shower reseal

tinner777

hi,
how much should i expect to pay someone to reseal my shower?
Have done it myself a few times but the leak comes back after a few weeks.

I wouldn't be the best at diy :rolleyes:

Bull76

Hi,

Just been re-sealing both my bath and shower. Preperation is the key here. I don't know the condition of your shower or the leak? How long is the shower installed. Alot of showers leak at the waste or u-bend on the shower. Due to insufficient glue been used on the pipes. I'm assuming it's possible leaking into downstairs room? You really need to find out where the leak is coming from.
What I ended up doing was remove all the sealant and clean up the area. Then got a very good sealant, put down a bead and worked it into the edge. Then allowed it to setup, 24hrs. Then I applied beading, but put down a large bead of sealant around the shower tray, applied liberal amount of sealant then to the back of the bead and pushed it into place. Of course I had cut the beads to size with no sealant in place.
Allowed it to set and it's done. Thats just mine.

Bull76

Joey the lips

With all my time in bathrooms I have not very often seen a shower reseal work. 2 reasons

1. The leak down stairs is a result of a failed seal which has caused damage

2. That damage usually involves plasterboard behind the tile which has turned to mush.

First you need to figure where the leak is as above and then we can figure a solution.

tinner777

hi lads,

thanks for your replies. Have tested waste pipe, poured water straight down it and no leak that is. i think shower tray moves and breaks seal? would that be common? whats best way to sort?

Bull76

tinner777 wrote: »

hi lads,

thanks for your replies. Have tested waste pipe, poured water straight down it and no leak that is. i think shower tray moves and breaks seal? would that be common? whats best way to sort?

Hi,

Just pouring water down the waste pipe isn't sufficient at testing the waste pipe. Really need to cap it at the outlet and fill the pipe back up to the shower tray. That way you'll test all the fittings and any connections.
As for a shower tray moving shouldn't really if it was installed correctly. Shower tray when installed should be bedded on a mix of cement so as to hold it and prevent any movement, besides they are heavy and shouldn't move either way.

Can you explain how you are sealing around the shower tray and where it is located?

Bull76.

tinner777

Bull76 wrote: »

Hi,

Just pouring water down the waste pipe isn't sufficient at testing the waste pipe. Really need to cap it at the outlet and fill the pipe back up to the shower tray. That way you'll test all the fittings and any connections.
As for a shower tray moving shouldn't really if it was installed correctly. Shower tray when installed should be bedded on a mix of cement so as to hold it and prevent any movement, besides they are heavy and shouldn't move either way.

Can you explain how you are sealing around the shower tray and where it is located?

Bull76.

hi,

i cant physically see shower tray moving but sealant lifting a bit from shower tray. Shower is in a upstairs bathroom. Have been using unibond bathroom sealant, one in a pressurized can.

Joey the lips

tinner777 wrote: »

hi,

i cant physically see shower tray moving but sealant lifting a bit from shower tray. Shower is in a upstairs bathroom. Have been using unibond bathroom sealant, one in a pressurized can.

If you can see the shower tray moving even slightly you need to reset the tray. There is someting you need to understand about sealents. Sealents come with a movement tolerence, that is the amnount of movememt the sililcone can move without breaking the seal. Anything in a presureised can needs to have a lot of accererlent as such to push it out of the can. this adds a lot more solvent to the silicone meaning it reduces its flexibility and causes it to shrink as it dries.

Most silicones of good quality have a 25% movement that means with a 4mm bead the silicone can move 1mm. with a 8mm bead 2 mm movement. What I am getting at is... If you can see your shower tray moveing you will never seal it. additioanlly stay away from the sealents out of the presurised can in such a crucial place.

From what you are telling us either the tray is moving or the silicone has shrinked. I would bet the tray is moving

Bull76

Hi,

I agree with Joey the lips don't use the pressurised sealant from a can. Get the 3 in 1 repair sealant and a chaulk gun.
I'm assuming everytime your applying the sealant you have removed all the previous sealant, if not you should be.
If the shower tray is moving then you'll need to remove it......Not my first choice.
So you need to re-seal it using a sealant and chaulking gun, also use some beading strips that are used to seal around bath's. There L shape and have a flexible edge top and bottom.
Remove all the previous sealant form around the shower tray. The measure and cut the bath beading for the three edge's. On the two side pieces, cut out a slot so as to allow the beading to sit over the bottom beading piece. Hope you understand what I'm getting at. Then put down a good size bead of sealant, wet a finger and work it into the gap between the tray and tiles. It's easier to work the sealant with a wet finger and it clean's off your finger easily also if wet. Allow this to set for 24hrs. Don't use the shower During this period.
Then Apply another good size bead all the way around the tray again, now with the beading pieces, in a zig zag pattern coat the back of the bead, and ensure to run a bead along the top and bottom of the beading. Then push the beading strip into the sealant. In both corners where you should have beading strip over lap, use sealant and wet finger to nicely shape and cover the join. When finished allow this to setup for 24hrs.
That should rule out your sealant if done correctly. Also it's not expensive to do.
But if it does leak then your into taking stuff out i.e shower tray, tiles...