wallboard on the bath tub
When the wallboard around your bathtub starts to bow, as if often does, it’s time for new. Rent a power drill, a reversible screwdriver bit, and a hand jigsaw. You’ll find using a power screwdriver faster than removing and replacing 18-dozen screws by hand. Measure the walls. Remember, this board goes all the way to the floor behind the tub. Then buy replacement panels.
Remove mouldings and plumbing fixtures. Take down the old wallboard. Measure and cut holes for the plumbing fixtures in one new panel.
Bend a back panel slightly and slip it into position behind the tub. You may find it a tight squeeze; it should be. Once the panel is in position, fix it flat against the wall with a piece of duct tape while you fit the other pieces in. Fasten them with tape too, while you attach the mouldings.
Start with the moulding at the back corner. Fill the cracks behind and under the moulding generously with bathtub caulking. Don’t be stingy. Plenty of caulking here, now, heads off the majority of leaks. In this way, apply mouldings all around the tub. Clean off excess caulking compound as you tighten each moulding strip. Don’t tighten the screws so much they strip out the holes; that leaves the mouldings loose.
Reinstall the plumbing fixtures. Allow the caulking to set up before you run any water or step into the tub. You now have a new bathtub wall.
The caulking for bathroom wallboard needs yearly refurbishing, just as the caulking for ceramic tile does. During your spring housecleaning, remove the mouldings, scrape out driedup caulking, and recaulk all the joints.
Tags: Home living