Plumbing Zone - Professional Plumbers Forum banner

plumbers Putty vs silicone

122K views 118 replies 64 participants last post by  Tango 
#1 ·
What do you use when you are doing sink drain or a shower drain, this is a huge argument at my work ?
 
#8 ·
Silicone all the way.

The 1 hour shower silicone is some great stuff, even has a mold and mildew Inhibitor mixed into it.

did I mention how I like silicone :laughing:

sent from the jobsite porta-potty
 
#14 ·
Putty on strainers, cast iron tubs etc. Fiberglass tubs and receptors get silicone, the hot water causes the fiberglass to expand, and contract when the fiberglass cools, and over time the putty will eventually leak, this is what I was always taught. Obviously any kind of stone stone gets Sta Put Ultra stainless putty. All depends on materials.
 
#17 ·
I have removed sink strainers that had been in use at least 50+ years and still held watertight. The plumbers putty was all dry and dusty, but if it lasts that long, why use silicone? I think putty is cheaper anyway. I do like silicone for fiberglass shower pan strainers. Especially if fat people are using that shower. I learned that the hard way. Fat people=flexing pan.
 
#21 ·
Putty on Basket strainers, lav drains, tub drains. Use silicone between shower drain and pan, and faucets that bolt to marble, granite ect.

There is nothing wrong about this way and I'd never change, never had a problem so I stick to it. I'm sure other people here who do it different then me would make the same statement. Their way may be different and work too, just stick to what you do if it works!
 
#30 ·
that is one resone i dont like silicone. no respect for the next guy. Some people forget that building systems are designed with demo in mind, thats why normally you do not screw down a floor, because when it come time to rip it you must do major damage just to get to square one.

i likr to think the next guy will be me so i try to install with that in mind. but i need this part to not leak now!!! and silicon e in that situation seems to be the best answer.
 
#29 ·
thats because the putty nowadays even sucks, it cracks and leaks easyer because some ceo decided to use B-triameaethaline instead of C-triameaethaline
because it was a little cheaper while giving a similar result... keyword is similar and also this pertains to the unit u are installing it to since the sink are now crap also... they are thinner and rust from impurities all factors in which cause these current items to suck today......

there are a lot of movies about htis phenomena where the premise is that the current generation is stupid and can not fix things anymore because the "ancients" who built were far smarted and built to complex a machenery.this is something i think about a lot as a result of dealing with shoity materials.

ever wonder why copper pipe from 50 years ago feels heavie and thick then todays. itr because it is.

i re did my oil tank a few years ago. i took the old 2" plugs and put them in the new tank. i went and bought 1 more. it has been about 2 years now and the new 2" plug is rusted bright orange and the other 50year old plugs dont have a drop of rust in them, that then shoity materials and impurities and all sorts of other factors that are making modern materials work against us when compare to a similar fitting from the past.
 
#28 ·
I used to swear that if you needed silicon to stop your strainers from leaking you are not a good plumber. but after years of thought and trial and error. I have throught experince discovered that silicon leaks less and last longer. but with that being said, If i new that the strainer was about to be put together would not leak then i wold use putty. n

however since materials suck nowadays you need to rely on alternative means such as silicon.

What i say about materials spans all objects made over the last 75 years, such as a basket strainer. witch originally had certain dimensions and specifications that over the years have been widdled down to the pos we now hold in our hands. this happens over time through new owners and engineers trying to save money. see originally the fitting was hypothetically size "A" with a nut made from material"B" and threads cut from a quality die. nowadays they attempt make size "a" through back door means, this has happen with ply wood first it was 1/2" 4ply , then 11/32" 4py, now it is 11/32" 3ply abasloute crap. and this dwindling of the materials specs has caused it as a whole to suck and leak because you cant tighten it enough because it will strip from crappy materials, bad threads and bad quality control, and now the silicone even sucks because it doesnt even dry, the government removed all the good stuff and now you need to buy the 8 dollar tub that dries fast, witch is the same stuff as the original but with taxes applied to it to pay for the pollution it produces.

so if it were the same putty and strainer as back in the day i wouold use putty, but now adays we need silicone.

I do not condone the use of silicone and many areas as I feel this is a very diy of plumbing and not how a master plumber stops a leak. Also when I rip a bathroom that is old and in good shape for its age, it most certianly does not have silicone in it,

Almost every 80s and early 90s bathroom i rip. is abasloute crap compared to some of the 50,60, 70 baths i rip that are installed with all cement products and last for a long time. that is what i am trying to reproduce, longevity and I just feel that rotting silicone is not a generally good way to permote longevity.

thanks
 
#32 ·
Bill said:
The next guy. Thats fine in some cases, BUT, when it comes to the long term satisfaction of the customer I dont want no call backs, period. I want my work to hold up like it is supposed to.
That's exactly my point. Just like the closet collar I replaced today. It was in a commercial building, on a floor set, floor outlet flushometer toilet. It was one of those soild plastic rings with only TWO lead nail in anchors in the cement. Sure enough, the call was because the toilet rocked and broke the collar. It was an inside collar, and I had to chip it out to replace it.

Now, there's a combination of factors at work that caused this system to fail. First the plumber used poly seam seal caulk, which doesn't hold up for more than a year or two. Had he caulked it down with silicone, it wouldn't have rocked in the first place. The floor was flat, just repeated usage from people who don't care if they bump/kick the toilet can cause it to move. Two closet bolts aren't enough. Combine that with the use of an all plastic flange, when one with the stainless collar is much stronger, causes the flange to break. Also using only TWO anchors, instead of the six slots causes too much strain on the collar.

I changed all these things and siliconed the toilet to the floor. I think the problem some of you have with using silicone isn't with the product itself, it's the manner in which it's used. Silicone makes a better, longer lasting seal than putty does. It doesn't dry out, and it doesn't degrade so long as it's placed in a position where the bond isn't broken. It also doesn't stain ANY material. It makes it harder for the next guy sure, but that tells you that 10 years later when you go to replace it, and it's difficult to remove, that the seal wasn't compermised and the silicone is still as strong as it was when it cured ininially.

Do you think lead joints are easy to remove? Doesn't make for an easy repair for the next guy, but i've only seen a few that leaked. Even in stacks that are 100 plus years old the joints are still rock solid. Normally it isn't the silicone that makes something hard to remove anyhow. It's the siezed up nuts welded onto the strainer by rust. Or the tub shoe that doesn't have the inside part for the dumbell wrench anymore.
 
#33 ·
I used ONLY plumber's putty for 16 years straight, and always viewed using silicone as less than professional. Over the last 6 years or so, we get materials and fixtures built to less than acceptable standards from my viewpoint.

Finally I just had to switch to using silicone, as drain bodies and faucets no longer sit flush to sinks like they used to. I resisted as long as I could! Finally when working in the Army barracks, I installed 54 lavs in the Men's side with putty, while a co-worker at the time installed 54 lavs in the Women's side with silicone. In the end I spent a whole day removing ALL putty, and replacing with silicone as at least one lav on each floor leaked.

So far I haven't went back to putty yet, and haven't run into any of the removal problems silicone might pose that others here have. I'm sure I will someday, but that's a minor inconvenience compared to not being able to walk away from a trim job knowing you won't get that call that, "something is dripping under the sink".
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top