How Can I Fill the Space Where Vinyl Floor is Separating From Bathtub?

LESLIE: Audrey in Ohio, you’ve got The Money Pit. How can we help you today?

AUDREY: Well, in my children’s bathroom, we have a vinyl floor. And it is separating from the bathtub and it doesn’t look like there’s any caulking there, to begin with. And so I can see a small section of the subfloor.

LESLIE: OK. Which is not good.

AUDREY: Right. And so when I lay down the vinyl, it doesn’t reach to the tub. So I’m just trying to find the best way to fill that small space so as the children get in and out of the bathtub, the subfloor does not get wet.

LESLIE: Yeah. Probably because you get a lot of movement with the flooring, especially with the vinyl floor, your best bet is probably not going to be to use a filler or a caulk of some sort but to actually put another piece of flooring, perhaps like a shoe molding or a cove molding, something that’s small, that’s curved that could bridge that gap between the tub and the floor. And this way, it’ll cover over that opening. It’ll protect it from whatever water is spilling over. Because if your kids are like my kids, for some reason they just pour buckets of water right out of the tub, because it’s fun. And why not?

AUDREY: Right. And so I’m trying to preserve that. Because they’re only three, five and seven, so we have a long way to go.

LESLIE: So I think if you’re using some sort of a shoe molding that’s in the same material or the same look as the vinyl flooring or even a cove molding – you can get that in rubber. This way, it just sort of bridges the gap and will protect that from the water. And you want it, obviously, to be vinyl or rubber, yeah.

AUDREY: OK. Great. And that’s pretty easy to install?

TOM: Yeah, it’s basic carpentry skills, you know. It could be a little bit tricky because it’s going to bend. But if you get the PVC molding – the flexible molding – you should be able to work it in slowly but surely. I would predrill the nail holes. I would not try to nail right through without predrilling it first.

AUDREY: OK.

TOM: But once you get it set in place, you can fill those nail holes and you can caulk over the top and bottom lip of it and paint it and you’ll be good to go.

AUDREY: OK. Great. Thank you so much.

TOM: Good luck with that project. Thanks so much for calling us at 888-MONEY-PIT.