Sealing bath tub against walls.

[cardiffrob]

Like wot it says above.

I've had some leakage between the bath and the wall that has soaked the chipboard flooring under the tub. There was about 2 tubes of white silicone and then some plastic strips bridging the gap between tub and wall. A few lifted areas and...hey Presto...leakage.

Would Tiger Seal be a better bet than silicone? I also think they may have sealed it without any weight in the bath since it drops a mm or more when filled, thus stretching the sealant.

Not quite metalwork but I can't get on with welding new spring perches onto my pre-war axle until the bath is watertight.

 

[mike os]

make sure all the old silicone is off... everywhere, new will not seal to old, it just peals & leaks... scotchbrite & stanley blade is good for this

always half fill the bath & leave till set or as long as possible

"cornertape" is very very good for producing a clean & tidy joint ( ebay/amazon)

 

[stuvy]

make sure the bath is full of water as if its not youl seal it, fill with water and itl come off as the bath drops in height

 

[rtbcomp]

Discussed here too

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=35455&highlight=bath

 

[cardiffrob]

It was more a question of "Would Tiger Seal be better". I'd read the other thread but wondered if the world silicone obsession was undeserved? Sure, it is waterproof round the edges, but for how long? My Healey bodywork is 'welded' with Sikaflex and is still holding on after nearly a decade of hard use.
http://www.spritespot.com/gallery/albums/toomanyspridgets/a2.jpg

 

[steveo3002]

id thought about using pu sealer round our bath , its got a slightly bigger and uneven gap than id prefer

could you caulk in some pu sealer and tool it so its just sealed , then once its set up run some white bathroom sealer on top as its resistant to mold etc?

 

[BillJ]

I've used Teleseal before and although expensive, it very effectively deals with the movement of the joint that causes leaks with silicone sealant. The big DIY shops now have their own versions of it, which are cheaper. I've used one (from Homebase, I think) and it seemed to perform just as well as the Teleseal.

It looks quite neat (to me) too.

 

[KemppiFrog]

I use Sika 11FC for all sorts of things. Designed for external use like sticking roof tiles together,it also comes in white and will adhere to just about anything. A PU, it stays flexable and costs around €6 a 300ml tube.

 

[ukracer]

I use Sika 11FC for all sorts of things. Designed for external use like sticking roof tiles together,it also comes in white and will adhere to just about anything. A PU, it stays flexable and costs around €6 a 300ml tube.

Cant seem to get it from anywhere local like screwfix or tool station.

 

[richie00boy]

I had a similar issue.
Remove every trace of old silicone, I used a Stanley knife blade and unibond silicone remover from screwfix.
Then scrub old scum and mould away.
I used a upvc window quarter round strip to bridge the gap. Stuck that down with no nonsense builders silicone from screwfix which has better adhesion and elasticity than normal acetic cure silicone. Then "point up" with same.

 

[Revs1972]

Solved.... now crack on with that axle

 

[jordan1]

Can you take the panel of and adjust the gap with the screw feet?

 

[richie00boy]

Worth checking the legs anyway as one may be loose or set wrong.

 

[angellonewolf]

you need to stop the bath from moving before resealing or will not last long as its moving 1mm thats alot of movment

 

[Turbo]

I wouldn't advise using tiger seal as it doesn't flex very well. Another downside is that it discolours & goes brown, especially if you use bleach, etc on it.

I would recommend one of the Novatio Seal & bond products. We used it extensively in a food factory to seal walls that were pressure washed daily & we never found its equal. Stuck like crap to a blanket & stayed white. Someone thought we could use tiger seal, that's when we found out it turns brown after a while! We had hours of fun digging that out of dozens of joints!

More info here.
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Silicone

 

[Revs1972]

When I had my bath installed by a "pro", he fixed a baton to the wall the full length of the bath under the lip . Therefore when the bath gets loaded, it does not flex, so the seal is not under any pressure.

 

[Johnseat]

The bath needs refitting first of all.
I always use the supplied legs and then some extra timbers under the partical board base of the bath to spread out of the weight.
Then I use timber fixed to the walls using hammer fixings to slide the bath edging onto to so that the top of the bath can't move when fully loaded.
Once that's done I then silicon between the top of the bath and the wall before tiling over the top of the silicon with another bead of silicon on the tiling once it's set and grouted.