I recently installed shower doors for a client and caulked the inside of the frame to the walls and base. OK, so the last instruction said to caulk the outside. Hey, I read all the instructions but one. Pretty good for a guy, huh?
Now the owner has read the instructions – all of them – and wants me to remove the old caulk and add new to the outside. I want to make this right, but does anyone have a quick tip to remove the tub and tile caulk without scratching the new chrome and tile?
Replies
Plastic putty knife with a sharp edge. HD and Lowes have them in the paint dept, sold as disposable putty knives.
Now, can you explain why the caulk should go on the outside? I though you wanted to keep the caulk from getting into the frame assembly, thus put the caulk on the wet side.
I agree. It might be worth a call to the manufacturer to check whether this was a misprint..
Excellence is its own reward!
"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit.
The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are."
--Marcus Aurelius
Olmer
One does a bead of caulk on the inside but the manufacturor may also want a bead on the outside as well just for a finished look. You sure it didnt say to caulk the inside "and" the outside? I'd call them if I were you. Also. Why would you need to remove the caulk anyway. Just caulk the inside as well.
Be well
Namaste
Andy
"Attachment is the strongest block to realization"
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Why would the outside be caulked? There isn't any water out there. Remember those instructions were probably written by someone who speaks very little english.
The only reason for outside and NOT inside caulking that I can think of is that the water on the door surfaces drains down to and through the bottom track which weeps it back into the tub. (This does not explain the vertical side joints). Caulking the inside could cause it to weep to the outside of the tub. I have not personally seen any track designs like this, but ........you never know.
Why not put your rain coat to the test and stand in the shower spraying water all over the inside of the doors and tracks and see what happens. If it gets out....fix it. If not......BS your way out of it.
Steve
I've installed a few of these things and seen the same instructions. I believe the reason for exterior caulk is that there is going to be water under the frame - through condensation if nothing else. No interior caulk allows the drainage on the wet side of the door. I haven't seen anything written that says this. It's just the way I justified the instructions for myself.
Mike
Hey Olmer,
I forgot to reply to your original question! Where I work, we have a similar need to remove sealer (heavy duty caulk). We use offcuts from thick plexiglass and sand them to a sharp edge. When they dull, just re-sand them and keep going. Clean the surface and little bits that don't come off with denatured alcohol (and a bit of elbow grease).
Mike
Or try a plexy car window ice scraper. Next time he should use cheap crappy caulk, so that if he needs to remove it, he just has to wait two weeks for the stuff to fall off on it's own.
Sorry........ could not pass up the irony. Stuff only sticks well when you need to remove it.Never a problem, just an opportunity to create a solution... :~}
amen, murphy's law in action!