Why the old bead failed
Caulking in a bathroom has a hard life. It sits in standing water, it flexes every time someone steps into the tub, and once soap film builds up on the surface it becomes a food source for mould. Almost every failed seal I cut out of a Toronto bathroom went the same way: the wrong product was used, the joint was dirty or still damp when it was applied, or the tub was empty when it was sealed and the bead tore the first time it was filled.
Painter's acrylic caulk belongs around trim, not around a shower. It shrinks, it goes chalky, and water finds a way behind it within a year. Once water is behind the bead, scrubbing the surface achieves nothing, because the mould is growing on the back of it.
How I redo bathroom caulking properly
The old bead comes out completely. I score both edges with a fresh blade, pull the caulking away in strips, then take the residue off with a plastic razor so the tile glaze and the tub finish are not scratched. Silicone will not bond to old silicone, so any film left behind becomes tomorrow's gap. The joint then gets wiped with rubbing alcohol and left to dry. If the shower was used that morning, the sealing waits.
Before sealing a tub-to-tile joint I fill the tub with water. An acrylic or steel tub drops noticeably under the weight of water and a person, so a bead applied to an empty tub is stretched to failure on the first bath. I mask both sides of the joint, run a mildew-resistant silicone made for kitchens and bathrooms, tool the bead in a single pass, and pull the tape straight away while it is still wet.
Then it gets left alone. Most silicones want a full day before they meet water, and rushing that is what turns a fresh seal into a soft, peeling mess a fortnight later.
Grout, loose tiles and the rest of the room
Grout and sealant do different jobs, and confusing the two causes a lot of the damage I am called out to. Grout is a hard filler between tiles sitting on the same plane. Corners, and the joints where a wall meets a tub, a vanity or a floor, all move. Those want a flexible sealant. It is exactly why grouted corners crack in a neat line every single time.
Where grout has cracked or fallen out, I rake the joint with a carbide grout saw or an oscillating tool, vacuum the dust out, and refill with unsanded or sanded grout depending on the width of the joint. Loose tiles get lifted, cleaned back and re-bedded. If the board behind a tile is soft and crumbling, that is water damage rather than a grout problem, and I will say so plainly instead of hiding it under fresh grout.
Small repairs worth batching into one visit
Bathrooms collect little faults, and having them handled together costs you less than separate call-outs across the GTA.
- Towel bars and paper holders re-fixed with proper anchors
- Grab rails fitted into studs or solid blocking
- Toilet seats, flappers and fill valves replaced
- Shower heads, hoses and diverters swapped over
- Vanity doors adjusted and worn handles replaced
- Like-for-like exhaust fan swap on existing wiring and ducting
- Drips traced at the trap and supply lines under a vanity
- Shower doors adjusted, rollers replaced and sweeps renewed
Where I stop and hand it over
Some bathroom work needs a licensed trade in Ontario, and I would rather tell you that at the quote than halfway through. Opening up in-wall plumbing, moving a drain or a supply rough-in, or running a new circuit for a fan or a heated floor goes to a licensed plumber or electrician. A shower leaking into the ceiling below is a waterproofing failure under the tile, not something a fresh bead of silicone can cure, and it needs the shower rebuilt.
Being straight about that is part of the work. You get a clear answer about what you are dealing with, and you are not paying me to make a real problem look tidy for a few months.
