14/05/2026
Who would have thought that resealing a bathtub could take 5 hours and 13 minutes.
I came to the client’s house because, overall, the waterproofing was still “working” — there were no major leaks. But visually, everything already looked tired: yellowing, dark spots, old dirty-looking joints. The bathroom no longer looked clean or professional, so the client decided to fix it properly.
I inspected everything, gave the price upfront, and started working.
At first, it looked like a normal 1–2 hour silicone replacement job. Then the real problem appeared.
The previous “contractor” hadn’t used silicone at all. They used acrylic filler/grout instead.
And that changes everything.
Acrylic material may survive occasional moisture, but when water constantly sits on it, it softens again almost back into a paste-like condition. Instead of cutting out cleanly, it smeared all over the bathtub during removal.
That turned a simple resealing job into a nightmare.
Especially behind the tap, where there was only about 3 cm of space between the wall and the mixer. Inside those 3 cm I had to:
— remove all old material,
— avoid scratching the bath,
— avoid damaging the tap,
— protect the tiles,
— and still create a clean, durable finish.
Normally this kind of work takes:
• 1 hour if everything was done correctly before,
• 2 hours if there are complications,
• 3 hours for a very difficult case.
But this one took 5 hours and 13 minutes of almost nonstop detailed work.
What was actually done:
all old material was completely removed — both the old “silicone” and the acrylic filler — all the way down to the solid base, in some places almost to the concrete itself. Only after full preparation and cleaning was the new seal applied.
In other words, the job was done as if the bathtub had just been newly installed. That’s the only way to achieve a truly long-lasting and professional result.
Another interesting issue:
the tile-to-bath transition was finished using the wrong type of trim. Silicone does not bond well to that type of plastic, so adhesion is weak. Because of that, I had to use far more material than usual — 4 full tubes.
The only proper solution was carefully lifting the edge of the trim, inserting the silicone nozzle underneath, and injecting silicone deep inside until it fully filled the voids and pushed outward. That’s the only way to make it durable and visually clean.
People often think:
“It’s just silicone. Put some on with your finger and done.”
But later someone else spends hours fixing it properly.
And honestly, I’m curious how much money the previous guy charged just to smear acrylic around and leave 🙂
I’d genuinely like to hear other people’s experiences.
If you’ve ever hired someone to reseal a bath or shower:
— how much did you pay?
— what size/type of job was it?
— were you happy with the visual finish?
— and most importantly: did they fully remove the old material, or simply apply a new layer over the top?
Because very often I see the second option:
old material is left deep inside the joints and a fresh layer is simply applied on top. It may look “fine” at first, but later you get peeling, mold, yellowing, and water getting underneath the bath.
I’m genuinely curious how many contractors actually do this properly — and how many just do it quickly.
