Sealing bath

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I know this has been asked before, as I have read it, but for me the search option isn't working!

Anyway, as some of you have seen from my previous post I was having a little trouble with my bathroom. I took a shower today and as the bath pannel was off I noticed a section of the wall behind the end of the bath was getting damp.

The wall has been tiled down to the top of the bath. The end of the bath is about 5mm from the wall. To me it seems lots of silicon was injected into the gap, and then later a neat strip was laid accross the top.

However, I don't think the strip was wide enough to reach all the way over the curved edge of the bath - you can get your finger nail under it and lift it - so I think water is getting under the sealant, and being channeled through the maze of sealant that is between the bath and the wall to one spot where it is leaking out.

So my question - I need to reseal between the bath and the wall:
1) Do I just reseal over the existing, or do I remove it?
2) Do I need to fill the bath with water or will my weight standing in it be enough? I can see it being quite hard stretching it it was full!

Thanks.
 
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Best to remove the existing sealant. If the gap is too big, you may be able to adjust the height of the bath by adjusting the bolts underneath holding it - but this will depend on how much slack there is with the existing pipework and whether the bath has been bolted firmly to the wall.

It's best to apply the silicon to a full bath of water, which should be left in place overnight until the silicon has set. Thus, unless you're going to spend the night in the bath, your bodyweight isn't plausable.
 
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Best to remove the existing sealant. If the gap is too big, you may be able to adjust the height of the bath by adjusting the bolts underneath holding it - but this will depend on how much slack there is with the existing pipework and whether the bath has been bolted firmly to the wall.

It's best to apply the silicon to a full bath of water, which should be left in place overnight until the silicon has set. Thus, unless you're going to spend the night in the bath, your bodyweight isn't plausable.

Thanks, you have been very helpful this week!
 
this bloke done a cracking job on his bathroom
first his got to sort the pipework now it the seal round the bath.
gros10-1.gif
 
Only just noticed it's you, wedge, - you have plenty of pipework flexibility to raise the bath, and there's enough play with the legs. Plus, raising the bath would give you a slight slope on the drainage, which I'm still convinced is going uphill towards the stack. Grrr!
 
Don't suppose you watched "carry on at your convenience" this weekend - reckon this is the best of the series.
 
Only just noticed it's you, wedge, - you have plenty of pipework flexibility to raise the bath, and there's enough play with the legs. Plus, raising the bath would give you a slight slope on the drainage, which I'm still convinced is going uphill towards the stack. Grrr!

I've had a good look under the bath, and I think the waste pipe is ok. Unfortunately, I can't raise the bath - the bath has been fitted and then the wall tiled down to it, so the tiles overlap the end of the bath. I think this is fairly standard procedure!

Anyway, I've got most of the sealant off tonight. It had stuck solidly to the tiles, but I could slide my nail all the way underneath where it was supposed to have stuck to the bath. I know he had the bath filled for most of the week, so I think it was either dodgy (read cheap) sealant or he hadn't quite applied it thick enough.

I can't seal tomorrow - where the tiles had been cut to size over the bath they had been grouted on the bottom edge (presumably to give the sealant something else to stick too), but where water had got in this obviously wet, so I need to let it thouroughly dry out.

There's one tile that's been cut a bit short, so I'm concearned that the gap might be too deep and wide for the sealat. Can I just usea tiny bit of waterproof polyfilla to build it up a little? When the sealant goes on it will cover it.

I'll tell you what though, when I eventually have enough money to do the kitchen I am going to watch the workmen like a hawk :LOL:

And yes, that carry on film was great!
 
Yep - you can fill any large gap with anything (doesn't need to be waterproof, since the silicon over it should make it so). Clean the surfaces as clean and dry as possible, and use masking tape when applying sanitary silicon (can't be bothered with expensive BQ bathroom stuff), pushing it well into the space with your finger, wetted with fairy liquid solution, and remove the tape immediately within seconds/minutes of applying the silicon. You can then get rid of the "edge" of silicon created by the thickness of the tape by using a wetted finger running over it at complete featherweight pressure.
 
Thanks very much (again).

I'm actually not too bad at applying the stuff, done it a few times (around the edge of the bathroom floor for example, another place that wasn't left very tidy!). I find getting it off to be the hardest, been going round with a stanley knife, but some of the buggering stuff is still stuck on!
 
The bath may have some remnants of release agent on the surface. That's the stuff they use in the factory to stop the bathtub sticking to the mould when they make it

You may need to clean it off with isopropyl alcohol or methylated spirits before the sealant will stick to it.
 

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