I'm trying to tart my bathroom up as quick and as cheap as possible as I have just put it up for sale and I need to get rid of this moldy seal around the side of the bath. Not being a diy person I am not sure what I need to buy or do to replace it. So whats the quickest and easiest thing for me to do to make it look good? It would be nice if I could also make it water tight but i'm willing to sacrifice taking showers if it's not easily possible.
On 22/01/2004 Mr Bean opined:-
The DIY places sell a bath sealant material on a roll. A plastic strip which is hinged down the centre with a sticky back. £5 to £7 a bath size roll. Much quicker and neater when done, with no chance of mold growing on it.
i bought some of that a couple of years ago and found that water seeped behind it and it just ended up coming away from the bath/tiles.
if all the OP wanted was a quick fix then thats certainly the one to go for. mine lasted no more than about a year.
On 23/01/2004 Joe opined:-
Well I hope that's not true, I did our bath a few weeks ago, to replace some horrible looking silicon sealer :-(
It certainly seems to be well stuck, but I took the trouble to scrub the surfaces before application, then used a roller thingummy to make sure it was firmly stuck down. Hand pressure didn't seem to be adequate to make it stick properly.
I also used the plastic edging (Pollycell I think) around the bottom of my shower tray and after about 6 months a section started to come away. It resisted all my attempts to glue it back securely despite trying various glues and first cleaning the tiles thoroughly with spirit. For some reason even fresh edging wouldn't adhere for long on this particular section of tiles. What I found to work eventually was to put down an ample bead of liquid sealant (just cheap B&Q bathroom stuff) first and then apply the plastic edging with its sticky back as directed on top of this. The excess is squeezed out and easily cleaned up, adhesion is much improved and 12 months later its still well glued despite being soaked on a daily basis. Bill
The longest lasting is the silicone sealant bought in tubes that fit into a dispenser gun. Its cheap and done properly will seal perfectly and last years. However... you do have to practice a bit.
Clean off the old seal using a backed razor blade. Clean down with detergent or meths if the surface will take it. Then squeeze on with a fairly large slanting hole cut into the plastic nozzle. Go steadily and try not to stop too often and you get lumps. Finally smooth with a finger.
As the stuff is cheap it might pay to waste a tube trying it out till you get the squeeze/move rates correct
Good luck
Peter Scott
I might add that the finger should be dipped in washing up liquid (watered down if need be). This prevents the finger dragging the sealant.
Good advice!
PoP
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IME, spit works just as well...
I always do mine between two lines of masking tape ie:
I have a mastic gun which operates with air from a compressor and cost about £9 from Axminster. There is a knob to turn to adjust the air rate, but basically the compressed air pushes the plunger in the base of the tube. The result is a very constant delivery rate without the effect of successive trigger squeezing has. So all I have to do then is to move the thing at a constant speed.
A light and fairly rapid touch helps as well.
.andy
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Hmm, sounds like I need one of these as I have a couple of mastic/sealant jobs coming my way shortly.
I thought we were discussing mastication, not masturb.... ;)
PoP
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It's a really simple device and obviously cheap if you already have the compressor. The trigger also has a kind of variable action so that you can just place a small amount of material if you need to do so or squeeze hard for a longer fillet.
With mechanical guns, I've sometimes had the problem that the material squeezes around the rear plunger cap and makes a mess. It doesn't happen with this, I suppose because the pressure is applied uniformly.
Can't say anything here can you :-)
.andy
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Ah, so you need a compressor. Doh! Haven't got one of those yet, but I guess it's about time.
Went out to fit some kitchen worktops yesterday and I think it's high time I got me a decent vehicle. By the time I'd loaded the Freelander with everything I needed I just about had enough room to fit me in the drivers seat.
I need me a vehicle where I can at least dispose of the rear seats - the Freelander is a pain in the butt because with the seats folded they stick up out of the floor pan. Nissan X-Trail looks like a decent vehicle - the rear seats fold flat and give a decent load space.
PoP
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' fraid so. I have a number of nail guns and other air operated tools and use them a fair amount. Obviously it depends on the mix of work that you do and where. A 25 litre one will cover these kinds of tools but not the big air users like spraying and sanding tools.
I sometimes take my wife's one for DIY related errands and it's OK for that. For coping with full time need, I can see that something larger than a Freelander would be needed.
.andy
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That would be a van then. £350 > £500 tax & grant yourself unlimited private fuel (assuming you have a shell company).
£14k > £18k is one hell of a hit to the cash flow & is 4x4 needed round Bracknell? Maybe consider two different vehicles for two different purposes.A small van such as a Berlingo would leave enough change for something more pleasurable. A 2001 model would be around £4k. The same money would also get you the Multispace version if windows and a removable rear seat were more suitable but without the tax advantage.
Definitely. There's skiing there.....
.andy
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Thats my tried an tested method too. With the addition of ... wear latex gloves to protect your hands and avoid fingerprint lines in the sealant
The Freelander isn't a real 4x4. It's a decent family wagon but as I've found, not great for transporting very much. It also has no low ratio so as a towing vehicle it isn't.
I'm the only driver in the family, so having two cars would be overkill (and I don't transport anything messy). It would also present a security problem to have a van, in so far that only one vehicle will fit in the garage (and we've had instances of cars disappearing off of drives around these parts). I'm not inclined to want to leave a van stacked full of goodies parked overnight in the open, and because I need a family transport vehicle I'd rather have that as first use, and "borrow" it for business use rather than the other way around.
That makes sense financially because I can charge 45p a mile for business use, and I don't get clobbered for company car tax.
PoP
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WHy? - is it a 3x6 in disguise?
Really? I thought the rates had gone down to more like 30.
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