How to Silicone Tricky Gaps

[@CharlieDIYte]

🛠Charlie DIYte Amazon Tool Store amzn.to/3fcLnY4 - all my tried, tested and much loved DIY tools. ☕Patreon membership www.patreon.com/charlieDIYte - includes Discord access. ☕Buy Me a Coffee bit.ly/3xuQ3zb - to help support my Channel - also use it for membership a bit like Patreon. 👚Charlie DIYte Official Merch Store charlie-diyte.myspreadshop.co.uk/ - all new range of professionally designed merch.

[@mrchrisroden]

I think the thing I like most about these videos is your brutal honesty to any errors you've made, to help others.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks mate. It's shorter than it should be because the second half had some outdoor sealing of the bifolds. And I used the wrong form 🤦 Will do a video talking about that mistake at some point 👊

[@cnut4563a]

I just can't put into words how much I love this channel

[@Sunny-3]

@Charlie DIYte Just wanted to say a huge thank you for all your super helpful videos, expertly explained and demonstrated, easy to understand. I especially love your honesty when you discover a mistake and share your experience with us, keep them coming my friend :)

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks so much for taking the time to pen that. I'm humbled you find my videos useful and your encouragement is so valuable to keep me making this content as you can appreciate it's not always easy 😉👊

[@voodoomotion5855]

Awesome work Charlie! We'll do the same after installing our new French doors. Try setting a countdown timer on your phone, so you know when 5mins is up, feels bit like an episode of Crystal Maze but with less people shouting useless advice 🤣 Have you tried the tool on exterior joints around windows and doors? I'm worried gritty surfaces might damage it, and they're not very cheap! I'll be rendering the reveals, which is great for hiding a primary seal behind the render provided it doesn't compromise the strength, allowing you to put a smaller secondary bead after to prevent frost damage - however a thick bead of masonry paint can be flexible enough to achieve this, and looks neater 😉

[@thenomad9853]

It was this channel that introduced me to the Fuji (sp?) silicone forming tools many years ago. Been a subscriber ever since. Those things were like magic compared to the hit and miss finishes I used to get from my previous attempts involving masking and solvents. Silicone work used to be something I always approached with dread as it could go either way. I still use the forming kit to this day and no longer have the dread 😂. Keep up the good content Charlie !!

[@cjcheshire]

Really appreciate the warning around the height of the door to the floor! Never thought about that when we looked into bifolds! Good tip!

[@johnmitchell9861]

Hi charlie,have just stumbled across your videos and realised i have the same silicone forming tool kit which i must of bought at least 4 yrs ago,have only used it a few times but now i know how to use it for the better😁thx and great videos

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks John. Yes it's a great tool. You might find this one useful too kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3bVk6ilmbKCd68si=nfuGb3bupDE7j7el 👊

[@jameswburke]

Very useful tips. I've used a soapy finger to smooth the first run on our shower enclosure & the next day did another run, as it has shrunk down a bit. Seems better to do several runs with a small tip on the gun if you have the time.

[@ernesthandywork8789]

Applying silicon is one of those jobs I never look forward to so your videos provide a useful reference. Whilst annoying I wouldn't be too hard on yourself about the bifold heights; I've been on sites where 'experienced' tradespeople have got it wrong and either the theshold has to be changed if noticed in time, or if too late a timber quadrant is fitted!

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks. Yes I thought about installing a small upstand in the tile but think I'll leave it as is for now.

[@lloyd4011]

Charlie, i hope all your work in your home is paying off. I remember months ago you were feeling the pressure, and it was visible. Im happy to see your home is looking absolutely fantastic, i hope your family are enjoying it, and it pleases me enormously to be saying this on a silicone video, after finding your channel as a looked for ways to silicone my bathroom god knows how long ago. Great content as always 👍

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks so much. I really appreciate that. It's a hard slog doing these videos and so I can't tell you how valuable your wonderful encouragement is. Yes we're getting there. It's nice to have moved in but I'm in that situation now of when I do videos the renovation stalls and when I do the house the KZbin channel suffers so it's difficult to find a happy middle ground. 👊

[@stephenjones1086]

I brought the tools you listed for the silicone video and its not going well! Joking aside, fantastic videos and really helped me move my house along over the years, so many areas covered. Thanks for all the demos and keep them coming.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Oh no, tell me what's going wrong. Practice is key and with the right angle tool you can scoop it off and reapply as you learn how to do it.

[@ExtremeShez]

Great vid charlie. Thank you for the pit falls and the great idea of going over the same silicon.

[@CharlieDIYte]

You're welcome mate. Thanks so much for the comment - really appreciate it 👊

[@Latbirget]

Great job. I love siliconing. For the small gaps behind the sink I keep bits of plastic packaging to cut up as a DIY smoothing tool.

[@DanAuns]

Brilliant. This content is reference grade guidance. Along with your previous vids, outstanding.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks mate 👊

[@kroozer5215]

Always worth watching Charlie, good and honest !

[@NH00531]

Perhaps no surprise that your original silicone videos introduced me to your channel (my kitchen looks better for it!). Some good tips here and looking forward to seeing the rendering video too. 👍

[@dougdavidson175]

Thanks Charlie. Take care & stay safe.

[@johndevlin980]

I bought that very forming tool after watching your silicone video 👍

[@teepee9466]

Very useful tips and tricks. Thanks Charlie. It’s a shame to see the issues you had to unpick with respect to the door installation, especially the dodgy filling and packing. I have a similar issue with bifold doors, and seeing you tackle yours perhaps gives me more confidence to attempt a fix myself.

[@Dungshoveleux]

I had tricky variable gaps between the bath and the wall, and between the kitchen splashback and working surface. Rather than using loads of silicone, I lined the gaps pushing in cotton wool (from the infants section in the supermarket) to act as a base for the silicone and to minimise the amount I needed. Worked fine.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Backer rod is also good for that 👌

[@Dungshoveleux]

@@CharlieDIYte Thank you for that tip. I didn't know backer rod existed and improvised 🙂

[@Stormin_Mike]

Have you done silicon from door to brick? Tools or not the door/slider side is smooth so no problem there but getting a neat look as you traverse bricks and mortar joints is tricky

[@CharlieDIYte]

Yes I have and for that I push the silicone in at 90 degrees to the brick. I'll try and post a video on it.

[@Stormin_Mike]

@@CharlieDIYte Great. Its a challenge to make it not look snotty on the brick face. We had some sliders install a while ago and they masked it brick side and to contain as best they could. It looks great and even over the contours and had as near as damn it a 45 degree face as you would with a tool.

[@Quaker521]

Thanks Charlie, some great tips and info. Cheers.

[@yorsoul1555]

Do you advocate using Multi Solve for silicone removal ie the residue after the bulk has been removed? Great vids. 👍

[@CharlieDIYte]

You've got to be careful not to get it on the newly siliconed area as it is a silicone remover itself. So try and remove everything you need to with the forming tool and then any overspill further away from the joint use the Multisolve. So I'd only use it how I did here. I really like it though for silicone remover and degreasing as it evaporates without leaving a residue - this is why you should never use WD40 as you'll never fully get rid of the oil residue.

[@CMB_Vinyl]

Any advice when caulking next to exterior bricks? Can't use a forming tool due to harsh texture & shape of the bricks, 'roofer' has made a bit of a miss with the caulking & I plan to tidy it up at some point. It's where the garage door side panels meet with the exterior brick of the house. Any advice appreciated thanks. Only thing I can think of is to use some frog tape to get a neat line.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Funnily enough there was a second half to this video but I deleted it because someone pointed out I'd used the wrong foam. It's tricky. What I did was pipe the silicone into the gap and with the flat side of the tool. I just worked at 90 degrees to the gap, pushing the silicone in and then drawing it across flush with the frame. Not perfect as you do see the marks for each section pushed in by the tool but I did at least get a water tight seal to the bricks. I might do a short on it.

[@FrankWoodPhotography]

Looks like you had the same installers as I did! Intrigued as to why you’re not going to use anthracite trim to cover those areas?

[@TheBClark88]

I love my Fuji tool but the biggest challenge is one that seems to be visible on the inside of your door cill here - the silicon or caulk spreading out to the sides. When I did my kitchen backsplash I ended up with an invisible - but noticeable on feel - very thin layer of silicon out to about 2cm from the corner. I now need to go back with a razor and scrape it all off. Not the end of the world but just another thing to deal with.

[@Timetorelasx]

You do a great job

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks 🙏

[@tomalex4806]

Using a cut piece of softwood with a slant on and stroke down is also a good idea

[@tm2204]

Charlie, why use silicon and not CT1? Then you can fire away with multisolve to clean up without worrying about silicon...

[@theneone111]

Thanks for the video. 👍👍

[@CharlieDIYte]

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment 👊

[@PhilPha]

Forgot to add Fix & Liss are the make as they smooth off as you go along and no tooling required . I have both sizes but not tried them yet.

[@Swwils]

If people are having trouble working out a bifold threshold detail over a cavity, look up structural cavity closers or preformed threshold that you drop in place instead of relying on your builder to make it up as you go along.

[@Pete.Ty1]

👍👍👍. Thanks Charlie

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks 👊

[@LegSpinna]

3:43 Is that a short and curly in the silicone? 😀

[@CharlieDIYte]

Ha! The problem with having a dog marauding around 😉

[@gavinparry5426]

I'm thinking of Bi-Fold doors Charlie......are you happy with yours? Any tips ??

[@Rob-ln7dd]

I did bifolds, but with a low profile threshold, didn't want any stubbed toes and can wheel things over them. I've got two sets, a 4m wide and a 3m wide opening. I absolutely love them. I don't get any draughts through in the winter and I live in the French Alps at 1100m. It was a bit stressful working it out, building it and then ordering and fitting but its turned out fab. You really need to get the engineering drawings of the bifold frame section then work your floor heights back from there, however I still remember having to get the angle grinder out and make some on the fly adjustments. Oh and I came to this channel all those years ago for the silicone video as well Still using my silicone tools... 👍 Go for it 👍

[@TonyMcCartney]

Rust: You can use CRC Evapo-Rust, Heavy-Duty Rust Remover, Reusable, Acid-Free, Non-Corrosive, Water-based, 32 oz, Removes Rust to Bare Metal.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Cheers Tony. I'll get some of that. 👌

[@PhilPha]

You want to check out the new tips you can buy

[@caskwith]

Anytime you need to make any more videos on siliconing you are welcome to borrow my bathroom, or kitchen, or doors, or windows! Top job as always!

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks - I'll remember that for the next one 😉👌

[@uk_assassin8684]

I love seeing people trying to silicone. Its not an easy job and took me a few years to learn in aluminium fenestration. Cox's self releasable mastic gun from Screwfix is suitable for most mastics. That outer mastic was awful. Febfoam is not a waterproofer. Mastic is made to be stretch between two substrates (window and brick) half depth to width minimum, to be tooled into gap. Not scraped

[@lifter98]

Silicone - the most scary part of DIY…🥶

[@Swwils]

Look at this guy with his expensive silicone

[@CharlieDIYte]

I wouldn't use an expensive silicone gun like that and I'm pretty sure none of you would either 🤦🤣

[@StephenMcCready-y6n]

Did you ever have any comment from the contractors who installed your folding doors, on what appears to me to be pretty shoddy workmanship when it comes to the gaps between the frame of the doors and the brick wall. I know you can’t do everything yourself, but from what I’ve seen of you, and how carful you are, you’d do a far better job at most things than some of these so called professionals. Professionals, sometimes only means they’re getting paid for it.

[@CharlieDIYte]

No I didn't raise it specifically with them other than to say it was leaking. To be fair they'd probably have come back if I had but I just decided I'd do a better job of fixing it.. Also I suppose they were assuming it would be rendered pretty soon after.

[@DokterKattenbakvulling]

5:38 disown your son?

[@CharlieDIYte]

That would be one of many reasons 😉

[@richarddicktaylor219]

Unsurprising, but still disappointing that your door installers couldn't do the professional job you paid them for.

[@rrddaatube]

Soliconing video with no mention of caulk finger! Unsubscribing 😂

[@RayMondElec]

Your channel is great. However, whilst it is greatly appreciated you preparing this video. You paid for the install of the bi fold doors. It should have been done right from the beginning. You should have brought this soddy work to the attention of the company and got them to put it right. To many people pay for and accept dodgy work. Only then to put it right themselves or pay someone to put it right. Rant over.

[@CharlieDIYte]

Thanks mate. You're probably right, but sometimes for peace of mind it's easier to redo the job yourself, knowing you'll do it better than the professionals. A friend had some windows installed recently (for the second time). The installation was a hatchet job and he's seriously contemplating installing the third set himself.

[@gibbodive140]

@@CharlieDIYte question please. How do you manage the FENSA certification if you fit yourself ? I replaced a back door in my house as I couldnt face the poor installation workmanship/methods of the window companies. It is probably the most silky smooth operation of a door I have ever used. The frame is SOLID and does flex/wobble when the door is closed. Quality fixings and pointed frame/brickwork with mortar applied with a brick mortar gun. No expanding foam. No upvc beadings on inside ! I have forfeited the FENSA cert unless anyone knows of a solution. Thank you