Leaking shower seal help please

[dgki]

Does anyone know whether Teleseal or Shower Seal work?

I have had a walk in shower installed and despite builder returning on three occasions to replace silicone seal we still experience leaks through the ceiling below.

I'm pretty sure the problem is the seal between the wall and shower tray and to an extent the seal at the corners of the walls. The builder's unsatisfactory solution is to keep replacing the silicone sealant but I am looking for a longer lasting (if not permanent) solution and feel I would get a better result if I did it myself!

Thanks in advance

 

[RigidRaider]

What a nightmare! We recently bought a 15 year old house with the same problem, it had leaked from day 1 and the ceiling below was powder, the joists rotten and stinking. God knows how the surveyor missed it.

It is difficult to seal a shower tray permanently with silicon. Did the builder at least fit a tray with an upstand, that's a lip around the back?

How is your relationship with the builder? What if you were to tell him that the job needs doing again, properly, from scratch, with an upstand and using shower boards? These come as a kit with a sealing system.

 

[Belle427]

could be due to the movement of the tray on the wooden floor,does it feel pretty sturdy?

 

[dgki]

Thanks for the replies.

My relationship with the builder not bad YET, but now have lost confidence in his ability to do a better job hence question about sealant kits.

The shower tray feels solid and is good quality. The leaks initially happened if someone was having a long shower or had the shower head on the "power" setting. However now it leaks every time.

I think first I will try one of the products I mentioned in my question with plenty of quality silicone. I understand the secret is to remove old sealant and clean well with meths before applying shower sealing strip. If unsucessful it's back to the builder -again.

Wish me luck!

 

[CamperPete]

You sure the leak is from the shower tray?

It's possible it could be getting behind the tiles or even the shower unit itself if the seal isn't good.

I'd try re-grouting all the tiles and reseal around the shower unit to eliminate these as a cause.

 

[RigidRaider]

You'll go on fiddling about for years but the leak will keep coming back.

My inclination would be to invite the builder round for a chat. Take a firm but businesslike stand and tell him you want it redone. Be prepared to accept a compromise but insist you want it done properly. He will probably be as relieved as you to find a solution to an irritating problem.

For example we recently bought a wool lounge carpet, which began pilling after a few weeks in wear areas. We thought this was unsatisfactory so, to cut short a very long story involving inspectors and letters, we wrote to the retailer suggesting that they paid to move the carpet to a less-used dining room of slightly smaller size and then installed free of charge a new carpet in the lounge, which we would buy from them. They were happy to agree because they saw we were trying to be reasonable and they would get a sale from it. We planned to carpet the dining room anyway so it's no skin off our noses.

 

[gcol]

The first step would be to point the shower only at the seal and see if it still leaks. If so, your builder can't use silicone. My bet is though, water is getting behind the tiles somewhere and is running down the back of them. Are we talking about a few drips or a torrent? If you knock the tiles with your knuckles, do they sound firm or hollow? Have you siliconed the shower enclosure/door properly?

 

[joe-90]

Are you sure that the waste isn't leaking?

 

[r896neo]

Gcol sounds on the right lines to me.

 

[dpsservices]

Gcol sounds on the right lines to me.

true but i always start from the trap them start working my way up

 

[Blasphemous]

Are you sure that the waste isn't leaking?

I agree with Joe. If the ceiling below is knackered anyway, cut out a section of the ceiling about the size of the tray and run the shower. You'll be able to see exactly where it is leaking from. My guess is that the trap isn't coping with the flow for some reason and/or there is a joint leaking.

EDIT: Forget that, just noticed the OP was done in 2006!!!! Why has this been resurrected?

 

[mapoz]

Even though this is an old post I was looking for Teleseal and found this site/thread. I used Teleseal about 4 years ago on my mouldy siliconed shower and thought it worked perfectly. We sold our house and I was trying to remember what it was to install in our renovation. It isn't the prettiest solution, but it did exactly what it said on the box, so to speak, to the point where I'm putting it in again before any problems occur.

 

[MichalRight]

Dear, leaking is the normal problem, in my opinion you need expert plumber.

 

[joe-90]

Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:41 pm