Just fitted a new bath and there is a gap between the bath and the two end walls of approx 1.5cm. Will Silicone fill this size gap, and to what depth? Or should I use some other type of filler with a silicone 'top coat'? When the walls have been tiled, I'll be adding an L shaped seal anyway, but I thought the extra sealant/filler would add to rigidity/stability. Thanks.
Silicone will fill it, but don't rely on it to seal. Make sure you get your final seal, with the L profile, really watertight.
I would not bother sealing it until the tiles are in place - that will stop water getting behind them. It will also reduce the 1.5cm to something a bit more managable.
Firstly apologies for a total lack of information but
I was watching a programme the other day and they looked at a man who had given up his job and invested his savings to market a moveable bath sealer, it was a white moving plastic fitting that moves up and down.
I think that it was on the money programme but I am not sure - I will search but hopefully someone else will have seen it. It certainly seemed to offer an alternative to silicon sealant.
For a gap that width I'd recommend using a bath seal strip which will sit on the wall and you put your tiles over it.
Have a look at this page:
movement in the bath cause stress on the tiles? I guess I was hoping that filling the gap with silicone would add stability. The bath doesn't move that much, in fact after screwing the legs to the floor, and a couple of wall brackets, I only know it does move a little because I've _tried_ to move it.
Thanks. I was going to rely on the L profile for the seal, and the silicone would just add a bit of extra stability.
Draw a line on the wall with a pencil exactly where the top edge is, then fill the bath with water and draw another line - you'll be amazed how far it moves. A bath full of water weighs a huge amount !
The bath itself flexes, the floor will go down a bit, and the leg structure will compress - it all adds up. Best case is a cast iron bath on a concrete floor. Worst case is an acrylic bath on a chipboard floor !
Andrew Mawson
Graeme,
I had a similar situation and used a bath seal as suggested by BigWallop - i.e. seal with tiles over it. In my case it was an acrylic bath on traditional floorboards. The only precaution I took was to fill the bath with water before fitting the seal and putting on the tiles - when the tile cement had dried, I emptied the bath. That was 5 years ago and I've had no problems at all. The bath does settle down with the weight of the water, but the seal is designed to compensate a certain amount. In my case, I've seen no evidence of stress on the bath or tiles. I'd use it again.
Murdo
shape a bit of wood to fit, coat it liberally in superglue, and tap it into position,.
NOW use silicone sealant...
What a gahstly idea. Instead of a mechanism to stop baths moving, or ndeed hjust spending 50quid on a bath the doesn't, lets spend 100 quid on something that makes a squidy mildewy mess out of a cheap bath...must be IMM who invented it.
Might have been "Working Lunch" a few weeks back... was it the same company who did the set of spikes you drop a growbag onto su that there is then a solid fitting for the tomato canes?
Have a chat with Dow Corning Technical for a product with high movement capability (possibly 791 ?) I think it can tolerate 50% or more and there may be better ones. If the bath moves more than 2 or 3 mm though that would be excessive and attention would need to be paid to e.g. the floor and mounts.
Nick
yes it was - still can't find it though
Hi,
Also the silicon seal needs to be some multiple of this and to have the right depth and a bond breaker behind it if necessary.
cheers, Pete.
Someone write and tell this fool where to get a tape measure.
Pity the fool who loses his tape measure.
I had assumed that the bath would move a.little depending on the amount of water and people (;-) that are in it. I did your experiment of drawing a line with the bath empty, and then full. The lines are in exactly the same place! Not 0.5mm difference. This is an acrylic bath on chipboard (although the bath's feet are directly over the joists).
Sorry, are you saying that this gap is too big to fill with silicone? Ta.
Graeme,
I'm glad to hear it but a bit suprised ! Maybe the joist span is very small ? or is it a very small bath ? - anyway it's good news for the longevity of your seal ! (says he who has to repaint the downstairs loo ceiling AGAIN as the seal failed on out first floor bath behind the taps!)
Andrew Mawson
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