Need advice caulking a bathtub when the gap is BIG between wall tiles & tub. Thanks.

[phil2b]

Hi folks. I am a new member. I have done some tiling but am still a slightly advanced beginner. I have 2 questions, one small & one big, about caulking a bathtub. Some folks mentioned filling up the tub with water prior to caulking. How long do you leave the water in the tub? One youtube video suggested leaving the water in for 24 hours after caulking. Do you agree?

Bigger question. I live in an old building & at least 30 years ago, whoever tiled & caulked my tub was very sloppy. The gap between the tiles on the wall & the tub varies from 1/4 inch to almost an inch! That is (I think) between 6 mm & nearly 24 mm. The only good news is that the gap is not deep (going into the wall) & I have cleaned out the gap well. I was thinking of adding one layer of caulk & then adding more caulk after maybe 5 or more hours (when the first layer is dry) Then I would continue adding layers of caulk until the gap is filled & level. By the way, the gap between the tiles and the tub is filled with grout.


Thanks VERY MUCH or your help.

 

[Andy Allen]

I would look at raising the bath to meet the tiles...

 

[phil2b]

Thanks, but that would not work. The gap varies in size from about 6 mm to almost 24 mm on the different walls surrounding the tub. There is only one small section of the tub where the wall tiles are level with the tub.
Decades ago, lazy workers patched up the gap with a combo of grout & caulk. I removed that "combo" & will re-caulk the gap later. I cut & installed 3 tiles that are longer so the gap could be smaller. But I don't want to cut & replace every tile next to the tub.
I am new to this site. Hope you can see the photo & read my reply. I don't know why my photo shows up twice, but I don't have time to change it. Thanks for your help.

 

[Andy Allen]

You could get yourself a pack of these to stick round the bath to reduce the gap...

 

[Dumbo]

You could get yourself a pack of these to stick round the bath to reduce the gap...
View attachment 97331

Ir go to double glazing place and by a length of 19 mm plastic quadrant

 

[GoneGuy]

I would use a pvc quadrant

 

[Blunt Tool]

That bath definitely looks as tho it has moved down, the problem is that you don’t know if it’s still moving down or has it stopped. Is it the bath legs or is the floor under the bath giving way. You need to take bath panel off and see why this is happening or you could be visiting your neighbor or basement the quick way. No amount of Silicon or quadrants will permanently fix this and IMO those tiles look past their sell by date and all need renewed anyway. So in short fix the bath and floor first then get some new tiles on

 

[WetSaw]

 

[Blunt Tool]

 

[WetSaw]

View attachment 97412

Keep up....😉