shower/bathtub in mobile home

[bgott]

"Anyway I think we are talking about the same stuff. "

We are. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] The pros call it "furp". To keep water from getting behind it you use siliconized caulk on all the seams, behind the J-moulding, corner molding, etc.. Just be sure to wipe off the excess with a wet rag, after a couple of years it turns a crappy shade of yellow. It's best to buy the trim at a wholesale house, the trim is a little wider which makes it easier to hide boo-boo's.

[Pat]

bgott, I did the FRP thing with no involvement from professionals but did use GE 50 year silicone in the inside corners under the plastic trim and under the trim where the FRP met the higher portions of the wall. Just lucky I guess.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[bgott]

I think I'm going to the silicon. The hired help does a poor job of wiping off excess caulk, realizing that I can't see the fresh stuff that well. It shows up in a year or two, though. These ain't mansions I'm renting but I like to at least make an attempt to have them look semi- decent. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]

[Pat]

bgott, There are various tactics for dealing with the excess silicone caulk when caulking a corner and NOT using inside corner trim molding.

1. You can put down masking tape (I prefer the blue, low stick) where you want to prevent/remove excess. Make no or little attempt to work the excess. After it cures, cut down to the edge of the tape nearest the joint (utility knife or single edge razor blade) and pull up the tape which has all the excess on it.

2. Don't put down much excess and work the surface lightly with a wet finger. You have to keep wiping our finger clean and dipping it in water.

3. As (2.) above but using one of those plastic caulk tools made for working caulk in a corner. (With a little practice you can make a very neat corner with one of these tools.)

4. Hybrid method (PREFERED): With experience using the corner tool you know where the excess caulk will end up. Put the masking tape there. Tool the joint and then remove the masking tape. With this method the crossection thickness of the caulk at the edge of the tape is vanishingly thin so you don't need to cut it OR wait for it to cure. This does a very neat job for inside corners and is fast.

The time to put the tape down and press the edge down snugly is the "extra time" and it is more than repayed by not having to "mess" with the silicone now (while wet) or later after curing, a possible second trip.


[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[bgott]

The preffered method when using hired help is to use inch wide inside corners to cover sloppy cuts. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] Actually, most of the time the walls we are covering are far from straight so the inside corner gives you a little room for error. I've used the tool and have had good results. The tool is a little hard to keep track of. Once I get some sort of organization going I might have better luck. I have also had good results by custom cutting the end of the caulk tube. With regular practice you can get a nice, even bead, as long as you don't have to release the trigger and get another pump. That screws me up fairly often. Another thing with caulk, the stuff shrinks. It irritates me to no end to squeeze out the perfect bead and come back the next day to find it shrunk and pulled away from the seam. The method that works the best for me is to get P.O.ed because nothing seems to be getting done and just grab the gun and do it. If I think about it and try to get it perfect it screws up, if I just let fly it ain't too bad! [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]

[Pat]

bgott, I have had that pulling away problen too but find that if you "degrease" the area of application with a generous swipe of denatured alcohol, MEK, toluene, or other highly volatile solvent (I prefer alcohol) followed by a clean dry rag, if needed, you get way better adhesion and no "pull away."

For those following along at home, as an exercise, diagram the above sentance.

[img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Pat