Bathtub Leveling and Re-caulking in Washington, DC
Share this project:
Scope of Work
Project Overview
The homeowner had a main bathroom tub that was tilting and pulling away from the tiled wall. The caulk along the corner had started to separate, which is usually the first sign that a tub is not sitting level. If it was left alone, that gap would keep opening up and water would find its way behind the wall.
We corrected the tilt by lifting the tub and installing a wooden shim, so it gets back to proper level. Then cleaned up the perimeter and applied a fresh bead of caulk. The result is a tub that sits flat and a seal that actually keeps water where it belongs.
Before / AFTER
Site Conditions
The Property and Site Conditions
The tub measured about 2.5 by 4 feet, a standard size, and was set against a tiled wall in the main bathroom. When we checked it with a level, it was off by roughly 2.5 degrees. This offset may not sound like much, but for a bathtub it is enough to put steady stress on the caulk line and slowly break the seal.
Since the tub was sitting low on one side, the existing caulk could not hold. No amount of re-caulking would have lasted while the tub was still tilted, so the fix had to start with the slope itself before any new sealant went on.
In Progress
ASSESsMENT
What We Did
Before leveling, we cut away and removed all the old caulk and putty around the edges of the tub so we had a clean perimeter to work with. This let us see exactly how the tub was sitting and where it needed to come up.
To correct the tilt, we lifted the low side of the tub and set a quarter-inch wood shim underneath at the base where it meets the floor. That brought the bathtub back to a proper level and took the strain off the edges where the caulk had been failing.
After the tub was sitting flat, we cleaned and prepped all the surfaces and ran a fresh bead of high-quality caulk around the full perimeter. The new seal is watertight and holds up because the tub underneath it is finally level. The bathroom looks cleaner too, with a tight, even caulk line instead of a separating corner.
Completed Project
Thinking About a Similar Project?
Whether your tub is pulling away from the wall, sitting unevenly, or just due for a fresh seal, we can take a look and get it sorted out.
Free Project Planning
"*" indicates required fields