Grout or Silicon?

[ABN]

At long last have finished tiling around the bath with tiles that we actually like when put up.

On Friday I will do the grouting. From what I understand you are meant to run a bead of silicon around the bath once the job as been completed. Trying to get a TIDY bead of silicon and one the wife will not destroy when cleaning I find very difficult.

The tiles, which overhang the bath, are 10mm thick and have a gap of about 3mm to the bath. What I was thinking of doing, rather than grouting, was to mask the tiles and bath then fill the gap with silicon rather than grout. This could then be smoothed off and the masking removed once dry.

Is this a sound idea or is there some technical reason why I should not do it this way?

 

[Trazor]

Plenty of threads about this, but.....

Do not grout as your bath will flex and quickly break any seal.
Fill your bath with water, then use a good quality silicon sealant, leave the
water in the bath for 24 hours after sealing.
Look at the Dow Corning range for your silicon.

 

[ABN]

Thanks.

Was aware of that when fixing the bath in place but wasn't sure if it applied to the tiling as well.

You have assured me now

 

[gcol]

The tape idea works well. I'd recommend electrical insulation tape cause it sticks better than masking tape. Then when you've removed the tape, you needs to go over the silicone again with your finger. This is very important because removing the tape slightly pulls the silicone away from the wall - you need to smooth it back down or you will get a small shelf on which water will sit and you'll get mould growth.

 

[foxhole]

If removing the tape lifts any silicon it would suggest you have applied too much, sealant where it meets the tape should be very thin.

 

[gcol]

If removing the tape lifts any silicon it would suggest you have applied too much, sealant where it meets the tape should be very thin.

Sorry mate but that's totally wrong. No matter how small the amount of silicone you apply, you smooth it out so that it goes onto the tape. It matters not how much silicone you add, you will always need to re-smooth it out to put the edge back to the wall/tile.

 

[ABN]

Thanks for the electrical insulation tipe but think I will stick with masking tape. The reason being that it's easier to trim. Rather than trying to mask to the exact edges I tend to go over then trim back using a very sharp blade. That way I can get an exact fit.

@ foxhole Think what part of what gcol is refering to is the fact that the tape has thickness. Thus even if you smooth the silson such that there is none on the tape it will still be a tape thickness proud of the tile.

EDIT: Opps was typing this at the same time as gcol's reply. From the posting time stamps you can see how damn slow I type.

 

[gcol]

Thanks for the electrical insulation tipe but think I will stick with masking tape. The reason being that it's easier to trim.

I don't agree. I find masking tape pulls off too easily and you will have more difficulty cutting it when it does - electrical insulation tape stays put and therefore is easy to cut.
I used to do this for a living, but if you'd rather use masking tape, that's your business.

 

[ABN]

Ok so its done. Used a mixture of masking tape and electrical tape in the end.

Made sure that the silicon went deep under the tiles (10mm) then smoothed off with my finger. Looked good at the time and seemed to end flush with the face of the tile. However next day when removing the tape the silicon was well proud of the tile and uneven, either I had not finished it as well as I thought or it expanded/crept out. I tried to trim it back level to the edge of the tile but silicon an’t easy to trim so now looks worse.

Seems silly to spoil the rest of the job for the sake of bad bit of silicon so tempted to remove it had re-do it using something like this
http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/1847-13327
they make it look do easy in the video.

I assume that I can’t simply add more silicon on top of what’s already there so the question is how best to remove the existing silicon, 10mm deep 2-3 mm high from between the tile edge and bath ?????

 

[gcol]

You don't leave the tape on! You remove it as soon as you've smoothed out. See here //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=488067#488067
I wouldn't bother with that applicator - there's no way you can scrape silicone about like that - gawd only know what they used in the advert.
Use a sharp chisel to remove the silicone.

 

[Softus]

Personally I wouldn't even bother with tape. It doesn't take an awful lot of practice to get good at siliconing, and when you've mastered it all you need it a tube of stuff, a finger, some gob, and some toilet paper to wipe your finger on.

If you want to practice then mock up an internal corner with some cheap tiles (offcuts), and keep sealing it until you get it right. The main trick is not to press the bead into the gap with your finger, but to use your finger as an implement to give a consistent shape to the bead as you go along it.

Hey gcol - between us we could form an Academy of Silicone Sealing!

 

[ABN]

Oki doki sharp chisel and practice it is then.

Thought the gadget was to good to be true but did look easy in the advert