Repetetively failing silicon around shower base

Hi,


I am not sure anyone actually has any solution or ideas how to deal with the problem we are having.. But here is a try.


Basically, we had rather large bathroom failure, where the silicon around our shower corner base (our only shower, no other shower or bath) failed and it had leaked probably for some time.
We took the ceiling down and discovered damage to joists too. This explains why the gap in between the top of the tiles and the base was getting bigger, now it stands at about maybe 4-5mm.


We are having builders in in 6 months to rip it all out, and redesign the whole space (new joists, floors, walls - the works), but we need to last until then!!


It seems that despite putting loads of silicon in, the seal is still not water tight and there is an escape of water. We have redone this number of times. I think the gap is now too big and so the silicone keeps failing. I can feel from below that the floor is still slightly damp (as we still have no ceiling).


Is there any product, doesn't matter what it looks like, that I can paint over the silicon and tiles to create more of a waterproofing, or something I can place over the gap with silicon? Some sort of tape, glue, anything.


The only other option I see is for someone to come in, take the shower out, bottom layer of tiles and redo the whole thing. Obviously this will be expensive if I could even find someone to do job like that (we always struggle get people in for smaller jobs. Unless it is to replace the whole bathroom). Given that it will be ripped out in 6 months time, I just want to see first whether there is anything we can try to just tie us over for the 6 months to save the expense (and the fact we will be shower less for period of time!!).
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Comments

  • There is no real fix for this besides having the shower fitted properly and not using it until it's fixed.
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    I was afraid of that... how long would that take do you think? (before you can use it again)
    Also, we are concerned that taking the base out might make it unusable... it is a big heavy stone one and we think that manipulating it out will damage it..
    have people just taken it out and reused it before?
  • sysadmin
    sysadmin Posts: 205
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    remove the tiles and use shower paneling - this is what we had done when we had a similar issue

    Something like this http://www.showerwall.co.uk/

    Not what we used but similar i think. Was about £70 per 2 meter wide panel
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    sysadmin wrote: »
    remove the tiles and use shower paneling - this is what we had done when we had a similar issue

    Something like this http://www.showerwall.co.uk/

    Not what we used but similar i think. Was about £70 per 2 meter wide panel


    Is it easy to use?
    Did you hire a professional for the job or did it yourself?
  • phill99
    phill99 Posts: 9,094
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    Any wrote: »
    Is it easy to use?
    Did you hire a professional for the job or did it yourself?

    This is your problem. You are trying to do it on the cheap.


    Get a professional mastic applicator in and they may well be able to resolve the problem. It may also be grout failure which will require more intensive work to sort out.
    Eat vegetables and fear no creditors, rather than eat duck and hide.
  • Hoploz
    Hoploz Posts: 3,888 Forumite
    By the sounds of it you ought to be more concerned with whether the floor is about to fall down into the room below
  • Any
    Any Posts: 7,944
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    edited 14 October 2016 at 12:34PM
    We had the joiners in and they said the floor is not going anywhere.
    It is a little patch where this is occurring, sitting on a wall too.


    Obviously if this is going to be kept damp for the next 6 months, then we might have bigger problems.


    Yes, we are trying to do it on the cheap, because I would like to avoid spending hundreds of pound on something that will only be there for 6 months you see. That whole part of the house will be gutted out completely.


    If I will have no other option, I will have to pay it.
  • sysadmin
    sysadmin Posts: 205
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    We had the floor re-done and the shower panelling fitted and it cost about £1200 all in
  • One mistake that a lot of people make when filling large gaps with silicone is to simply fill the gap in one go.
    This generally doesn't work as the silicon needs moisture from the air to cure and with thick beads it takes a very long time for it to totally cure and until this time it can move and the break the seal between the shower tray and the floor.

    It's much better to build up the silicon over the course of a few days by putting a small bead down well under the tray and gradually adding more beads on top of this.
  • phil24_7
    phil24_7 Posts: 1,535
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    edited 14 October 2016 at 2:08PM
    You could hire some acros and jack the floor back up, cut some thick plywood into strips as wide as the joist and nail and glue them to the sides of the sagging joists. Remove the acros, allow the floor to settle for a day or two then reseal. A few hundred quid and a days work.
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