Leaking shower shelf

[Halloween Jack]

Hi folks,

I've had the bathroom done. The builders made an alcove in the shower:

But it leaks badly though the floor and through the kitchen's extractor fan so I need to seal it properly.

Do you think I just need to apply sealant or something over the grout in there?

Or should it have a slope outwards? Currently I think that edge is holding the water in place.
I wondered if I should do something like put a very slightly tilted piece of glass in there and seal the edges.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Gah, what a mess! They should have fitted one of these: https://www.tileexperience.co.uk/sc...ggInDbbMB70piBbxPYRPp7fWFcYx7D1EaAgCVEALw_wcB

Anything else is destined to fail. I would fit one retrospectively or block it up and tile over it.

 

[Halloween Jack]

Oh that looks so much better. I think retro fitting one might be beyond my skills though

And we can't afford to get it done properly now.

Is there nothing I can do to seal it better? It's not in direct flow of water, it's just when someone accidentally points the shower head at it.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Better off in the tiling section of the forum TBH do you know what was used to form the box, is it a stud partition or external wall? Are all the tiles sound or are any loose? I would rake out the grout and silicone the lot as a temporary fix.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Or as a really crude but effective fix you could stick a bit of plastic sheet over it with some silicone.

 

[pilsbury]

Water has a habit of finding any weak spot. I think short of siliconing the hell out of every joint, which will probably look a mess, you’ll still get leaks.

If it were me, I’d get some new tiles (you won’t need many 8-10), some hardie board, fetch off the cut tiles, patch in the board and tile over to make the wall flat.

 

[^woody^]

Jeez who did the homely work, some guys fresh out of Strangeways?

Perhaps siliconing the joints and having a slight slope on the shelf would be an idea.

Don't pick up the soap.

 

[John D v2.0]

Oh dear it needed to be pretty much tanked before the tiles went on, with a good fall towards the shower. You'd be better off getting a roofer than a builder on that, dealing with water runoff is their job
Personally I'd silicone all round and hope for the best, then when it fails tiling over it

 

[Halloween Jack]

Thanks guys

Personally I'd silicone all round and hope for the best, then when it fails tiling over it

I can see this happening

I have to keep it, it's really useful and only leaks when the shower head gets pointed in there.

I'll try silicon and maybe angled plastic.

Cheers

 

[Ian H]

I made one and put a tiny bit of clear silicone round the edges and over the joints on the bottom bit. It doesn't leak but it does get stacked with enough shampoo to wash your hair for a year.