Your advice - sealing in very narrow gap

[Andehh]

Hi guys,

This is a 'what would you do thread'.

My dilemma is I have two taps on the side of my bath which are 1-2mm from the wall behind them. The sealant behind them has gone mouldy and could do with replacing. I have used some grot buster (recommended on here) which has helped (pic below is before I used it), but it is still a bit of an eye sore. The taps are tight on the bath, with the nuts on the underside of the bath lip.

Now, my original idea was to try and move the bath out to give me more room to work with/re-seal whole bath but I fear it has been glued to the wall and pulling it out would damage the bath and/or tiles. Seeing as when it was all installed a year ago the guy did a really good job with the rest of the bath & room for a very good price, (all except behind these taps) I am hesitant to turn this into a bigger mess.

Now, I am considering removing as much sealant as I can then really piling it on so that it forms two ''hills'' at the base of the taps and a large curve between them, idea being to maximise surface area for run off, as opposed to the water pooling behind the taps.

What do people think? If not, any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/72120595/IMG_20120813_172727.jpg

 

[Andehh]

Hi guys, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[bri160356]

Remove as much silicone as you possibly can using proprietary silicone 'eater' and clean thoroughly. Carefully mask off behind the tap; on the tile and on the tap itself and carefully fill the very small 1-2mm gap with good quality white silicone. (I find 'Forever White' from S/Fix to be excellent- it certainly keeps black mould at bay for ages)). Start at one side of the tap -work upwards, across the top then down the other side. Ensure each tap is clean and dry - no moisture or condensation. I think it is tricky to do a neat job but is just my best suggestion for the moment.
I think if you built a 'mound' of silicone either side of the tap as you suggested you will probably end up with a small 'well' behind the tap that would quickly fill with water/gunge/mould etc.
P.S. on second thoughts maybe you could build a small mound each side but only after you have sealed the gap between tap and tile first.
Good luck
Regards

PPS just noticed on your pics that the tap head also is tight up against the tiles so you would not be able to run a bead of silicone across the top !! ah well .....- maybe remove the tap head then seal across the top ???

 

[Andehh]

Thank you for the advice mate!

Am I looking at resealing the entire bath or can I get away with just around the taps and smoothing it into the existing stuff?

 

[Lower]

If you take the taps off you have no access issues...

Or am i missing something?

 

[Andehh]

The taps look to have a nut underneath the bath lip, the bath is in perfectly and by the looks of it was glued to the wall as well. I don't think the taps are coming off without backing half the bathroom to pieces!

 

[HERTS P&D]

The taps will come off, but you will need to turn the water off and drain down.

Andy

 

[Andehh]

The taps will come off, but you will need to turn the water off and drain down.

Andy

Don't suppose you could elaborate? I figured with the nuts underneath the bath lip it would be impossble to get to them without moving the bath?

 

[HERTS P&D]

See the link below to give you an idea:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ba...2IC4DA&sqi=2&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=1366&bih=653

Andy

 

[HERTS P&D]

This is what I use:

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-342520/armeg-jaw-dropper-easy-access-tap-wrench-set.html

Not cheap just for one job.

You could hire a plumber to fit 2 lever valves under your bath and remove the bath taps. Then you could re-silicone the bath edge and put the taps back yourself knowing that you can turn the water on and off.

Andy