Best caulk for sealing around the tub?

[GarryMartin]

Bob,

Another thing that you can do is fill the bathtub up with water prior to caulking.  That will widen the gap if there is tub movement.  Leave the water in until the caulk cures.

Peter

Peter beat me to it.

This one tip is the best advice I've ever received on caulking a tub. It's worth its weight in...  well, water.

[big grin]

Half-fill it, not full.

That way you get the 50/50 expansion/contraction of the silicone rather than a 100% move from full to empty.

 

[rst]

As a commercial glazier, the best caulking you can use is commercial polyurethane.  Go to a masonry or construction dealer that caters to highway and commercial builders.  Don't expect to find anything like this a a local hardware or big box store.  This caulking when properly prepped will stretch more than enough to cure any leaking tub.  Most dealers carry up to 20 colors.  Tremco, Sika, and Sonneborn are all maufacturers I'm familiar with.  Prep and clean up with acetone.

 

[JSlovic]

+1 on polyurethane
Be careful about old material it hardens in the tube
Sika is good and ugly orange carries it
Sonneborn BASF I hear is ok my expirence was horrid old material ruined my elect caulk gun and BASF couldn't care less and the dealer was a jerk about it

 

[Gotoh]

Silicone is an absolute nightmare and never really bonds to anything but glass particularly well. Lexel white holds up much, much, much better, never yellows, can be easily spot repaired without complete removal and it bonds to acrylic to boot.

http://www.sashco.com/products/lexel/

Working with it is not fun and takes some practice, but it was the only thing that stopped my second-story round frameless enclosure from leaking through the floor after five months of failed attempts by contractors slinging everything Home Depot sold in a 10oz tube. There's still some of the original silicone around the drain that is permanently brown and dingy looking while the Lexel is still whiter than the tile and I have never scrubbed it once.

Now if only my state would actually allow anyone to sell it here... [mad]

 

[Deansocial]

Not sure what silicone you get but in my experience it sticks to anything. Getting it off when dry is a nightmare

 

[rst]

There are lots of grades of silicone, probably 10 different ones listed by commercial glazing distributors for differing apps.  Poly is much tackier and if you life was hanging by caulk...this is what you would want.  It does have a shelf life however as poly's cure by exposure to moisture.  When I have an opened tube I close the end with packing tape.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Not sure what silicone you get but in my experience it sticks to anything. Getting it off when dry is a nightmare

From my experience on this forum I have learned America uses materials that are very different from what we are used to here in Europe.

Over here you just get a tube of silicone caulk that's suited for the bathroom, says so right on the package, and apply it, no crackin', lots of stickin', and you're fine for the next 10 years.

By the way, a silicone that's suited for wet environments should have an anti-mold agent in it, because normal silicone is a feeding ground for molds under wet circumstances.

 

[live4ever]

I'm just a DIYer with a few bathrooms under my belt, but I was recommended Laticrete Latasil by many tile pros.  I've been using it for a few years now and really like it.

 

[Rob Z]

Brice, 

what are you finding that is the equal, or similar to Kerdi and Kerdi components, for a difference as much as one-third the price of  the Kerdi product line?  I have used many of the products on the market and I can't think of anything that is similar in design and function to the Kerdi system of products for that much less cost.

expensive but might be cheaper in long run as it should not crack.  Hard to find locally.
http://www.amazon.com/9-81OZ-WHITE-KERDI-FIX-SEALANT/dp/B003K1NVY8

Just so you know, "Schluer" translates directly into "outrageously overpriced". [wink]

LOL. I like Kerdi products, perhaps that is my German bias......

It mush be a German bias thing because I believe Tom Bader likes Kerdi products too.  Me, I have zero interest the Kerdi system.  Don't get me wrong Schluer makes some nice stuff but they are like Hafele, with just a little effort you can find a similar product at half or a third of the price.       

 

[Rob Z]

Alex, all the proper products are available here, as well.  The trick is, as always, in knowing what to use and where to buy it.  That, along with proper technique and prep. 

But other than that, all of this stuff is easy to do.  ;D

The Laticrete Latisil silicones that Live4Ever mentioned are what we use most often.  Latisil is a high-quality product and costs about double the price of the silicones in the box stores, but we have found them to be well worth the money.

Not sure what silicone you get but in my experience it sticks to anything. Getting it off when dry is a nightmare

From my experience on this forum I have learned America uses materials that are very different from what we are used to here in Europe.

Over here you just get a tube of silicone caulk that's suited for the bathroom, says so right on the package, and apply it, no crackin', lots of stickin', and you're fine for the next 10 years.

By the way, a silicone that's suited for wet environments should have an anti-mold agent in it, because normal silicone is a feeding ground for molds under wet circumstances.

 

[Rob Z]

Schluter Kerdi fix was recommended earlier in the thread.  I've used a lot of Kerdi fix for its intended purpose of sealing membranes and fixtures, and have never tried to caulk a tub surround  with it. I can't imagine that it would be toolable and it would likely just be a mucking fess if used as a caulk.

http://www.schluter.com/media/KERDI-FIX-ENG.pdf?v=201405101423

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice, 

what are you finding that is the equal, or similar to Kerdi and Kerdi components, for a difference as much as one-third the price of  the Kerdi product line?  I have used many of the products on the market and I can't think of anything that is similar in design and function to the Kerdi system of products for that much less cost.

Rob, I was referring to other Schluer products, not Kerdi components.  Like I said, I have zero interest in the Kerdi system so I never looked for a lesser priced system.

 

[aptpupil]

The best is silicone caulk.
Make sure you are using silicone caulk, thourougly remove the old caulk and let the cleaned out area dry out. If the space between the tile and tub is large, you can put in a foam filler rod and then seal with caulk.
It sounds like what you have been putting on is silconized latex caulk which is not suitable for bathtubs.
You also may be having problems because your tub is flexing and cracking the seal because there is no support under the base. This usually happens with improperly installed fiberglass tubs.
Tim

This is the answer. 100% silicone, always. The fancier stuff cures more quickly or has mildewcide, but no matter what, make sure it says 100% silicone.

 

[tiralie]

I'm just a DIYer with a few bathrooms under my belt, but I was recommended Laticrete Latasil by many tile pros.  I've been using it for a few years now and really like it.

Good stuff.

 

[Gotoh]

Not sure what silicone you get but in my experience it sticks to anything. Getting it off when dry is a nightmare

It sticks to acrylic pans for about a week, then it starts peeling up. Not so much that you notice it visibly, but there will be a gap or two that wicks water through to the other side via capillary action discoverable via dental tools and/or food coloring. Maybe you see the leakage, or maybe you just see the damage it's silently caused 10 years later. And if you tear up even a tiny little bit, you're replacing it all, which means days of hell removing every last molecule of it from the surface because it won't even stick to itself. Luckily, it's really hard to damage via normal scrubbing so that never happens... Right? 

Latasil's great for natural stone and comes in lots of colors. Good for change-of-plane joints in tile that you don't want to stand out from the grout, but it's no better than the mass market junk on plastics or metals. If silicone was actually any good at sealing disparate materials then no one would use butyl when they actually need something to stay sealed on a boat or commercial window installation. 

Lexel sticks to wet surfaces, takes paint, stretches to an absolutely ridiculous extreme before tearing, is easily repaired in the event of damage and doesn't discolor at all. Lexel's also $9 a tube, so it's cheap enough to test for yourself. Join two tiles together with it and join two more with silicone. Let them both cure for two days and then try to pull them all apart. It's a pain in the ass to work with and I can't even get it here legally, but I'm never buying anything else, personally.

 

[mastercabman]

Silicone is an absolute nightmare and never really bonds to anything but glass particularly well. Lexel white holds up much, much, much better, never yellows, can be easily spot repaired without complete removal and it bonds to acrylic to boot.

http://www.sashco.com/products/lexel/

Working with it is not fun and takes some practice, but it was the only thing that stopped my second-story round frameless enclosure from leaking through the floor after five months of failed attempts by contractors slinging everything Home Depot sold in a 10oz tube. There's still some of the original silicone around the drain that is permanently brown and dingy looking while the Lexel is still whiter than the tile and I have never scrubbed it once.

Now if only my state would actually allow anyone to sell it here... [mad]

Does it come in white?
If not why would you put clear caulk when there is a large gap?
I use 100% silicon (white or clear)Not from HD or LOWES

 

[RKA]

Yes, it comes in white and clear (not sure about other colors).

 

[Rob Z]

We are getting different results with Latisil.  With proper prep and application, we get great performance from Latisil  on all the surfaces normally found in kitchen and bath installations.  We have used several hundred tubes on hundreds of installations since Latisil was first available here (I think it was 2002).  The only problems we've had were on a handful of jobs where the cleaning people destroyed the silicone with caustic commercial cleaners.  On only one installation could I not figure out the cause for the Latisil's lack of a bond. On that one, we used the Latisil primer afterwards and had no more problems.

http://www.laticrete.com/Portals/0/datasheets/lds62001.pdf

Not sure what silicone you get but in my experience it sticks to anything. Getting it off when dry is a nightmare

It sticks to acrylic pans for about a week, then it starts peeling up. Not so much that you notice it visibly, but there will be a gap or two that wicks water through to the other side via capillary action discoverable via dental tools and/or food coloring. Maybe you see the leakage, or maybe you just see the damage it's silently caused 10 years later. And if you tear up even a tiny little bit, you're replacing it all, which means days of heck removing every last molecule of it from the surface because it won't even stick to itself. Luckily, it's really hard to damage via normal scrubbing so that never happens... Right? 

Latasil's great for natural stone and comes in lots of colors. Good for change-of-plane joints in tile that you don't want to stand out from the grout, but it's no better than the mass market junk on plastics or metals. If silicone was actually any good at sealing disparate materials then no one would use butyl when they actually need something to stay sealed on a boat or commercial window installation. 

Lexel sticks to wet surfaces, takes paint, stretches to an absolutely ridiculous extreme before tearing, is easily repaired in the event of damage and doesn't discolor at all. Lexel's also $9 a tube, so it's cheap enough to test for yourself. Join two tiles together with it and join two more with silicone. Let them both cure for two days and then try to pull them all apart. It's a pain in the  to work with and I can't even get it here legally, but I'm never buying anything else, personally.

 

[Rob Z]

Brice, now that I re-read what you wrote, I see you were referring to Schluter products other than the  Kerdi line.  You said there are other products out there that are a lot less expensive than Schluter products.  I've used nearly everything that Schluter makes, and if you have some knowledge of competitors' products that are that much less I would like to know so I can consider putting them to use on the job.

Brice, 

what are you finding that is the equal, or similar to Kerdi and Kerdi components, for a difference as much as one-third the price of  the Kerdi product line?  I have used many of the products on the market and I can't think of anything that is similar in design and function to the Kerdi system of products for that much less cost.

Rob, I was referring to other Schluer products, not Kerdi components.  Like I said, I have zero interest in the Kerdi system so I never looked for a lesser priced system.

 

[Kodi Crescent]

I'm still puzzled by the $16k annual property tax...