We've just had some cushion flooring laid in the en suite and bathroom. The fitters haven't sealed around the fittings and skirts with silicone. They say they won't and that it's not necessary, I disagree.
(Am I just being daft here - the vinyl is laid on top of easily water damaged chipboard flooring)
Anyway, that's by the by. I am useless, USELESS with a sealant gun. If I try and do it myself with a cartridge gun and sealant I'll make such a mess.
Is there any other product I can use to do the job? Sort of a silicone sealant bead on a roll or something? Needs to be white.
Seconded - these are great - although I sometimes find that if I have a lot of excess sealant then I sometimes get a thin film left either side of the bead - which is annoying to remove.
Hm. That seems to require me to run a silicone bead first, it'll still be horrid :-( what on earth would I do with the excess half a tube of silicone that would inevitably be spread all over the floor, wood, ceramics?
I will make a suggestion here, and am willing to be shouted down.
Use decorators caulk, which is far less messy than silicone, and whilst it isn't as good *under* water, it will at least stop splashes getting under the vinyl.
Its mots useful attribute is that until it sets, you can wipe of excess with a damp sponge. Unlike silicone. So applying a big splurge, and then sponge and rinse and squeeze, nets you a decent finish FAR more easily than silicone.. Its cheaper, too.
I had a minor leak in the frame of a window in my camper, and used it there. It stopped it dead.
to seal around the edges. You cut it to size in situ' if you want. No mess or fuss with squiggie sealant gunk and guns. It is self adhesive and very easy to work with.
The only problem you could have with this answer is that you do not keep an even gap around and between what the item is and the flooring. For the shower, get laid down on the floor so that you are at eye level to the side of the shower base and stick the masking tape at the start and then pull off the roll as much as you need to cover the length of the unit. Keeping the tape taught, keep an eye on the depth of seal that you have decided on, slowly bring the tape closer and push it into contact to the shower base in stages from where you started from. When you have reached the end, pull the tape up and wrap it around the corner and start again for the next run the same as above, starting from what I assume will be a wall.
Now get on your hands and knees and do the same for the vinyl floor.
Ah! you ask, my shower has round corners and I don't have round corner tape. No problem. Run the tape along the straight edge so as to overlap the base and then use short lengths to make up the curve. If you use enough small strips, you will eventually end up with a lot of straight edges that very nearly is a curve.
Put the sealant along the two tapes and don't worry about putting too much down, the excess will end up on the tape. Wipe with either your finger, or one of the tools that have been recommended. Ensure that there are no thin bits of seal and that you can't see the tape edges that are adjacent to the unit. Too little force with the finger may result in and edge forming after the next step. Having said that, you would be hard pressed to see it.
Now comes the tricky/messy bit...
Removing the tape. Do this just after you are satisfied that the seal is just a little wider/higher than the tape gap. Get a large bin liner ready and lay it flat on the floor. Start to lift the tape from the end where you stopped taping and it should come up in one length at a time and not start to lift the next section of tape and drop it on the bin bag by handling the tape by the clean edge, using just one hand. Wipe your hands of any sealant after each removal. You should end up with a perfect seal.
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