Caulking is the smallest job on this site and one of the most expensive to skip. The joint where a tub meets tile flexes every time someone steps in: the tub moves, the wall doesn't, and the bead is what absorbs that difference. When it cracks or pulls away, shower water doesn't drip visably; it seeps. By the time the stain shows on the ceiling below, the subfloor has been drinking for months.
Rhodex treats re-caulking as a prep job first and a finishing step second. Most recurring caulk failures aren't product failures. They're what happens when new silicone goes over old, or over a wet joint, and never actually bonds to anything.
What the job actually involves
The old bead comes out completely, scored, peeled and dug out of the joint, because new silicone bonds to the tub and the tile rather than to the last failure. The joint gets cleaned and dried, mildewed joints get treated, and the tub or base gets protected from solvent damage during the work.
Then the bead goes in: a proper bathtub-grade silicone, toolled to a tight concave profile so it sheds water instead of holding it, and left to cure for the full stated time before the shower runs again. The cure window is the one instruction that actually matters. A bead that gets wet twelve hours early can fail within weeks no matter how well it was laid.
What changes the price
As general market estimates (not Rhodex prices), a Canadian caulking price guide puts whole-home professional caulking at roughly $1,000 to $3,000, with a tube of quality silicone around $8. A single bathroom is normally a small quoted visit, and what moves it:
- Condition. A bead that peels off in one sheet is quick to strip; one that crumbles out inch by inch takes longer.
- Mildew behind the bead. Cleaning and treating the joint adds time but skips it and the new bead fails the same way.
- Joint count. Tub perimeter, shower corners, thresholds and sinks each add lineal feet to the same visit.
- Access. Glass shower doors, tight alcoves and heavy fixtures slow the work around the same bead length.
- What the stripping reveals. Occasionally the bead was hiding a failed grout line or a cracked base, and we stop and tell you rather than seal over it.
Rhodex's own prices are never published online. You get one itemised quote for the visit before anyone is dispatched.
Quick answers
How much does it cost to re-caulk a bathtub or shower?
As general market estimates, whole-home professional caulking runs roughly $1,000 to $3,000, with individual silicone tubes around $8. A single-tub re-caulk is normally a small quoted job rather than a per-tube one, though, and Rhodex prices it as one visit with one itemised quote.
Why does my caulk keep failing?
Usually one of three reasons: the joint was caulked over old silicone that never got fully stripped, the joint was filled while it still held water or cleaner residue, or the wrong product was used, meaning standard acrylic caulk instead of a proper bathtub silicone. Each failure is a prep or product problem rather than a bad-luck problem.
Can I caulk over old caulk?
It works badly and it's the most common cause of recurring failure. New silicone bonds to the old bead rather than to the tub and the wall, so the whole sandwich peels as one sheet. Stripping the old bead completely is most of the job, and it's the part that decides whether the new one lasts.
Is the black stuff on my caulk mould?
Almost always yes: mildew growing in and behind the bead. Cleaning the surface changes the look for a while, but mildew inside the bead or behind it means the seal has already failed, and the honest fix is strip, kill, dry and re-caulk rather than paint over it.
When should a tub be caulked versus grouted at the corners?
Anywhere two materials meet and move against each other, whether that's tub to tile or shower base to wall, the joint takes flexible silicone rather than grout. Grout is for the joints between tiles, where rigidity is fine. Putting grout in a movement joint is why so many shower corners crack within a year.
How Rhodex handles caulking
Send a photo or two of the joint. An office manager quotes the visit, a craftsman strips and re-seals it properly, and the work carries the warranty that applies to the scope: 365 days on workmanship, 30 days where plumbing is involved. It's a small job that gets the same accountability as a big one.
Where we re-caulk
Caulking visits run Etobicoke and Mississauga in the west; Vaughan's Woodbridge, Maple, Concord and Thornhill; and north through King City, Aurora, Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Markham and Stouffville.
Related reading
Ready when you are
A photo of the bead is enough to quote. (647) 205-7554, 8:30 am to 10:30 pm, every day.
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