jbryant

Thanks everyone,

The heaviest thing I can find to put in the shower is ME!
Unfortunately I can't sit in there for 24 hours while the thing dries out. When I've done baths and stuff before I've always filled them with water first so this did come to mind but I had no idea what to put in that would weigh the same as a 14.5 Stone fat bastrd!

As baby is coming first at the moment and taken all my time and energy I've done a total bodge job - I found an old shower curtain and literally gaffa taped it to the tiles across the three walls with heavy duty packing tape (tape is labelled Fragile - it looks like a murder crime scene!!!). This is then draped into the shower tray so hopefully no water should leak through what I believe is the dodgy tiling or crappy mastic. If and when baby gives me a few hours then I can look into something more permanent but I have a feeling this won't be soon. At least in the meantime I can stand in the shower and not worry that the floor is about to collapse from under me.

I don't think I'd have much recourse on the building guarantee - Although the partitions are (I believe) all crappy MDF or similar and that is what the tiles will probably have been laid directly on (wouldn't like to look to find out) I'm sure this is pretty standard cheapy solution for most new houses. As I have redone the mastic on several occasions, I'm sure they'd just point the problem at this (and grout isn't a lifetime thing either I suppose - more a long term consumable like the clutches on our cars).

Thanks for all your help and advice. This board really is fantastic!

Now if anyone can tell me how to get a crying baby to sleep

Ta
Joolz


[Edited by jbryant - 9/8/2002 6:46:22 PM]

jbryant

Hi Folks,

I'm not sure if anyone can help me or not - I'm having trouble with my shower cubicle (3 sides tiled wall and 1 side the swing door).

I've re-masticked the base and edges several times over the last year or two, and a couple of times have used 'silicon eater' type products to clear off all the old gunk before reapplying fresh stuff because of these leaks. The shower's now leaking again just 2 weeks after the latest clean application and the fresh matic is coming apart and leaving gaps Starting to drive me mad...

I think that some of the grouting on the tiles looks like it is coming apart (small cracks appearing in grout between the tiles - the house is 5-6 years old now so perhaps this stuff only lasts so long??). Perhaps the water is getting behind the tiles?

What I need to know is this:
Can I just regrout with fresh stuff over the top of the cruddy old stuff or will I have to remove all the old grout first? I am sure removing old grout is a horrid job and if so, many of the tiles may fall off! Maybe the best bet is to re-tile the whole cubicle but this is not something I've tried before so I'm reluctant. What sort of cost would re-tiling a shower cubicle cost if I called in a pro?

Any help or advice appreciated. I know this is not a great topic on a scooby board but I've seen other DIY threads so thought 'Why Not!'

Thanks in advance
Joolz

Alpine

Are you sure it's the tiles around the side that are leaking? Been down this road to find out it was the trap that hadn't been tightened correctly.. Bit of a bummer when you've re-sealed twice...
Just a thought..

Mike P

Hard to say without seeing the problem. However, I'd check the following.

Can you identify exactly where the leak is coming from? If you can direct the shower head against the edge of the cubicle door frame or other suspicious areas and have someone looking at the cubicle from outside then you could localise the fault. Could be a small gap in the mastic, could be seeping under the tiles.

The grout could be cracking for a number of reasons, one I've found is that if you have tiles with unglazed edges (e.g. terracotta) they will draw moisture out of the side of the wet grout as it sets, causing cracking which then lets water penetrate. Solution is to damp the edges of the tiles once the grout is scraped out and make the grout up a bit wetter than normal - takes longer to set but still goes rock hard.

Stupid suggestion - is it waterproof grout?

Scraping out grout is dull work, but so long as you haven't got tiny mosaics then doesnt take too long. You could remove the cracked grout and then use grout whitener on the rest if its structurally sound to spruce it up. It also lets you wobble the tiles to check they are firmly stuck to the wall.

I tiled a 12 ft wall and shower area in our bathroom - took a couple of weekends but we took our time and didn't work long days. It was worth it though - looked better than the job done previously by a bathroom fitter IM(not so)HO. Used shower adhesive and waterproof grout - no leaks after 3 months, so it can be done!

I'll shut up now.

jbryant

Thanks Guys,

It certainly doesn't seem to be the trap - the water is coming down from the edge of the tray so is already above plughole level. I cannot determine exactly where the leaks are as there are walls on three sides and it's a bit hard to get to if you know what I mean. My only indication of a leak is a wet floor!!

Now it seems to be leaking from both sides of the shower. Maybe also the back but I don't know for sure. The mastic I've used, though clearly stating it's flexible, waterproof and suitable for showers, is separating from the basin and also splitting leaving gaps for water to seep through. I've given it 3 days to completely dry after fully removing all mastic from previous attempts.

Whether the grout is waterproof or not I don't know but I would certainly hope so as this is a nearly new Barratt's home . I think the tiles are just normal cheapy bathroom tiles (whatever they can get cheap by the pallettload no doubt).

This is a right pain in the backside as my new baba is only a week old at the moment, and I don't have a great deal of time for DIY, know what I mean!!! Bad timing or what (the shower, not the baby )

Cheers
Joolz

Alpine

My little girl is a little over 5 months old and believe me.. you have no more time coming up either! My advice... use the bath!

chiark

Are your tiles on plaster walls, or on a backboard of chipboard/mdf/some other porous ****e?

If they're on porous wood, you're knackered and need to remove, replace the board with a proper waterproof board and retile.

If your house is 5-6 years old it's covered by NHBC guarantee, isn't it? Sounds like a call to the builders may be worthwhile...

Nick.

12LEE

Worthwhile putting something heavy in the shower tray before you apply the mastic. It's possible that the mastic's splitting after application due to the weight of the person in the shower cube.

kav

I only ever got a decent result using clear mastic. Not as pretty as the white stuff but is does go 'off' really well and forms a good seal.

Have you applied mastic round the joints inside the shower? That's a real no-no. The right way to do it is to seal the outside where the cubicle touches the tray and up the sides against the tiles. First of all, make sure you have a complete seal between the top edges of the tray and the wall. You need to bring the bead right to the forward edge of the tray in a continuous application which will mean taking out the cubicle. Pain in the bum but well worth it. Once that's gone off, put the cubicle back in place. If it's a corner entry job or sliding front between two walls, the cubicle must fix onto the tiles where you can apply mastic on the outside.

Been through this a few times until a plumber showed me how to do it properly and it does work.

Cheers
Kav