Bathstore shower screen problems

[chriselevate]

Hi,

As some of you know I've had problems with my Bathstore Atlas shower screen fixed above the bath at my house. Here's the screen....

http://www.bathstore.com/_application/bathstore/products/showers/bath-screens/

I've recently re-fitted the screen as it was only screwed to the tiles (and these were cracking) so I've fitted a batton to the wall, re-plastered and re-tiles. It now looks like this.....



The problem is that where the metal hinge is the screen seems to be leaking.

Does anyone have this screen or had any experience with any of bathstore products. I'm going to phone technical support tomorrow to see if they know what the problem is. I've taken some pics so you can see what I'm faced with...

 

[jefoss]

if its leaking through the shower door maybe you havent fitted it back correctly?

 

[chriselevate]

It's always had problems to be honest.

Just wondered if anyone knew the door and any tricks to try with it.

It's seems a pretty bad design to be honest because the tension on the seal really isn't up to much at all.

 

[dextrous]

Am glad that you got that timber in place to screw into without too much difficulty.

Are you saying that the screen leaks through the hinges (as in where the screws go through the glass) or along the vertical seal?

 

[jefoss]

tighten it up as much as you can and maybe get some clear silicone to go around it, should stop the leak

 

[chriselevate]

It's definately not the hinges and I don't think it's the seal that runs all the up the metal fixing... but... to be hoenst that could do with being a bit bigger bit or rubber to make it seal better.

I think the water is getting out along the bottom of the seal right in the corner where it's near the metal post.

 

[dextrous]

Yep, this is a fairly common weak spot with bath screens. Check with the suppliers, but don't hold your breath.

It looks like the seal at the bottom of the glass is doing it's usual thing of pushing the vertical seal and creating a gap, through which water can pass. If you can, slide the bottom seal along a tiny bit so that it doesn't compress the vertical seal, and see what happens.

 

[chriselevate]

Thanks!

Yeah I thought about that.... I'm just going to take a closer photo so you can see what I'm working with. I'm probably missing a little bit of silicone on it too.... might have to apply a bit more.

Photos to follow on next post.

Thanks again Dex!

 

[dextrous]

A tiny bead of clear silicon around the outside of the bottom of that metal post wouldn't do any harm

 

[dextrous]

Am off to bed - hopefully we can get closer to sorting this out tomorrow, 'cos I suspect it is really starting to irritate you, and you just want to get on with your life

 

[chriselevate]

You're dead right!

It's been no shower since last Tuesday now! And I've spent a fortune on tiling equipment etc! Don't worry it'll only be used when I re-fit the ensuite in our master bedroom! lol

Here are the pics.... you'll notice that the bottom rubber flap is pushing against the vertical rubber seal like you suggest to change. I've tried it both ways so far and it's not much different either way. But I'm sure you'll say I need more silicone on the metal bar anyway =)

Cheers

Here's the pics...

 

[chriselevate]

Spoke to bathstore technical dept and they said a few things....

1. The item is only a screen and not a shower enclosure.... therefore it's not supposed to stop water just stop spray and dips.
(couldn't believe they said this... the thing cost us nearly £300!!!)
2. They said that all the base (where the metal meets the bath) should be siliconed execpt for the inside. They said that water will inevitably get into the metal fixing and requires an escape back into the bath. Making sure that there's silicon behind the bottom of the fixing and the tiles too.
(fair enough)

So I've done all the suggested... i.e. removed the screen (for the third time now!) I got rid of all of the old silicone (which was only 1 day old! I use the H3 silicone removed stuff and scrapped and scrapped for about an hour to get it all off!) and applied the new fix of silicone.

Doing what they said has now solved part of the problem. It's now stopped the water coming out of the metal fixing and running down the back of the bath. The only problem now is that the water seems to escaping in between the vertical seal and horizontal seal.

I've tried pusing the horizontal one right along to the hinge and I've tried pulling it away from the hinge (i.e. both extreme of positioning) and it leaks less with it right up against the hinge, but it still leaks quite a bit.

Going on my previous pictures (bearing in mind that I've not run silicone on the outiside and inside of the hinge and removed it from the inside of the joint).

Any suggestions?

 

[dextrous]

The only thing that comes to mind is to put the screen in position ready for showering and run a bit of silicon at the place where you know, from experience, water will emerge. Let it go off overnight. When you move the screen, it may flex this or even "rip" a bit. But when you close the screen again, it should create as perfect a bespoke seal as possible. If it rips too much and looks unattractive, you could try it again, but use a sharp blade to slice through the silicon to create a neater finish and allow for some movement. I'd use clear sanitary silicon for this, to match the seal already on the glass.

Beyond this, I can't really think of any other solution. Maybe someone else will be able to. But it's been fun trying! Good luck

 

[chriselevate]

Thanks for suggestion Dextrous!

Anyone got any other suggestions? ANyone actually got this screen or seen it etc?

It's such a pain!!!

 

[dextrous]

Actually, I've never tried this but have read about it - put a bit of sellotape on one surface (say the metal upright where the bath meets the shower and run it onto the bath rim itself a little), and grease it with something. Then squirt a dollop of sealant onto it, close the screen and let it go off. When you open it, the sealant will have adhered to the seal ath the bottom of the screen, but not to the tape, which you can then remove. Thus you should have created a pretty good bespoke seal.

Just a final thought on the matter.

Am a bit surprised at the attitude of the tech boys about what they consider a screen for. Since it does not prevent water escaping from the splashes from the shower, one does have to question whether the design is fit for purpose, and maybe you should consider having one of their technicians come round to give his view on why it is failing to do the job which they are saying it is meant to do before you do any of those silicon suggestions I've made, which will have modified the fitting and given them a get out clause.