlord is claiming that the rental deposit should be withheld partly on this basis.

I would suggest that the bathroom suite is original to the house built in the 1980's.

Most plastics of this nature loose their resilience and elasticity, but wondering if anyone can point me to more scientific details.

[newshound]

Acrylic is actually pretty good in this respect, but it *can* suffer from environmentally assisted cracking.

[Brian Gaff]

A lot of the issues on this depend on what they are mounted onto and how. Many vanity units are chipboard and these can warp when they get wet of course putting a strain on the plastic.

Brian

[Fredxx]

Many thanks for the replies. I was talking decades of use, and how the strength of acrylic deteriorates.

I found one technical source which suggests that tensile strength halves over 10 years.

[Nightjar]

According to the American National Association of Home Builders' Study of Life Expectancy Of Home Components, the life expectancy of modified acrylic sinks is 50 years.

Colin Bignell

[Gazz]

Well, i'd be slightly inclined to side with the landlord... when he let the place to you there was a fully functioning sink, and you broke it by dropping something into it,

However if it was a 'real' sink it wouldent have broken in the first place, and of course the whole suite is probably due for renewal by now,

Depends on what the landlord is like i guess.... he could be the type that will take the suites age into account, and maybe go halves on a sink with you.... or add that money towards a new suite, or he could be one of the 'buy a cheap uninhabitable shit hole in a scummy area, give it a lick of paint, then rent it out as social housing' types,

[Phil L]

And how much is the deposit?

Instead of arguing, why not offer to buy a new one, they're only thirty quid

[Fredxx]

Wow, that's some life! I wonder how many get to live that long before being ripped out and changed.

[Fredxx]

He used the opportunity to change the whole suite.

I felt the strength of the basin was below that normally expected and surprised it cracked. If I recall it was only 3mm or so thick. At the time I removed the basin and repaired underneath with epoxy, but the crack opened up again just before I left.

[Baz]

That's easy to say IF you have 30 quid to spare.

Baz