Help needed please with leaky bath nightmare!!

minibbb

I was hoping for some help regarding my nightmare bathroom! I moved into my flat two years ago and paid a local plumber to fit the bathroom suite. I had a bath fitted with an electric shower over it. The walls were fully tiled, directly onto plasterboard which I do not believe was pre treated in any way.

Ever since the bath was installed water has leaked down the back of the bath, below the shower. I’d see water trickling down the wall after each shower! (the bath panel was not on at the time)

The silicon bead between the bath and the tiles kept breaking and it seemed that the bath wasn’t adequately supported so the plumper wedged in some wooden supports and resealed it. The leak kept returning even though the silicon looked fine. Eventually the plumber announced that the water was leaking from behind the tiles!!

A different tiler turned up and re-grouted at a cost of £200 and for a couple of months all was fine and I was even able to fit the bath panel at long last!

Unfortunately I have since looked behind the panel and have seen that the leak has returned!

Im soon to have the electric shower removed and replaced with a mixer as I now have gas in the property! At the same time, my new plumber has agreed to sort out the mess I’ve been left with. I’ve been quoted £780 by him to remove the bath, make good the walls (im assuming replacing any rotten plasterboard with aquaboard) and to pay his tiler to re-tile. Im supplying the shower/tiles. He initially wanted just to remove the tiles at the end of the bath where the shower is however I’ve asked him to remove all of the tiles around the bath as I want to make sure that the wall is sorted and also as im sure all of the tiles will need to be replaced anyway to match as the bottom layer are bound to get broken when the bath is removed. I asked him about tanking but he didn’t seem think that this was necessary?

The bath is a 1600mm with boxing at one end, should I be going for a 1700 and digging it into the walls for a better chance of a leak free bath? What else can I do to ensure that this is sorted once and for all?

Im also getting rid of the four panel folding glass shower screen, that thing is a leak nightmare in itself!!

Any help/suggestions most gratefully received!

Igol

Grout isnt waterproof so the regrouting wouldnt have made a whole lot of difference, odd that the tiler neglected to impart that bit of info!
I use a smear of clear silicon on the grout lines so that it wont show and gives the water a chance to evaporate.
If the water was trickling down the walls what are your floor boards like??

minibbb

Why on earth isnt grout waterproof?! Surely thats a recipe for disaster!

The floor is tongue and groove chipboard, luckily I dont think its too soft.....yet!

Wookey

Butt the bath in tight to the wood in your stud wall, make sure there is some bridging (3" x 1 1/2") put in between the studs so the bath is uptight against it, once thats done fill the bath with water strip of and get in it ( 15gallons of water is 150lb and a 13st man will give you well over 300lbs) and then seal along the edge of the bath onto the wood with silicone, do this before any plasterboard etc is added. Once the wall boards have been added and fitted down on to the top of the bath seal it again. The best silicone seals are the ones you can't see, if you end up resorting to surface seals with silicone you are fighting a loosing battle as use/cleaning etc will wear it away, it will also tend to go dirty looking leading to more cleaning.

minibbb

Blimey Wookey,

That souns impressive! I weigh 14 stone so it should work out extra well!!

Will it not be a problem about there being no plasterboard beneath the bath? Im guessing I only need to do this on the shower end?

Cheers matey!

minibbb

oh btw, if I do this (which I will ask the plumber to as its sounds great), will the wall effectively stick out half an inch further? Just wondering as I'll have to move the coving if so!

allan673

have you got spare tiles or can you get ones to match what you already have?

it wont leak with the bath resessed into the wall, thats how mine is. ive had no leaks at all.
the main problem is that your bath hasnt been fitted correctly to be honest. any descent plumber will ensure the bath is rock solid and secure, then fill with water and seal with silicone and leave for 24hrs. its common practise.

Tucker

I fitted my bath using 3 x 2 inch batons strapped to the stud wall around the 3 sides as well as being sat on the legs, so it's sat rock solid and won't drop when full of water or heavy weight bathers!! No need to worry about filling the bath before sealing or it dropping and splitting the seal.

Seal with GOOD Quality silicon. Tile having prepared the plaster board with Bal primer or similar (some experts advise against pva, despite this being common practice), then seal again with good silicon.

I used several poor 'own brand' silicons on my shower. They lasted a few months then failed. I ended up using Evo-Stik Serious Stuff and it's by far the best I've used and has stood the test of time. It's not cheap, but once on it stays bonded and really won't let water behind.

minibbb

Thanks guys, some great suggestions there! I'll be telling all this to my plumber, dont want to teach him to suck eggs but want it done properly at last!

Igol

Why grout isnt waterproof, I cant answer I'm afraid, but if you do a search on wetrooms then the same warning will keep coming up.
I'd be a bit more concerned about the chipboard floor and whats underneath it if its been getting soaked for years there may be a suprise in store for you if you dont check its sound.
My old shower was leaking from the trap for years without my knowledge. I replaced the whole suite this year and found that there were 2 rotten floorboards to renew and a joist that wouldnt have taken many more years of damp.

Tucker

You can apply a penetrating grout sealer, which soaks into the grout and repels any moisture.

It also prevents the grout turning pink from soaps and shampoo's.