Sealing a bath (keep bath full for ? hours)

[MaccGaz]

Hi all,

My plumber fitted my bath, put sealant on and half filled the bath with water to help it so that it wont split or break away when the bath gets full during use. I saw he had this full at 10am.

I've had problems with my toilet (a blockage) which was cleaned today and they tested it (after other tests!!) by emptying the bath. This was approximately 5.30pm.

I have since not refilled the bath. I touched the sealant and it was disrupted by the touch.

Is the 7-8 hours of being 1/2 filled enough to let the sealant set or should I go over to my house (I'm not staying there at the moment) and fill it up again over-night?

Thanks.

[hj]

I don't know what kind of sealant they could have used that had not set or at least "skinned" over by 6 hours after applying it.

[Randyj]

Somebody explain this to me... I've never heard of filling a tub with water to let a sealant set... is this somehthing new that I need to know about?

[TedL]

Perhaps the use of the word "sealant" instead of "caulk" is what's throwing you off, RandyJ.

[plumber1]

No it could also be tile grout. Put water on the tub and empty it when the grout is hard so it won't crack when you begin to use the bath.

[alabubba]

I think plumber1 is right, although if I understand it correctly, the seam between the tub and the bottom row of tile should not be grout, but an appropriate caulk. I've read that doing that (filling the tub prior to caulking) will let the caulk be basically stress-free when the tub is full, and have a little compression on it when the tub is empty. Whether it is worth the effort or not is probably a matter of opinion.

[Randyj]

I can see how that might help since the Aquaglas eleganza's I installed the past couple of weeks were flimsy, rubbery, and warped. Until these are well supported and attached they are wiggly. Filling with water while securing or caulking definitely makes sense now to put it down just the smidged it would move when filled for a bath.

[Cass]

Sounds like he used a latex caulk on the drain and filled the tub.

MaccGaz, can you be more specific.

[Randyj]

The aquaglas tubs I've installed specify latex caulk on drains as the plumber's putty can be detrimental to the plastic over time.