Seal the gap between bath and tile!

[DavidFox]

After removing the old silicone, I noticed the gap between the bath and tile is not even. The picture attached below shows that generally the bath is tight to the wall/tile, however the gap gradually grows along the length of the bath, with a maximum gap about 3-5mm stretched about 15-20cm long.

A few options in my mind:

Opt1:Silicone as usual, as 3-4mm perhaps is not an issue (to cause leak)?

Opt2: Fill the gap with grout (a kind of support), and then silicone over the top.

Opt3: Use a bath sealant strip, or timber batten, or PVC edging (used for windows to seal to tiles) first before silicone.

Opt4: Adjust the fixing feet (under the bath) to push the bath up to the wall as much as possible. This seems an ideal solution…but is the uneven gap caused by uneven wall (tile)? If so, the gap won’t be totally eliminated, right? Puzzled…and obviously this option will cost much more (if a tradesman is needed).

Your advices which option is the best?

thanks.

Untitled

• DavidFox
• 18 Oct 2014
• 1

Untitled

• DavidFox
• 18 Oct 2014
• 1

Untitled

• DavidFox
• 18 Oct 2014
• 1

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[Chris27plumber]

That is quite a gap there. If the bath can be pushed back to the wall that would be the ideal solution. However I'm assuming the wall is not quite straight so that's why bath won't go back to wall in certain places. For a cheaper option I would run a bead of silicone then let that go off for 24 hours then run another bead of silicone over the top. As long as you have a nice smooth finish on the silicone you won't get any leaks coming through. In my experience with the sealent strips they are not the greatest and don't last that long and can bubble up especially if the walls are not straight.

Hope this helps.

 

[ALCPlumbing]

Fill the bath to weigh it down while siliconing. And leave it full till it dries.

 

[Plumber90]

As above will be fine

 

[DavidFox]

Thank you very much, Chris and other experts who advised.

Will silicone as you suggested. Just a question here. You may have noticed that the long edge/side of the bath is not actually against the wall but the tile. So, shall I try lowering the bath and then pushing the bath towards the wall? In that case the edge of the bath will be completely 'submerged' under the edge of the tile. Necessary or worth doing so?

 

[DavidFox]

Related to my question above, I just noticed that the tile immediately above the big gap seems shorter (vertically, about 2mm) than the tiles on the left and right, which resulted the much bigger gap. Is it the case?

And if yes, a better solution is to replace the tile?

 

[Chris27plumber]

I'm guessing the bath has moved at that point then. Are the feet screwed to the floor? Usually baths are fixed to the wall as well but other jobs I have visited before similar to your case I have found that they are not. If you can move the bath closer to the wall and screw the feet to the floor that would help. Also check that the bath is level. You can adjust the feet by getting a 17mm spanner and undo the nuts on the feet, this will allow you to turn the feet to adjust height. If it is already level then I would defiantly put a new tile in so it fits flush with the bath then you can silicone.

Good luck with it, hope this helps you out.

Cheers