Ideas for sealing cement base on shower tray

djp64

Looking for some suggestions please.

I've had a stone shower tray installed that sits on a bed of light cement / mortar

The floor in the bathroom slopes slightly so at one end of the shower tray this cement / mortar bed is more visible / deeper under the shower tray and cannot be disguised by the vinyl flooring / bead of silicone around the edge of the flooring.

The mortar itself is solid but has a rough surface from the sand.

Any ideas on a trim / finish that could be fixed to the outside bottom edge of the tray and be waterproof that will hide the mortar? Is there a way to seal the mortar base or lightly fill it to improve the adherence of a trim / finish?

Thanks in advance

Debbie

GDB2222

Silicone is ideal. Just make a bigger bead.

djp64

GDB2222 said:

Silicone is ideal. Just make a bigger bead.

Thank you for your suggestion.  At one end around 14mm of the mortar bed is visible.  I'm concerned that a bead large enough to cover that would be unsightly

Jeepers_Creepers

Djp - what height is this gap? Anything up to - ooh - 8mm can be handled quickly and neatly with silicone and rubber tool like this:

No Nonsense Smoothing Tools Straight Joints (92313)

GDB2222

I think a photo might help. 

NSG666

Would something like this do it? Silicone in place then small bead of silicone top and bottom?

Cloaking Fillet uPVC Plastic Architrave Window Door Architrave Trim - 20mm, Agate Grey | Truly PVC

djp64

Thank you all for your comments.  GDB2222 I will take a photo when I'm next at the house.

(I'm renovating it to make it habitable before moving it into it full time so not there at the moment.  I make a list of things I need to do on the next visit.  The shower base is on the list so I try and sort materials etc before I go as the nearest DIY stores a little bit of a trek)

I omitted to mention that the shower base itself is an offset quadrant so the edge that needs sealing is curved.  I considered using the flexible / right angled bath sealing strips but the easing needed around the curve eliminated this an an option.

Jeepers Creepers - thank you for the link to the smoothing tools.  They look like they could come in handy.  The height of the mortar base ranges from just a couple of mm on the level end to @ 14mm as the floor slopes.

NSG666 - that would work with the silicone bead top and bottom.  I'd been looking for something similar but didn't know the right name.  I'm going to look for more cloaking fillet that might be a bit thinner.  At 6mm I don't know how flexible it would be around the curve of the tray.

I'm not sure this will work but here's the manufacturer picture of the tray showing the arc of the curve

 

Jeepers_Creepers

A simple solution - self-adhesive sealing strip, trimmed along its middle as you only need one side, adhered to the shower base with the cut edge touching the floor, and then sili-tooled bead along the floor to seal it there too.

GDB2222

Jeepers_Creepers said:

A simple solution - self-adhesive sealing strip, trimmed along its middle as you only need one side, adhered to the shower base with the cut edge touching the floor, and then sili-tooled bead along the floor to seal it there too.

That might work well. Personally, I’d fill the mortar joint to get a smooth finish, then paint it with gloss paint, to match the tray, then silicone round the bottom. 

Or, just ignore it, altogether! It sounds like you have more urgent work to do.

NSG666

djp64 said:

Thank you all for your comments.  GDB2222 I will take a photo when I'm next at the house.

(I'm renovating it to make it habitable before moving it into it full time so not there at the moment.  I make a list of things I need to do on the next visit.  The shower base is on the list so I try and sort materials etc before I go as the nearest DIY stores a little bit of a trek)

I omitted to mention that the shower base itself is an offset quadrant so the edge that needs sealing is curved.  I considered using the flexible / right angled bath sealing strips but the easing needed around the curve eliminated this an an option.

Jeepers Creepers - thank you for the link to the smoothing tools.  They look like they could come in handy.  The height of the mortar base ranges from just a couple of mm on the level end to @ 14mm as the floor slopes.

NSG666 - that would work with the silicone bead top and bottom.  I'd been looking for something similar but didn't know the right name.  I'm going to look for more cloaking fillet that might be a bit thinner.  At 6mm I don't know how flexible it would be around the curve of the tray.

I'm not sure this will work but here's the manufacturer picture of the tray showing the arc of the curve

 

Yes it will bend around that but you'll need to support it until the silicone has dried unless you use a 'superglue' and 'activator' combination but you've got to get it right first time with glue.

Jeepers_Creepers

I don't know how high this shower base is, but the advantage of a narrow trim is that there will be hopefully enough space between it and the top edge of the tray for the change in angle to not be noticeable.

This one varies by around 12mm, so if the top of the chosen trim is sitting anywhere near the top of the tray, that variation might be noticeable. Mind you, only if looked at from the far end of the bathroom.

There's also the potential for trimming the chosen strip at an angle so it compensates for the slope - gently gently... So, when fitted, the top edge will be parallel with the top of the tray. Any slight wobbles or rough edges from the cut will be against the floor, and then sealed behind a neat small bean of sili.