Shower Screen Sealing

Anoneemoose

I recently posted about a leaky bath/shower and I’m going to be removing and replacing the current stuff. 

One thing I’m not sure of is this bit with the hinged shower screen. It currently had sealant all the way around it and I’ve learned that it should only be sealed on the outside otherwise it can contribute to leaking. What I’m unsure is where to put the sealant on the outside. Should it go just where the blue line is, or up to the red line or not at all in either of those places? 

Thanks, as usual, for any help you can give. 

JohnB47

I'm not sure about that advice about sealing only on the outside. Seems odd to me. I would always seal on the inside and never on the outside. Otherwise you're surely just creating a void, on the inside, for water to collect and go mouldy.

In my experience there is always a slight leak around the point where the flexible seal at the bottom of the rotating part of the  shower screen, where it  meets the fixed part ( the cylindrical part on the left hand side of your picture). Perhaps that's  where your leak occurs and it's just tracking along under the fixed parts? 

Anyway, I would apply sealant on the inside around the bottom edge of both red and blue areas.

Edit: also look about for flexing of the bath. It doesn't look like that corner is very well supported. The shower screen is almost certainly fixed to the wall but the bath is sitting on the floor. They could be moving apart when someone is in the bath/ shower. If you're handy, perhaps a bit of wood tucked tightly up under that bath corner and screwed to the wall before sealing would do the trick.

EssexExile

The instructions for my shower screen advise only sealing on the outside. Then if any water gets inside the metal sections it will drain into the shower, not onto the floor.

Anoneemoose

EssexExile said:

The instructions for my shower screen advise only sealing on the outside. Then if any water gets inside the metal sections it will drain into the shower, not onto the floor.

Thank you. I don’t suppose the instructions tell you where to put the sealant do they?!😁

Anoneemoose

JohnB47 said:

I'm not sure about that advice about sealing only on the outside. Seems odd to me. I would always seal on the inside and never on the outside. Otherwise you're surely just creating a void, on the inside, for water to collect and go mouldy.

In my experience there is always a slight leak around the point where the flexible seal at the bottom of the rotating part of the  shower screen, where it  meets the fixed part ( the cylindrical part on the left hand side of your picture). Perhaps that's  where your leak occurs and it's just tracking along under the fixed parts? 

Anyway, I would apply sealant on the inside around the bottom edge of both red and blue areas.

Edit: also look about for flexing of the bath. It doesn't look like that corner is very well supported. The shower screen is almost certainly fixed to the wall but the bath is sitting on the floor. They could be moving apart when someone is in the bath/ shower. If you're handy, perhaps a bit of wood tucked tightly up under that bath corner and screwed to the wall before sealing would do the trick.

Thank you. There is some wood around the bath that’s attached to the wall in various places - and there’s some in that corner too. It does seem secure. I’ll check to see what happens when there’s body weight in it though. 

Your answer about sealing on the inside has confused things! Maybe I’ll try both ways and see which is best.😂

JohnB47

Anoneemoose said:

JohnB47 said:

I'm not sure about that advice about sealing only on the outside. Seems odd to me. I would always seal on the inside and never on the outside. Otherwise you're surely just creating a void, on the inside, for water to collect and go mouldy.

In my experience there is always a slight leak around the point where the flexible seal at the bottom of the rotating part of the  shower screen, where it  meets the fixed part ( the cylindrical part on the left hand side of your picture). Perhaps that's  where your leak occurs and it's just tracking along under the fixed parts? 

Anyway, I would apply sealant on the inside around the bottom edge of both red and blue areas.

Edit: also look about for flexing of the bath. It doesn't look like that corner is very well supported. The shower screen is almost certainly fixed to the wall but the bath is sitting on the floor. They could be moving apart when someone is in the bath/ shower. If you're handy, perhaps a bit of wood tucked tightly up under that bath corner and screwed to the wall before sealing would do the trick.

Thank you. There is some wood around the bath that’s attached to the wall in various places - and there’s some in that corner too. It does seem secure. I’ll check to see what happens when there’s body weight in it though. 

Your answer about sealing on the inside has confused things! Maybe I’ll try both ways and see which is best.😂

Ok, it seems the bath is well supported on that corner, which is good. I understand  what  the manufacturer is saying about sealing on the outside but this assumes their product isn't well sealed above on the inside. I'd still go for sealing on the inside primarily though but do what you think is best. The fixed parts of my  shower screen are siliconed outside and inside and it seems ok for many years.

droopsnoot

Mine is sealed on both sides, to me it seems wrong to only seal on the outside. Mine is a shower cubicle on a base rather than above a bath, but it would seem better to stop the water getting under the edge of the screen in first place, as well as the outer seal for anything that gets past the inner one.

Anoneemoose

droopsnoot said:

Mine is sealed on both sides, to me it seems wrong to only seal on the outside. Mine is a shower cubicle on a base rather than above a bath, but it would seem better to stop the water getting under the edge of the screen in first place, as well as the outer seal for anything that gets past the inner one.

The thinking behind it is capillary action, which I understand means that as water will flow to the place of least resistance, if the sealant is there, it has the potential to leak over the top. Whereas if it’s not there, it will flow into the bath/shower tray. And the sealant on the outside will stop anything getting out. (Sorry if that’s not the best explanation - I understand it in my head but can’t always articulate well). 

But the more I read, the more confused I am!😂 It’s currently sealed all the way around and has been ok (I think) so maybe I’ll put it all the way round again and see how it goes. 

Grenage

I believe it's pretty normal for screen instructions to say that you only seal the outside.

Our current house was sealed on both and it used to get manky pretty quickly.  The water builds up inside the trim.

It depends on the screen, but generally you seal anything that doesn't move, and only on the outside.