I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave

On Apr 18, 11:37*pm, headware wrote:
I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave

Put grout down where there was grout, If you use caulk you can't go
back and redo it. with grout.

Joe

On Apr 19, 1:10 pm, Joe wrote:
On Apr 18, 11:37 pm, headware wrote:

I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave

Put grout down where there was grout, If you use caulk you can't go
back and redo it. with grout.

Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the reply. There appears to be a mix of grout and caulk
already. I'm not sure if the previous person put caulking on top of
the grout or tried to fill holes in the grout with caulk or what. So I
guess it might be too late for the whole not mixing grout and caulking
thing you mentioned. Are you saying that once I use caulking I will
never be able to remove it and replace it with grout should I be so
inclined? Why is that? Does the caulking leave some sort of residue
behind that makes grouting impossible?

Thanks,
Dave

headware wrote:

I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave


Everything I have read on the topic advises to use caulk between
tub/wall, wall/floor and wall/wall joints because the joints flex and
will cause grout to crack. That is likely why you have caulk over
grout. It might be a special problem if the gap is wide (more than about
1/8" or a little more). I would clean both surfaces very well, use
util. knife to scrape out loose grout, and redo the joint with silicone
caulk. Tile and porcelain tub are easy to clean the old caulk from -
use new razor blade scraper. Wipe with full-strength bleach, let dry,
wipe with denatured alcohol, let dry, appley new caulk. I have redone
quite a few old caulk joints and have never had problems with mildew on
the new caulk when it was cleaned properly.

clipped


Thanks for the reply. There appears to be a mix of grout and caulk
already. I'm not sure if the previous person put caulking on top of
the grout or tried to fill holes in the grout with caulk or what. So I
guess it might be too late for the whole not mixing grout and caulking
thing you mentioned. Are you saying that once I use caulking I will
never be able to remove it and replace it with grout should I be so
inclined? Why is that? Does the caulking leave some sort of residue
behind that makes grouting impossible?

Thanks,
Dave



Dave,
Dont listen to Joe. He is either yanking your chain or a clueless
dolt. Norminn got it exactly right.
Bubba


TY. I forgot to mention one important point, learned from doing it the
wrong way several
times.........Lots of folks can run a bead of caulk or a paint brush in
a nice straight line. I
cannot do either. When I caulk, I put down painters tape along where I
want the edge to be.
Push the caulk gun forward to put the caulk on the line, with the tip
trimmed to about the width
of the caulk line from one tape edge to the corner of the gap. Sounds
nuts, but it is just a rough
est. of how large you want the bead to be. Just put it down fast.
Practice won't hurt. When
the caulk is on, I run my finger down the caulk line to form a smooth,
concave line with tapers
to each edge of the tape. Pull up the tape. Let it set. Dampen your
finger to do it however
you like; water is good ) By getting the caulk line concave and
perfectly smoothe, there are
no ruts or gullies to trap water or soap scum and grow more mildew.

On Apr 19, 8:40 pm, Norminn wrote:
clipped





Thanks for the reply. There appears to be a mix of grout and caulk
already. I'm not sure if the previous person put caulking on top of
the grout or tried to fill holes in the grout with caulk or what. So I
guess it might be too late for the whole not mixing grout and caulking
thing you mentioned. Are you saying that once I use caulking I will
never be able to remove it and replace it with grout should I be so
inclined? Why is that? Does the caulking leave some sort of residue
behind that makes grouting impossible?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave,
Dont listen to Joe. He is either yanking your chain or a clueless
dolt. Norminn got it exactly right.
Bubba

TY. I forgot to mention one important point, learned from doing it the
wrong way several
times.........Lots of folks can run a bead of caulk or a paint brush in
a nice straight line. I
cannot do either. When I caulk, I put down painters tape along where I
want the edge to be.
Push the caulk gun forward to put the caulk on the line, with the tip
trimmed to about the width
of the caulk line from one tape edge to the corner of the gap. Sounds
nuts, but it is just a rough
est. of how large you want the bead to be. Just put it down fast.
Practice won't hurt. When
the caulk is on, I run my finger down the caulk line to form a smooth,
concave line with tapers
to each edge of the tape. Pull up the tape. Let it set. Dampen your
finger to do it however
you like; water is good ) By getting the caulk line concave and
perfectly smoothe, there are
no ruts or gullies to trap water or soap scum and grow more mildew.

Bubba & Norman,

Thanks for all the help. I had already planned on using the tape
technique you mentioned. After speaking to someone at Lowe's, it would
appear that the caulk used in the tub was an acrylic caulk containing
sand. I guess the grittiness of the sand made me think it was grout. I
bought some more of that stuff but I also have silicone caulk as well;
maybe I'll use the silicone instead. So far, the toughest thing has
been getting old caulk out of there. It's pretty hard and wedged in
the pretty tightly in some spots. I use some caulk remover to soften
it up but it had mixed results. Just apply more elbow grease right?

Dave

clipped

Bubba & Norman,

Thanks for all the help. I had already planned on using the tape
technique you mentioned. After speaking to someone at Lowe's, it would
appear that the caulk used in the tub was an acrylic caulk containing
sand. I guess the grittiness of the sand made me think it was grout. I
bought some more of that stuff but I also have silicone caulk as well;
maybe I'll use the silicone instead. So far, the toughest thing has
been getting old caulk out of there. It's pretty hard and wedged in
the pretty tightly in some spots. I use some caulk remover to soften
it up but it had mixed results. Just apply more elbow grease right?

Dave


I've never used caulk remover, just a trusty utility knife to cut away
the bulk of it. Then finish
up by pulling off what is loose and use razor scraper for the rest. It
doesn't matter much that
there is caulk remaining deep in the gap; just make sure the surface is
immaculate. Good luck.

"Norminn" wrote

I've never used caulk remover, just a trusty utility knife to cut away the
bulk of it. Then finish
up by pulling off what is loose and use razor scraper for the rest. It
doesn't matter much that
there is caulk remaining deep in the gap; just make sure the surface is
immaculate. Good luck.

Do you fill the tub with water before caulking? I've seen that
advice more than once, by filling the tub you maximize the weight
and theoretically the size of the gap. I'm curious because I really
need to do this soon to my tub.

nancy

Nancy Young wrote:

"Norminn" wrote



I've never used caulk remover, just a trusty utility knife to cut away the
bulk of it. Then finish
up by pulling off what is loose and use razor scraper for the rest. It
doesn't matter much that
there is caulk remaining deep in the gap; just make sure the surface is
immaculate. Good luck.



Do you fill the tub with water before caulking? I've seen that
advice more than once, by filling the tub you maximize the weight
and theoretically the size of the gap. I'm curious because I really
need to do this soon to my tub.

nancy




I've seen the instructions to do that lot's of times. Good idea unless
you like sitting in the
tub when you caulk ) I suspect that if there is movement sufficient
to break the seal of the
caulk that you have problems not limited to caulk.

"Norminn" wrote

Nancy Young wrote:

Do you fill the tub with water before caulking? I've seen that
advice more than once, by filling the tub you maximize the weight
and theoretically the size of the gap. I'm curious because I really
need to do this soon to my tub.

I've seen the instructions to do that lot's of times. Good idea unless
you like sitting in the
tub when you caulk )

(laugh) I'm bad enough at caulking standing up.

Thank you.

nancy

On Sun 20 Apr 2008 05:47:45a, Nancy Young told us...


"Norminn" wrote

Nancy Young wrote:

Do you fill the tub with water before caulking? I've seen that
advice more than once, by filling the tub you maximize the weight
and theoretically the size of the gap. I'm curious because I really
need to do this soon to my tub.

I've seen the instructions to do that lot's of times. Good idea unless
you like sitting in the tub when you caulk )

(laugh) I'm bad enough at caulking standing up.

Thank you.

nancy




Using a free-hand technique I'm terrible at caulking. What makes it worse
is that I'm OCD and AR! :-)

Yes, fill the tub with water. Even if you're in the tub with the water,
there won't be enough movement to make a significant difference. What I
do... Lay a perfectly straight line of blue masking tape on the tub
surface adjacent to the wall surface, about 1/8" away. Lay another
perfectly straight line of the tape on the wall surface, about the same
difference. Wear latex glove(s). Caulk liberally with silicone caulk, not
worrying about caulk on the tape. Wet a glove finger with water and
tightly smooth the caulk along the line. Immediately remove both strips of
tape, pulling at an angle away from the joint. It makes an amazingly neat
caulk line.

I do the same for the joint between kitchen and vanity countertops and the
backsplash.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 04(IV)/20(XX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
5wks 8hrs 55mins
-------------------------------------------
Friends help you move. Real friends
help you move bodies.
-------------------------------------------

On Apr 20, 5:20 pm, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:
On Sun 20 Apr 2008 05:47:45a, Nancy Young told us...





"Norminn" wrote

Nancy Young wrote:

Do you fill the tub with water before caulking? I've seen that
advice more than once, by filling the tub you maximize the weight
and theoretically the size of the gap. I'm curious because I really
need to do this soon to my tub.

I've seen the instructions to do that lot's of times. Good idea unless
you like sitting in the tub when you caulk )

(laugh) I'm bad enough at caulking standing up.

Thank you.

nancy

Using a free-hand technique I'm terrible at caulking. What makes it worse
is that I'm OCD and AR! :-)

Yes, fill the tub with water. Even if you're in the tub with the water,
there won't be enough movement to make a significant difference. What I
do... Lay a perfectly straight line of blue masking tape on the tub
surface adjacent to the wall surface, about 1/8" away. Lay another
perfectly straight line of the tape on the wall surface, about the same
difference. Wear latex glove(s). Caulk liberally with silicone caulk, not
worrying about caulk on the tape. Wet a glove finger with water and
tightly smooth the caulk along the line. Immediately remove both strips of
tape, pulling at an angle away from the joint. It makes an amazingly neat
caulk line.

I do the same for the joint between kitchen and vanity countertops and the
backsplash.

--
Wayne Boatwright
-------------------------------------------
Sunday, 04(IV)/20(XX)/08(MMVIII)
-------------------------------------------
Countdown till Memorial Day
5wks 8hrs 55mins
-------------------------------------------
Friends help you move. Real friends
help you move bodies.
-------------------------------------------

This site gives a pretty nice explanation (with pics) of the
techniques people are talking about on this thread:

http://www.rd.com/familyhandyman/content/17644/

In article , Norminn
wrote:

headware wrote:

I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave


Everything I have read on the topic advises to use caulk between
tub/wall, wall/floor and wall/wall joints because the joints flex and
will cause grout to crack. That is likely why you have caulk over
grout. It might be a special problem if the gap is wide (more than about
1/8" or a little more). I would clean both surfaces very well, use
util. knife to scrape out loose grout, and redo the joint with silicone
caulk. Tile and porcelain tub are easy to clean the old caulk from -
use new razor blade scraper. Wipe with full-strength bleach, let dry,
wipe with denatured alcohol, let dry, appley new caulk. I have redone
quite a few old caulk joints and have never had problems with mildew on
the new caulk when it was cleaned properly.

I'll agree with this. The caulk will have more give as the tub flexes
along the tub/tile joint. If the gap is large in places, use grout backing
to fill.

Some caulks are mildew resistant. I've had good experience with
Polyseamseal. It's an adhesive grout and can be suitable for
tile/sinks/tubs.

--
charls

On Apr 25, 6:07 pm, (Charles Bishop) wrote:
In article , Norminn



wrote:
headware wrote:

I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave

Everything I have read on the topic advises to use caulk between
tub/wall, wall/floor and wall/wall joints because the joints flex and
will cause grout to crack. That is likely why you have caulk over
grout. It might be a special problem if the gap is wide (more than about
1/8" or a little more). I would clean both surfaces very well, use
util. knife to scrape out loose grout, and redo the joint with silicone
caulk. Tile and porcelain tub are easy to clean the old caulk from -
use new razor blade scraper. Wipe with full-strength bleach, let dry,
wipe with denatured alcohol, let dry, appley new caulk. I have redone
quite a few old caulk joints and have never had problems with mildew on
the new caulk when it was cleaned properly.

I'll agree with this. The caulk will have more give as the tub flexes
along the tub/tile joint. If the gap is large in places, use grout backing
to fill.

Some caulks are mildew resistant. I've had good experience with
Polyseamseal. It's an adhesive grout and can be suitable for
tile/sinks/tubs.

--
charls

Thanks to everyone for the advise. I ended up going with Polyseamseal
Ultra caulk (with the Bioguard additive for mildew resistance), which
was pretty easy to work with, is nice and flexible, and hopefully
won't be a nightmare to remove if I need to. I followed the
instructions on how to use masking tape to get a good clean bead,
which worked pretty well for the most part. All in all, I'd say it
could have been worse for my first time. The only really bad part was
getting all that old caulk/grout/whatever-it-was out of there. I'll be
repeating the process on one of my other tubs this week. Hopefully
things will go as smoothly or better.

Thanks again.

Dave

headware wrote:

On Apr 25, 6:07 pm, (Charles Bishop) wrote:
In article , Norminn



wrote:
headware wrote:

I'm replacing some moldy caulking along the edge of my bathtub where
the tub meets the tiled wall. As I was removing the caulking, the
grout behind it also started to come out in spots. I think I'm going
to have to remove all of the grout along the edge, but do I need to
replace the grout with more grout or can I replace it with just
caulking? If I need to replace the grout, should I put caulk over it
as well?

Thanks,
Dave

Everything I have read on the topic advises to use caulk between
tub/wall, wall/floor and wall/wall joints because the joints flex and
will cause grout to crack. That is likely why you have caulk over
grout. It might be a special problem if the gap is wide (more than about
1/8" or a little more). I would clean both surfaces very well, use
util. knife to scrape out loose grout, and redo the joint with silicone
caulk. Tile and porcelain tub are easy to clean the old caulk from -
use new razor blade scraper. Wipe with full-strength bleach, let dry,
wipe with denatured alcohol, let dry, appley new caulk. I have redone
quite a few old caulk joints and have never had problems with mildew on
the new caulk when it was cleaned properly.

I'll agree with this. The caulk will have more give as the tub flexes
along the tub/tile joint. If the gap is large in places, use grout
backing to fill.

Some caulks are mildew resistant. I've had good experience with
Polyseamseal. It's an adhesive grout and can be suitable for
tile/sinks/tubs.

--
charls

Thanks to everyone for the advise. I ended up going with Polyseamseal
Ultra caulk (with the Bioguard additive for mildew resistance), which
was pretty easy to work with, is nice and flexible, and hopefully
won't be a nightmare to remove if I need to. I followed the
instructions on how to use masking tape to get a good clean bead,
which worked pretty well for the most part. All in all, I'd say it
could have been worse for my first time. The only really bad part was
getting all that old caulk/grout/whatever-it-was out of there. I'll be
repeating the process on one of my other tubs this week. Hopefully
things will go as smoothly or better.

Thanks again.

Dave

Instead of using the tape try this. apply caulk as you normally do. Wet
your index finger and skim it along the caulk line, once you have pushed
caulk in place. Wet a grout sponge and ring all excess water out of it so
its damp. Use the rounded side of sponge and skim it along the caulk again,
you can use a little force when doing this. The result is a perfect caulk
line, specially in corners. Just make sure you keep the sponge clean and
not to wet. And don't mess with it till its dry. "This only works with
water clean up caulk. The other stuff only ends up making a mess.

--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
Running Mandriva release 2008.0 free-i586 using KDE on i586