Bath Sealant Frustration

jimathon

We had a new bath fitted at the weekend & in the process discovered that the previous bath's sealant had been leaking resulting in a rotten joist below, which we are in the process of resolving through insurance, hopefully.

This may take some time however, and the new bath with shower over has been fitted. The problem is, however, is that the plumber has made a mess of the sealant and, frustratingly, the leak problem remains.

I'm prepared to tackle this myself, ripping out the existing sealant and starting over - following some of the useful tips on the MSE forums. However, I have seen on Screwfix's website "No Nonsense Silicon Strips" which fit over the bathroom edge and the surrounding tiles. I am considering using this as a temporary solution until the building work is completed. I'd be grateful for any advice / comments on this route forward, is it okay to simply attach the strips over the existing bodged silicon for example.

Apologies for the ramble. A novice.

Sirbendy

can't help on the strip I'm afraid, but I know where you're coming from! This place (rented) had leaky/deteriorating bath sealing and sink waste sealing.

I ended up using a stanley knife and a flat-blade screwdriver to scrape/pull it all out. Some was mouldy (yummy), but a LOT of it,to my amusement was NOT silicone, it was decorators caulking. No use at all.

Once I had it all out and the surfaces cleaned up, I filled the bath full, and used "Silbond general purpose silicone" sealer to lay a new bead round the bath, smoothed with a fingertip in a wet latex glove. I got the sealer cheap from B&Q, and it semi-sets in 2 hours..quite pleased with it.

Left it overnight with the bath full to set, emptied the bath in the morning, missus had a shower - no problems then, no problems since.

I still need to do behind the taps..it's gone dark and manky. The sink waste I dismantled and redid using the silicone as well as the normal bits - again, all fixed now.

Doddle to do, bit messy, bit smelly (Silicone it quite sharp smelling!), very satisfying. Remember to do it with the bath full mind, or when you get in, the sealer will stretch and fail.

southlondonsaver

Only quick advice, would take photographs of the work the plumber has "done" before you go through any temporary repairs. Would also suggest speaking to your insurers helpline, they should have a freephone number you can call to discuss this issue.

mrtobs

Hi there,
I think that you'd still need to remove all of the existing sealant, otherwise it probably wouldn't stick properly. You can scrape it off and then take off the remainder with sealant remover. I've applied the usual sealant myself and managed an ok job - I found that using masking tape helped quite a bit (after several rather messy attempts without it!) - I've only got v.basic DIY skills!

Tucker

Been there myself with a leaky bath and shower.

I would not use the sealant strips myself. They dont last and water will get behind them.

You need to remove the plumbers silicon and redo it. I've wasted lots of money in the past on rubbish silicon, so if you take one message from this, it is BUY the right stuff...

Don't use home brand bathroom sealant or general purpose stuff. It just won't last.

I now use Evo-stik Serious Stuff and thiat stuff does stay water tight. It's about £10 a tube in B&Q, so it's not cheap. I bought some of ebay for much less.

Best alternative is to go to a proper UPVC plastics trade supplier, as they will sell all the different silicons that have the right properties for the job.

Believe me, wrong silicon = problems and more work removing it to do it right.