Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 Feb 23, 2009 10:04 pm Hi all! Apart from my self-introduction, this is my first post and request for assistance.
Our newly purchased old house has a bathroom with a plastic (?) bath lined with tiles. The bath has sunk on one side exposing a gap varying from a few mm at one end to about 10 mm at the other. This is possibly indicative of a sub-floor structural problem, but that is to be addressed some time down the track when we have recouped some money to deal with that! In the meantime I just wish to make to bath servicable and prevent water leaking further through to the floor structure & walls for the next 3-5 years, by sealing up the join between the edge of the bath and the ceramic tiles of the surrounding walls and also the corner joins between the walls. All these joins have been previously filled with grout and sealed with a silicone sealant, but both the grout and the sealant have deteriorated, leaving holes and gaps. Also, a lot of the grout and sealant in these locations and elsewhere in the tiling is stained black with mould. Following some advice given by a builder, I have scraped off the old sealant, mainly using a paint scraper (a marvellous mult-purpose tool, I've found!) and a nylon scourer and vacuumed out the loose grout dust/debris. Then I have applied straight bleach with a tootbrush (not to be used for my teeth now!) to scrub off as much mould staining as possible. Now I need a bit of guidance on the next steps, please. I note Grout Perfect's advice in another post: Silicon removal and replacing For silicon removal use the razor blade that painters use cutting along the top and bottom than use acetone for residue removal wait till fully dry than apply silicon I like to tape the bottom and top lines first than apply a bead of silicon down the line than wet your finger in a neutral cleaner and run finger down the line not to much pressure than remove tape than one more light run with your finger should look like a pro did it once you have experience than tape is not needed remember apply a small amount you can always add. remeber you have to work fast before it skins over if it looks messy rip out and start over again. So some questions: (1) How important is it to totally remove the last vestiges of the old silcone sealant? I think I have done a pretty good job with the scraper and a scouring pad. If acetone is the go, as Grout Perfect suggests, is that the same as nail-polish remover? (2) We have been advised to use a particular sealant, namely a mould-resistant Sikaflex-11FC. However, we already have a tube of Parfix Bathroom & Kitchen Acetic Cure Silicone Seal 66 which claims to be "mould and fungus resistant". Is this equally suitable? (3) Will the sealant adequately fill & seal a gap as large as 10 mm wide (that is in a corner of the bath too)? (4) On the horizontal gap, should I work from the narrower end to the wide end or vice versa or does it not matter? (5) The outside wall of the bath (i.e. the one that faces you as you climb over it to get in to the bath) is also tiled. One tile at the top of that wall, that bounds the lip of the bath, as well as another tiled wall at the side, was cracked and the fragments fell out, leaving a 4 cm long and up to 6 mm wide gap. Can this be filled with something first and painted over before sealing that join? Any advice much appreciated Nick thanks, nickc Re: Sealing repairs to tile-surrounded bath 2Feb 24, 2009 10:44 am Hi Nick!
The situation you describe sounds quite bad! I would strongly recommend that you remove the bath and fix the problem properly... I reckon that it would be easier to fix it properly than doing a quick fix! The fact that you said that it will be 3-5 years till an upgrade concerns me. If you were to do a ******* fix up that will only be good for 1 year I reckon. It sounds like you have movement and unless fixed properly the first time you will be forever chasing the problem. Are you on a slab or timber floor? So some questions: (1) How important is it to totally remove the last vestiges of the old silcone sealant? I think I have done a pretty good job with the scraper and a scouring pad. If acetone is the go, as Grout Perfect suggests, is that the same as nail-polish remover? Not vital. Dunno about the nail polish sorry... (2) We have been advised to use a particular sealant, namely a mould-resistant Sikaflex-11FC. However, we already have a tube of Parfix Bathroom & Kitchen Acetic Cure Silicone Seal 66 which claims to be "mould and fungus resistant". Is this equally suitable? I used Parfix and it is CRAP! Use the best you can buy in high moisture environments. (3) Will the sealant adequately fill & seal a gap as large as 10 mm wide (that is in a corner of the bath too)? Absolutely not. Maybe pack first with something. (4) On the horizontal gap, should I work from the narrower end to the wide end or vice versa or does it not matter? Level it up first and make it solid before you bother. (5) The outside wall of the bath (i.e. the one that faces you as you climb over it to get in to the bath) is also tiled. One tile at the top of that wall, that bounds the lip of the bath, as well as another tiled wall at the side, was cracked and the fragments fell out, leaving a 4 cm long and up to 6 mm wide gap. Can this be filled with something first and painted over before sealing that join? Maybe silicone... I would definitely fix it properly the first time! Re: Sealing repairs to tile-surrounded bath 3Feb 25, 2009 6:04 pm thanks for your response and comments, Renosmakemeweary. Unfortunately we have to move into the place now and need a bath, so we will have to go with the temporary fix for the moment. It tis pretty solid - the bath flexes a only a few mm when pressed up and down - and I don't think thre is going to be further sinking. I am hoping that pumping the gap full of silicone ,then surfacing it with a white 'No More Gaps' or 'Sikaflex' will seal it for a while.
Nick thanks, nickc Re: Sealing repairs to tile-surrounded bath 4Feb 26, 2009 9:42 am Fair enough. Just be sure you get a good seal and keep ALL water where you can see it. Avoid puddling of water too. Good luck with it. Re: Sealing repairs to tile-surrounded bath 5Mar 18, 2009 7:37 pm Use the sika product, it works well
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