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How to seal gap between grab rail and tile?

Hello all. I recently had my bathroom re tiled. The tradesman removed my grab rail to do the job. He reinstalled it but I did notice there is a gap between the tile and the grab bar. You can see the screws. There are wall plugs attached to the screws. Water does get behind the grab rail. The grab rail is situated in the shower. Will this cause any issues or am I just a nervous Nelly?. Would there be any harm in using silicone to fill the gap?. The rail itself is strong and sturdy. Thanks.

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MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @WABOMBERBOY. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about sealing a grabrail flange.

There's no harm in using a clear wet-area silicone to seal this gap, and I suggest that it would be a good idea that you do. It's unlikely that water could penetrate the fixing holes and enter the wall cavity behind, though it's better to be safe than sorry. Is the flange loose? If so, I'd recommend applying a liberal amount of silicone within its perimeter and onto the wall; you can then push the flange against the wall and tape it in place until the silicone cures. If the flange is stuck fast in the current position, I recommend doing an initial pass around the inside perimeter and letting the silicone cure. Once cured, return and do a finishing bead around the outside perimeter, and with a gloved finger dipped in soapy water, create a cove that transitions smoothly from the wall up onto the edge of the flange.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

WABOMBERBOY

Hi Mitchell, Thank you so much for taking the time to reply to my post. I really do appreciate it. The flange itself is well mounted on the wall. It’s not loose.

MitchellMc

In that case, I'd do the two applications as above to build up the area @WABOMBERBOY. If you try to fill that gap with just one large bead of silicone it might get a bit messy.

Mitchell

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