Broken tile in shower enclosure

[robbbe]

Hi,

Wonder if anyone can help. I have recently had a new shower cubicle installed (the full monty - new shower tray/tiles/shower door etc). However when the shower door was fitted one of the tiles at the bottom of the enclosure developed a long reasonably wide crack after about 3 days, presumably from the opening and closing of the door as the crack was just beside one of the screwholes for the door fitting. The big problem is the tile has the shower door either side, which means that will have to come off to fix, and it is also both above and below the seal on the shower tray, which means that will also have to come up. I know that when I ask him he will try to tell me that just grouting or sealing the gap will suffice, but not only will it look funny (the tile is cream in colour) but I would also be worried about water leakage over time. Can someone assure me I am not over-reacting, and that it should be replaced, regardless of the hassle involved?

Thanks

Rob

 

[2scoops0406]

I think you know the answer already, yes it should be replaced. Regardless of the additional amount of work this entails, grouting / sealing is simply a botch.

BTW, hello again everyone, been on my hols to north cornwall !!

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

I have managed sucessfully to remove a cracked tile in the position you mention by chopping it out carefully, pump in some mastic to seal any gaps and then sliding in two peices of tile, one from one side and one from the other with the joint hiding behind the enclosure frame, you may need to remove the mastic along one side of the tray so the mastic run is in one peice when finished.

 

[robbbe]

Thanks Lads,

Spoke to the plumber/builder yesterday and they didnt make too much of a fuss, they are going to replace the whole tile, thankfully, regardless of the mess and work, they didnt even try it on. I suppose these days, when everyone seems to look to use the easy way out, it was a shock to find someone who didnt need persuading to do it the right way. Cheers for your comments,

Rob