Best sealant for tiles on over bath shower.

danger_mouse_tm

Hi.
We put up a shower rail over the bath and had someone in to fit our over bath screen. Now there's a problem with the water from the shower that hits the tiles over the bath. It looks like it's getting through the seal between the bath and the tiles and running down the wall under the bath. From there it seeps down through the wood floor and pours down onto her clothes in the wardrobe downstairs.
I have one of those orange silicone gun things and a tube of tesco bathroom sealant. Would it be sufficient to just squirt a load of that over the edge of the bath where it comes into contact with the tiles or should I use some high quality stuff?

sky6

It might work for you but will only be a temporary fix. There is a roll of sealer you can buy in B&Q which sticks to both the tiles and the top of the Bath. This would work better than silicone. Make sure to clean both surfaces well. But the best solution is to remove the bottom row of tiles and fit a self adjusting sealer. It takes account of the rise and fall of temperatures in the Bathroom.

braddun

caulk


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qARPdyLwkb0

sky6

The recurring problem is movement caused by expansion and retraction. Caulk and sealants usually crack or give way over time and not too long either.

650gs

Caulk or silicone will break down, get tec7, mask the tiles and the bath with masking tape leaving a thin strait line and be sure its dry.
Silicone or caulk cost any where from 1 to 3 euro a tube tec7 about 14 euro, thats why

dodzy

braddun wrote: »

caulk


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qARPdyLwkb0

Bad advice.

danger_mouse_tm

Hi All,
Thanks for all the replies. Probably the best course of action is to remove the bottom row of tiles and get the job done right. However, I can envisage tiles been broken and with tiles as old as they are, it may be difficult getting replacement.
I wouldn't be too worried about having to repeat the job every few months if we used cheap silicone or caulk, we will be moving abroad soon and renting the house out. The last thing we want is tenants calling us up and demanding new clothes because their own were destroyed from dripping water.
I think I will try the Tec 7 solution mentioned above. I will head to the local hardware shops tomorrow and see if I can pick some up.

Thanks again.

Buona Fortuna

We had this problem in a flat we lived in back in the year Oh Dot. Regularly had silicon redone, sealant strips you name it. The problem that we found after a couple of years was that the bath had been put in badly.

Result was that when it filled with water, it moved a bit. The only solution we got to from a plumber we could trust (remember them? ) was to re do the whole bath and tiles.

We sold up and moved on instead;)

All the best OP.

danger_mouse_tm

Buona Fortuna wrote: »

We had this problem in a flat we lived in back in the year Oh Dot. Regularly had silicon redone, sealant strips you name it. The problem that we found after a couple of years was that the bath had been put in badly.

Result was that when it filled with water, it moved a bit. The only solution we got to from a plumber we could trust (remember them? ) was to re do the whole bath and tiles.

We sold up and moved on instead;)

All the best OP.

We would love to just sell up and move on. Unfortunately, like most of our neighbours we bought at a time when the houses were built as fast as our loan approval and now we're stuck with our negative equity home.

Congratulations on 1000 posts btw!

michael999999

braddun wrote: »

caulk


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qARPdyLwkb0

Caulk is not waterproof!

K.Flyer

Check the bath for movement before doing anything.
First thing you need to do is to rake out any old silicone and loose grout between the bath and the tiles.
Next, if there is some bath movement get some 2 x 1 or 2 x 2 inch lengths of timber cut slightly longer the the height of the bath. Use them as props, one in each corner and two evenly spaced under the ledge at the tiles gently tapping them into place. Be careful not to lift the bath, just tap them in enough that they are a snug fit.
Now seal between the tiles and the bath using Tek7.
Cut the nozzle so you can fill into the gap between the tile and bath. Try to keep the line smooth and narrow.
To smooth out the sealant put a couple of squirts of washing up liquid into a clean container e.g. a glass or a mug mixed well with warm water. Dampen the sealant first by splashing plenty of the liquid mix onto the sealant. Use the mix to wet your finger and start to smooth out the sealant. Use a fresh stanley blade for removing excess sealant.
If you have not used Tek7 before, I would advise experimenting with it somewhere else to see how it goes before using it. It one of the best products on the market, but it can get messy if you are not used to it.
Hope that helps you.

game4it70

Its a good idea to fill the bath before you use the sealant.That will help give you a tighter seal.

sky6

You can use a row of plain white tiles on the bottom. It will look ok as it blends in with the Bath assuming the Bath is white.
As previously said, you should always fill the Bath before Tiling or using a sealant.