Filling gap between tiles and balcony wall

[477bus]

More a review than a question.

I'm no tradie but the grouting between the wall and tiles on my balcony was growing weeds.

I ripped it all out and visited Bunnings where I bought some Polyfilla F20 for $7 a tube and some Selleys 3 in 1 gap filler for $16 a tube.

The person I spoke to told me about filler rod which I thought would save a lot of time and money.

Filled the bottom of the 10-12mm cavity with the cheaper Polyfilla product.

Pushed in the filler rod then out a Selleys 3 in 1 tube in the caulking gun.

Wouldn't budge. The gun 'warped' in the end.

Looked online and all sorts of stuff, mostly misleading.

Selleys 3 in 1 is not for polyethylene. The filler rod is polyethylene. 

Productreview says the 3 in 1 is bad stuff and hardens.

Back to Bunnings.

"Cheap gun" they told me. Well, it was only $2-3 so Ibought a $10 new one.

3 in 1 is fine they said and works fine with filler rod.

Back home and all done.

I did use a lot of muscleto get the 3 in 1 out but by nipping a bit off the nozzle it streams out.

Bunnings customer service. 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @477bus. 

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and I apologise for the inconvenience. It sounds like you put a lot of effort into resolving the situation, and I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the job done in the end. I appreciate your detailed feedback, especially regarding the challenges you faced with the products and the caulking gun.

I'll reach out to you via private message for some additional information about your experience. This will help us provide more specific feedback to the store and ensure we continue to improve our service and product recommendations. 

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

Mitchell

[477bus]

Hi, 

All the Bunnings advice was correct and gratefully received. I also asked about painting the 3 in 1 and received good advice.

One problem was that the very cheap gun could not handle 3 in 1. I did not know which item was to blame, gun or 3 in 1. They did.

The main problem was internet sites including Selleys. The 3 in 1 comes under 'silicone fillers' or similar I thought. People say you can't paint over silicone or need a special adhesive primer. Apparently, 3 in 1 is fine for water-based paints.

Also the filler rod is made of polyethylene. The Selleys site says 3 in 1 is not for polyethylene. Looks fine to me today.

Although I found much conflicting information online (even Selleys), the Bunnings staff were 100% correct. Bunnings sorted me out in minutes so the staff should be commended.

[MitchellMc]

It's great to hear that you received good advice from the team and that they assisted in getting this sorted, @477bus.

Selleys 480g White 3-in-1 Silicone Sealant is a unique product, which is why I recommend it so much. It has all the qualities of silicone but can also be painted, which makes it great for a number of applications.

The warning about polyethylene is that many plastics are made from it, and silicone does not bind well to smooth plastics. However, in your case, you are not trying to adhere to plastic, but instead, fill over it. In this application, it's fine to apply the sealant over the filler rod.

Regarding the gun, I always advise investing in the next one up from the budget model. I find the UNi-PRO Skeleton Caulking Gun with the steel frame outperforms the pressed metal version. 

I'm glad to hear you managed to complete your project and many thanks again for providing valuable feedback.

Mitchell