Standing water in corner of tub

[Dave Triplett]

Hi all,

My name's Dave, I'm a former electrician (a good one), I'm a good handyman for most projects, tile... not bad thanks to this forum, but I'm very much an amatuer with tile and tubs !!

We have standing water in the corner of our tub...I colored some water and took a picture of it. It's been there for years in a 1987-built house. It's a metal / porcelain tub. Even quality caulk doesn't stay put (of course.)
I do not want to tear into this wall as we are happy with the tile. I'm looking for ideas to solve it; here are some of our own ideas -some good, some bad..

1) Leave it alone, but re-caulk with good marine grade silicone or 3M 5200.

2) Cut access hole in adjacent wall (the room behind the END of the tub is a walk-in closet - I cannot get to the "5-foot wall") I could get to the low corner and hammer in a prop-up, as I just need to get about 3/8 inch higher. The tile is well above the tub edge - I would just need to remove any grout or caulk, so the tub can move a little.

3) Buy a corner mount ceramic soap dish at HD or Lowes. Carefully cut off any protrusions, so I can mortor or silicone it right down on the wet corner, but I could make sure to leave the right tilt for water run-off. I could do the same with a coordinating color of marble or something similar - I would cut the outer edge of a square tile at 45 degrees so it looks good.

I welcome your thoughts... Thanks, Dave

91167

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[cx]

Welcome, Dave. :)

Aside from changing out the tub, I doubt you'll be able to do much of a fix. Three eighths of an inch is a very long way to move a tub edge.

I'd recommend hanging a dedicated hand towel on a nearby rack and removing that water after each shower.

My opinion; worth price charged.

[Houston Remodeler]

What CX said plus,

The tub was molded poorly at the factory. The chances of bending it back into a drain-able slope are slim and you might wind up cracking the tub. May not crack right away, but on some hot day when you are on vacation and left the A/C turned off.

Dedicated towel or a white rubber squeegee (available at Target) Black rubber will slowly leave black rubber marks and stains.

[Dave Triplett]

Thank you for the advice, I was afraid that we might have to just let it be. Before, I declare the tub as the victor, we have another idea...

While at the arts and crafts store, they had lots of small mesh bags of small polished stones, glass, marbles, etc. I noticed one full of... well, the best description is blue glass marbles, flattened, most are about the size of a penny, some are round, some are very oblong, lots or very random shapes.

So... I could use white mortar to get the slope in the corner, and paste a "mosaic" of these in the corner. Fill in next day with white grout?
We could also remove a handful of the wall tiles in a few random places, and replace with the "marbles" to tie it in.

The wife really likes this idea, but only if it's not stupid or insane. ???

Dave

[eurob]

I would go with some custom fit corners -- both of them -- of granit , marble or quartz. You can use different edging , like Ogee , Dupont , etc and shape them as you like. If you light sand the corners without exceeding the covering area , install a piece of kerdi or Laticrete fabric , build the corner to the proper angle for water evacuation and install the piece.
The other idea with the smaller stones is good but you may have problems in the long run with cleaning the joints.
Go with your idea of covering the corners -- I believe only one will get the other jelous :) -- but use flexible materials , like 100% silicone or Latasil for setting them. And of course around the edges too.:D

[Dave Triplett]

I will do BOTH corners...Still undecided on the stones verses marble, quartz, etc. I will rough up the porcelain where I need adhesion.

I have some Mapei Type I Tile Adhesive I was thinking of using???, but I guess some white silicone or Latisil would be best.

Go with your idea of covering the corners -- I believe only one will get the other jelous -- but use flexible materials , like 100% silicone or Latasil for setting them. And of course around the edges too.

[eurob]

Don't touch the tiles on the wall . Just a good clean up . It will be fine.
And The Type I is the worst adhesive you can use for this project.
Have fun:)

[Dave Triplett]

O.K. thanks again