I plan to build a knee wall at the end of a tub/shower alcove. On top of the knee wall I plan to put a black walnut cap. The knee wall is 2 by 4 construction covered in cement board. The black walnut will be polyurethaned then attached to the knee subwall. A friend suggested "gluing" it down with silicone. Any thoughts on that suggestion. Thanks
Silicone will hold it but I suggest you not put a wood product that is not painted that close to a tub or shower as it will be an on going maintenance problem.
Probably a good idea so if you ever have to or want to replace it, it can be easily removed. Couple of thoughts. Be sure you seal that cap with the poly all around and be sure it's thoroughly dry before any silicone is applied to it.
The silicone caulk takes space, think of it as a thick glue so unless you can apply a lot of weight to the cap while it's curing (30 days) you may want to do the following. Route a small groove (1/4 wide", 1/8" deep or so) all around the bottom of the cap. About a 1/2" or so in from the edge or far enough in so the groove is over solid wood or whatever the cap sits on. Slightly overfill the groove with silicone and put it in place, wiggle it around slightly to smear the excess and weigh it down. Now the silicone is glued to the knee wall and there is a bead of silicone holding the top from any lateral movement. Doubt anybody would be pulling on it hard enough to break the seal.
Bob S.
Silicone is a bad joke for this application.
Find a marine chandlery that handles Sika products and get a tube of SikaFlex 291.
Not sure about the walnut, might want to think teak, the real stuff.
Lew
Would that make it a knee cap?
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