Shower Leaking

JOHNPT

Hi
Could anyone tell me what is the best way to seal a gap between a shower tray and a tilled wall. The gap is very small about 3 mm but still water leaking through celling. There is silicone there already but the water seems to getting through. Is there anythin better than silicone to seal a gap.

Thanks in advance for replies

rossie08

It depends on the silicon you use. With cheaper stuff 3mm would be a big gap. Are you sure its at this point that the water is getting down, have you checked the grout around your tiles as it could be getting onto the wall this way and running down the plasterboard from there.

JOHNPT

Sorry for slow reply. Actually its a bit of mystery sometimes it leaks more times than others. But it is actually newly tiled wall and new shower tray. But still leaking. I tryed to get tiller back but no luck. But fairly certain its around edge between shower tray and wall. There is fairly big gap but tiller said he put on good silicone but when run water on it u can see little bubbles in corner. So what type of silicone? Or should i fill it with grout? Or is there anythin else on market?

Thanks a million for your help in advance

gsxr1

any silicone will work. If it makes ya feel better get the most expensive.

The application is more than likely your problem.


If you really cant get to the bottom of the leak then I would advise you to unscrew the profiles from the wall . Take down the shower door and clean off the old silicone.

Start again by applying silicon to the back of the profiles and screw them back into place.

You could do the same for the bottom bar of the shower door frame.

Make sure everything is clean and dry.

If you try to seal your problem by applying more and more silicon to old, then it will look terrible.

Also . have a look at the seal between the tiles and the shower tray.

Water can travel in this gap and end up all over the floor or downstairs ceiling. Any small gap at all can make a big leak

reilig

JOHNPT wrote: »

Hi
Could anyone tell me what is the best way to seal a gap between a shower tray and a tilled wall. The gap is very small about 3 mm but still water leaking through celling. There is silicone there already but the water seems to getting through. Is there anythin better than silicone to seal a gap.

Thanks in advance for replies

There should not be a gap at all between the tiles and shower tray - in fact, the tiles should not be touching the shower tray at all. There should be a thin rubber or plastic L shaped seal between the tiles and shower tray that the tiles are put on over. This L shaped seal can be stuck in place with silicone for double protection against leaks.

I had the same problem years ago until I found out that my inexperienced tiler did not put the seal in. Had to take off the bottom row of tiles and put in the seal.

Hope it helps.

Dan

rossie08

I would use Tec7 Silicone all the time now as I found cheaper compounds more likely to not attach to all surfaces and leave gaps. It costs around €14 a tube from the likes of Chadwicks or any good plumbing supplier but well worth it. You will have to remove old silicone and reapply new silicone. I would advice you to apply to the gap in a generous quantity then using a putty knife or small scraping knife profile it to the tile base and shower base this helps remove any air bubbles behind the silicone and also to adhere it to all surfaces without getting it all over your hand and leaving an uneven mess behind on the wall.

JOHNPT

Thanks rossie. Sounds like good advice. There is a fairly big gap of nearly 5 mm. One would tube be enough its just on one side.

Thanks again

rossie08

I'd say so. One tube of this stuff does go a long way. Saying that if the problem still exists send me a pm as there are still 2 other possible causes of a leak one being the grout between tiles and in the corner grouting the other being the wastepipe from the shower tray but the obvious is the one you are about to rectify.

kitser

gsrx1 is right. the doors were not sealed right to begin with. you must undo that side of the system, seal down the back of the profile making sure there a good amount at the base. when you re attach profile you should put a alarge blob into the bottom of the profile channel before you put the jamb back over the profile. another thing could be the shower tray. if its not in properly, it can drop a little bit when you are standing in it, allowing the water into a gap between the tiles and pan. you will always have leaks if you don't address the problem, silicone on the surface will only work for a short time, get someone out to fix it once and for all.

gsxr1

kitser wrote: »

gsrx1 is right. the doors were not sealed right to begin with. you must undo that side of the system, seal down the back of the profile making sure there a good amount at the base. when you re attach profile you should put a alarge blob into the bottom of the profile channel before you put the jamb back over the profile. another thing could be the shower tray. if its not in properly, it can drop a little bit when you are standing in it, allowing the water into a gap between the tiles and pan. you will always have leaks if you don't address the problem, silicone on the surface will only work for a short time, get someone out to fix it once and for all.

Its the only way to fix it and make it look decent for sure.

I hate to see bodge fix up up silicone work. Repair and patch work on shower doors just looks amateurish at best .

the shower enclosures are to dam expensive to do wrong.

getoffthepot

We had a leaking shower ad discovered the tray was suspended on a wooden frame and whe you stood on it the tray sank a couple of mm which was unnoticeable and the water ran between the horizontal grouting between the top of the 1st tile. total mystery for a long time.
Had to take out the whole thing.