We have a saggy bathtub.
The bathtub in our master bath is actually nice and wide. An adult can actually bathe in it, if you’re into that sort of thing (the appeal of sitting in soapy and progressively dirtier and un-temperature-controlled water for any length of time palled on me quite a number of years back).
But unlike the Fine, Strong, Porcelain Tub in the guest bath, the master bath bathtub is fiberglass or plastic or something like that. And it’s not well braced.
Which means when you step into it, or to either end of it, it sags a bit.
Which means it pulls away from the tile.
Which means that the caulking progressively pulls loose.
Which means water leaks around the edges.
Which means (maybe) that’s why we have water damage in the downstairs bathroom underneath it. (“Maybe” because the damage has been very slow, and it’s not clear that it’s not from other sources. But …)
So, every year of so, I’ve had to tear out the caulking from around the edge of the tub, and squirt in the latest-greatest Silicone caulk, and hope that it holds for a while. Actually, the last batch lasted a couple of years or more, though it was in pretty ratty condition this time out. So two weekends or so ago I ripped it all out, and let it air dry for over a week. (Which is why it took so long to get back to it, honey. No, really.) And, last night, prodded by, um, the prospect of house guests coming soon (since we’ve been forced to shower in Katherine’s bath), I recaulked it, with extra caulk to overlap the edges. Took pretty much an entire tube (which is why I bought three — if I’d only bought one, it would have taken two).
It’s not quite as simple as that, of course. There’s so much give that I need something to hold the bathtub down as though someone were standing in it. Thus I have a milk crate full of bricks, which has to weigh a hundred pounds or more. It’s been sitting up in our bathroom since the last session, and draw curious looks whenever someone asks about it. (This time I think it’s going back down, though don’t hold me to that.)
And last time I did this, I put some wedges into the gaps between the tile and the bathtub, hoping to thus reduce the expansion opportunity. Problem is, that narrowed and weakened the caulk bead at that point, so this time I didn’t follow suit. We’ll see how it goes.
At any rate, it’s 24 hours to cure, so tonight I’ll remove the crate, and tomorrow I’ll be able to shower in our shower. Which will be very nice.
No amusing anecdotes here, just a day-in-the-life.
Though, to be honest, replacing that tub (redoing the bathroom as a whole) is beginning to bob higher on our List o’ Things To Do …