Sealant around bath tub

Stheno

Hey everyone,

I've a quick question about the sealant that was put in when the bathtub in our house was installed.

It's not like what I'd be used to, where you've a solid line of sealant between the surface of the bath and the wall, rather this is in an up and down pattern, so e.g. two inches of sealant will be against the bath surface, but leaving a gap of about 2-3 mm before the tiles start, then the next two inches will be from the tiles, but leaving 2-3 mm between where it ends and the bath surface starts. I'm concerned that this could lead to a build up of water as the bath/shower is used down the side of the wall.

Would it be ok to remove the current sealant and just replace it with a solid application of silicone sealing that completely seals between the bath and the tiles?

Thank you

galwaydude18

Stheno wrote: »

Hey everyone,

I've a quick question about the sealant that was put in when the bathtub in our house was installed.

It's not like what I'd be used to, where you've a solid line of sealant between the surface of the bath and the wall, rather this is in an up and down pattern, so e.g. two inches of sealant will be against the bath surface, but leaving a gap of about 2-3 mm before the tiles start, then the next two inches will be from the tiles, but leaving 2-3 mm between where it ends and the bath surface starts. I'm concerned that this could lead to a build up of water as the bath/shower is used down the side of the wall.

Would it be ok to remove the current sealant and just replace it with a solid application of silicone sealing that completely seals between the bath and the tiles?

Thank you

Post up a picture. It will help us see what your describing.

Stheno

Here you go

Robbie.G

Stheno wrote: »

Here you go

Yes just remove the old sealant and redo it properly

Stheno

Robbie.G wrote: »

Yes just remove the old sealant and redo it properly

Thank you! I've no idea why it was done like that, it's a bit strange.

Off down to the hardware store for silicone and a gun so at the weekend

Delta Kilo

To be honest it looks to me like it was done properly but the bath shifted downwards! Might be no harm to get a plumber to have a look at this. He will have a look under the bath and see if anything is untoward.

It looks like the bath shifted downwards, some of the sealant adhered to the bath and some adhered to the tile giving you the zig zag.

Stheno

Delta Kilo wrote: »

To be honest it looks to me like it was done properly but the bath shifted downwards! Might be no harm to get a plumber to have a look at this. He will have a look under the bath and see if anything is untoward.

It looks like the bath shifted downwards, some of the sealant adhered to the bath and some adhered to the tile giving you the zig zag.

We did wonder if that was it, what would we be asking a plumber to check? This house is a horror for plumbing/heating issues.

Delta Kilo

Stheno wrote: »

We did wonder if that was it, what would we be asking a plumber to check? This house is a horror for plumbing/heating issues.

Just say you think the bath has shifted, to have a look at it, then show him the sealant around the bath and he will know from there. Best to get it checked anyway, the way it is now water can get down underneath the bath, not ideal!

Joey the lips

Just redo the silicone. There is a bath seal by the looks of the picture so the silicone is just for astetic reasons.

DoneDL

Fill the bath before you reseal it.

Happyman42

DoneDL wrote: »

Fill the bath before you reseal it.

Excellent tip, would never have thought of doing that!

dodzy

Happyman42 wrote: »

Excellent tip, would never have thought of doing that!

That bath has sunk, for whatever reason. Is the side panel plastic (easily removed ) or tiled ?

If plastic panel is in place, i'd be inclined to remove, raise the bath with the 5 adjustable legs, in order to reduce that gap between the bath and lower edge of the tile, fill with water, and then reseal with silicon bead.

Its hard to establish from the picture with any certainty that there is a bath seal in place or if thats just wall tile adhesive behind the loose silicon.

Happyman42

dodzy wrote: »

That bath has sunk, for whatever reason. Is the side panel plastic (easily removed ) or tiled ?

If plastic panel is in place, i'd be inclined to remove, raise the bath with the 5 adjustable legs, in order to reduce that gap between the bath and lower edge of the tile, fill with water, and then reseal with silicon bead.

Its hard to establish from the picture with any certainty that there is a bath seal in place or if thats just wall tile adhesive behind the loose silicon.

It's not my bath!

Stheno

Joey the lips wrote: »

Just redo the silicone. There is a bath seal by the looks of the picture so the silicone is just for astetic reasons.

Don't think there is to be honest, I checked it after the shower had run and there was water dripping where there are the gaps.

dodzy wrote: »

That bath has sunk, for whatever reason. Is the side panel plastic (easily removed ) or tiled ?

If plastic panel is in place, i'd be inclined to remove, raise the bath with the 5 adjustable legs, in order to reduce that gap between the bath and lower edge of the tile, fill with water, and then reseal with silicon bead.

Its hard to establish from the picture with any certainty that there is a bath seal in place or if thats just wall tile adhesive behind the loose silicon.

Thankfully it's just a plastic panel with the studs (dunno if that is the right term, like the ones you get in a car door card) holding it in place, so I'll be able to take that out.

This is probably an extremely stupid question, but is the rationale behind filling the bath before resealing to make sure you get the right "level"? If it is, and the bath is mainly used as a shower does that make a difference?

(I'm not entirely sure from the posts about it whether or not I should fill the bath )

Merch

Stheno wrote: »

This is probably an extremely stupid question, but is the rationale behind filling the bath before resealing to make sure you get the right "level"? If it is, and the bath is mainly used as a shower does that make a difference?

(I'm not entirely sure from the posts about it whether or not I should fill the bath )

The weight of water, will mean when you seal it up that it will have an inbuilt bit of give, so when you step in it, it wont break the seal.

Id take off the side and see what caused the drop firstly

Stheno

Merch wrote: »

The weight of water, will mean when you seal it up that it will have an inbuilt bit of give, so when you step in it, it wont break the seal.

Great, thanks

Thanks to all of you for the advice, much appreciated!

Merch

Stheno wrote: »

Great, thanks

Thanks to all of you for the advice, much appreciated!

Check the cause of the bath dropping, I'd mask up, put sealant in there and then jack it back up,

either by seeing what caused the fall, ie putting some blocks under the feet or screwing them up if there is enough threads to do that.

Stheno

Merch wrote: »

Check the cause of the bath dropping, I'd mask up, put sealant in there and then jack it back up,

either by seeing what caused the fall, ie putting some blocks under the feet or screwing them up if there is enough threads to do that.

Would it be very simplistic to imagine that the cause could be that when the house was built the bath suite/tiling were done all at once?

I've got a fair few blocks that I can use if needs be.

Hotblack Desiato

A bath dropping that far is a bad sign.
Check the joists in the floor under the bath aren't rotten due to a current or past leak.
There had been a leak under the bath in our house, probably for years, the previous owners fixed the leak and tiled over the half-rotten floor so by the time we moved in it was in such a state we were lucky the bath didn't end up in the living room :eek:

Stheno

ninja900 wrote: »

A bath dropping that far is a bad sign.
Check the joists in the floor under the bath aren't rotten due to a current or past leak.
There had been a leak under the bath in our house, probably for years, the previous owners fixed the leak and tiled over the half-rotten floor so by the time we moved in it was in such a state we were lucky the bath didn't end up in the living room :eek:

I'll do that.

The bath/shower hasn't been used more than 2-3 times a year in the six years since the house was built until the last month, but there are problems with the heating system and there have been leaks from rads upstairs and downstairs, the boiler makes a noise like it's kettling and has been fixed twice, three rads have been replaced as well due to leaks.

Another rad simply doesn't work and never has in the three years I've lived here. Now that I think of it, several of the rooms downstairs have got not damp stains, but water leak stains on the ceiling, and I can map them to either ensuites, where the bath is, or where we have had leaking radiators, and there is one under the bath, so I definitely need to check it, and if necessary get someone in, as that's beyond my capabilities, and tbh patience, and I'd rather do a job well, than save a bit of cash and cause chaos in the future.

It's not a situation where I own or rent the house, there is an agreement to maintain the house, and this is where I'm starting as I don't want to add any further problems to it.

I'll check out under the bath (well I'll take the side panel off and have a good look) at the weekend, and see what shows up (considering I'm an amateur at this).

Any recommendations for a plumber around Swords? Am not a fan of the chap contracted to manage the plumbing, last time he was here several months ago to close off a leaking radiator and replace it, I spoke to him about in particular the problems with the boiler, and he was "oh well I flushed it" yet we have constant problems, and three months later still hasn't been back to replace the radiator (I can't comment on whether or not there is a dispute with the management company who pay him as I'm not privy to that, but at this stage for my own comfort, I'd prefer to pay and resolve issues)

And I know I've said it already, but I do very much appreciate all of the time and effort people on here have put into responding, and explaining what is probably very simple stuff, thank you all.