The No Cry Caulk Solution

However, there was one black spot in our otherwise gleaming remodel. A bad caulk job stood out like a fresh scar. I’ve learned that caulking can make or break a project, and in this case something was definitely broken. The wavy texture of the glass tiles made the gap between the wall and the tub difficult to fill. I had the bright idea to use some caulking tape that would fill the gaps but I ended up having to finish things up by hand because of the textures. With as much patience as I could muster, I finished the job as best I could. As you can see below the results were less than stellar and all the little gaps were prime spots for water to stand and dirt and mold to build.

The aluminum did a great job of framing in the tub and filling in the inconsistently spaced gaps. It did take a little work as I first had to dry fit the aluminum, then lay down a bead of caulk to set the frame into. The next step was to fill in the gaps created behind the aluminum due to the wavy tiles. I may have gotten better at caulking in the last two years, but the clear caulking is much more forgiving of mistakes than the white.

If you want to try this on your own tub, you can find the aluminum strips at your local home depot in the hardware section right next to all the nuts and bolts. It is relatively easy to cut down with a hacksaw, and using a miter box to make perfect angles. I also recommend rounding the edges on the outside of the tub with a little sand paper. I won’t say that it was necessarily easy but the results where well worth the effort.