Advice please? Problem with bathroom wall panelling

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by whatsthenews, Jul 4, 2017.

  1. whatsthenews

    whatsthenews Member

    Hi,
    bought a house and noticed large amounts of messy sealant round the bath. Removing it revealed that the panelling (which is on all the bathroom walls) had been fitted horizontally and the tongue of the panels is round the edge of the bath. I don;t know much about panelling but I would have though that it should be fixed vertically. in most places the tongue just about touches the egde of the bath, but across the end where the taps and shower are there's an approx' 4mm gap. I did try to use several layers of sealant ,letting them dry in between but it's not just a gap between the edge of the tongue and the bath , there's a hole behind it, if that makes sense and now there's a wet patch on the brand new wool carpet of the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom. I don't like the cladding and it hasn't been fitted well and where they put the beading around where it meets the ceiling and around the window is a mess of sealant and badly cut edging strips but we don't really want to pull it all off (bearing in mind it's fitted horizontally)just right now as we plan to replace the whole lot in maybe a year, but can't afford to do it now. The only option I can think of as an interim measure is to put a single course of tiles around the edge of the bath which will come down onto the bath edge, using a tile edging strip along the top of the row, but not sure if water will get down between the cladding and the tiles? Failing this ,is there some sort of a waterproof filler we could use to fill the bigger gap where the taps are before resealing? I know you can get right angle bath edging strips but never had much success with it before but prepared to give it a go if folks think it's the best option. Any advice gratefully received as we've got a shower we can't use ATM!
     
  2. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    Get some low expanding foam in the tins. Mask everything. I would buy a roll of hard floor sticky plastic from screwfix and wide masking. Foam will instantly stick an ruin any surface so watch for drips of foam or flicking. Cover everything or you will regret it. Tape and cover either side of gap you want to fill. Fill with a little foam and allow to dry. Don't go mad with it as the low expansion foam still expands 3 times what you put on. When dry cut back the foam flat and remove all tape ect. Should now be water tight with the foam neatly in joint. Go to a plastic centre and get some upvc strips £6 for several metres so cheap. Stick it on with silicone to cover foam. Total about £25. 1 solution you could try
     
  3. whatsthenews

    whatsthenews Member

    Just a thought. Maybe we could use an external expanding filler applied from underneath the bath to try and fill the gap before re-sealing?
     
  4. whatsthenews

    whatsthenews Member

    Thanks Wayners. I posted wrote the post above before yours had appeared. Just thought going from underneath might create less mess on the visible panelling and edge of bath. By UPV strips do toy mean right angle profile or just flat strips and create the right angle with 2 strips and then use silicone to fill in the right angle?
     
  5. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    I thought of that but not sure how easy that would be. I repair windows with foam and shooting up without seeing what you doing could be a nightmare. I should of added have a box ready just in case you can't stop the flow of foam. Only happened once to me though. It's a good product for some jobs and sticks well to wet surfaces like skin.
     
    whatsthenews likes this.
  6. whatsthenews

    whatsthenews Member

    yes, would be like a shot in the dark! Not easy to find a low expansion foam on screwfix and one that expands 35 times reminds me of a story father told me about the bloke that got a recipe for cinder toffee and ended up with the whole kitchen full of the stuff. He got the recipe from a bloke that made it to sell in his bakery and didn't adjust the quantities. Looking at Soudal gap filling foam as it's moisture curing and reviews say it's more controllable. Also found the right angle PVC strips. Thanks.
     
  7. Wayners

    Wayners Screwfix Select

    The competitor sells a low expansion foam and it's been commented why screwfix don't. Reminder. Cover everything. Don't get one drop on anything including yourself. It's easy ish to dig back when set. And tidy up.
     
  8. whatsthenews

    whatsthenews Member

    thanks again. Looking under the bath the middle single leg and the far leg nearest to the drain weren't doing anything so tightened the bolts.The far leg at the front not being tightened up won't have been helping the fact that the far front corner is where stuff seems dampest, although that's not where the bedroom carpet's wet so I guess the floor is sloping the opposte way to the bath! The legs nearest the drain (front legs) are considerably lower than the other two at the back. Back two are up at their max' point and the 2 front ones are about 5 cm lower. Whilst I can see that a gradient on the bath is desirable (especially in this case as after the U bend the waste pipe rises before coming down again and heading out through the wall) how much lower does the front end need to be? If I adjust those legs then the biggest gap behind the taps will be reduced.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice