Leaking shower tray - water coming through ceiling underneath.

[denmachan]

Hi all.

my son has recently bought a house, and when he has been getting a shower, a water leak has been dripping through the kitchen ceiling underneath.

We have removed the access panels on the sides of the tray and can see that it has been mounted on a stud frame. When the shower runs, I could see water dripping from behind the silicone sealant, where the tray meets the wall.

I removed all of the sealant, and before I resealed it, I noticed that when he was standing in the shower, it was flexing in the corner by a couple of mm. I'm guessing that this has been the cause of the sealant failure.

To combat this, I bought some adjustable feet and put them under the area where the shower tray is flexing. It's now solid, so I resealed it at this point.

Left it for 24 hours, and tried running the shower again. When I looked at where it was previously leaking, this has now stopped!

However, I have read that the inside of the enclosure should NOT be sealed, and that the gap at the bottom of the enclosure strut should allow water to flow back into the shower tray. The problem is, if I point the shower to the corner of the enclosure, where the strut meets the wall, then water drips through from underneath the tray. Additionally, if I remove the cap at the top of the enclosure strut and pour water directly in, then it just goes straight through to the floor.

Surely the answer would be to just seal the inside of the strut so water cant get through?

That's what I've done anyway. I'd appreciate any advice. I'm guessing that the enclosure may have been installed incorrectly, but I'm just trying to stop the thing leaking. Surely a barrier of silicone will just keep any water INSIDE the enclosure, rather than giving it a route to the floor via the enclosure strut? do I have any other option?

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[terryplumb]

It's the wall Chanel ,behind it where it meets the tray AND the wall ,that you need to effectively seal. The area that you can't see ,or seal ,when the wall Chanel is fixed in position.

 

[denmachan]

Is that the little gap at the bottom of the enclosure strut? Thanks.

 

[terryplumb]

Is that the little gap at the bottom of the enclosure strut? Thanks.

No idea what you mean by a strut.
The enclosure is fixed to the wall ,and where the vertical chanel meets the tray it has to be sealed ,behind it / to the wall ( tiles ) ,and the tray.

 

[denmachan]

Hi Terry, apologies for my ignorance! What I mean by the strut is the bit that's actually attached to the wall. It has a cap on top of it, and if i pour water in there it just runs directly down and to the floor. I'm guessing it shouldn't do this!

If I seal the inside vertically down the inside of the channel (which i have done) then I'm hoping this will keep the water from entering the vertical channel, and therefore prevent the water from having a route to the floor, as the barrier of silicone will keep the water inside the tray? Do you think this will work? I don't think actually removing the enclosure is an option at the moment. As long as the leak stops, I'll be happy, even if the method isn't 100% 'by the book' so to speak!

 

[terryplumb]

Sealing inside the wall Chanel will not stop water getting behind it ,inbetween
The wall Chanel / tiled wall and tray.
Why do you think ,when water is poured down into the wall Chanel ,it appears below the tray ?
It's because there is no sealant where I have described.
Picture this... Tray is fitted in place ,no silicone ,then the shower enclosure is fitted on top of the tray. Then silicone is applied all around the tray / to tiled wall. Can you now picture where there is no silicone ?

 

[denmachan]

Sealing inside the wall Chanel will not stop water getting behind it ,inbetween
The wall Chanel / tiled wall and tray.
Why do you think ,when water is poured down into the wall Chanel ,it appears below the tray ?
It's because there is no sealant where I have described.
Picture this... Tray is fitted in place ,no silicone ,then the shower enclosure is fitted on top of the tray. Then silicone is applied all around the tray / to tiled wall. Can you now picture where there is no silicone ?

I think I am understanding now! You mean that the silicone around the shower tray should have been applied first, BEFORE the vertical channel was fitted to the wall? In my case, the vertical channel has been has been fitted before ANY silicone sealant has been applied, meaning that there is NO sealant directly behind the vertical channel?

This makes sense, and it obviously hasn't been fitted properly originally. Thanks for the explanation - it's really helped me understand the root cause of the problem.

So there is no silicone directly BEHIND the vertical channel, so am I correct in my assumption that my only option (other than actually removing the enclosure) is to apply silicone vertically down the channel on the inside, and horizontally at the bottom? I know this isn't ideal, but it should prevent the leak, surely? If the water doesn't have any way of getting inside the vertical channel, then there won't be any issues with leaks, will there? I REALLY don't fancy removing the enclosure!

Thanks.

 

[terryplumb]

Eureka ,I think you have grasped it !!
You may be lucky ,by siliconing inside the enclosure ,the full height of the wall Chanel ,down to the tray. In my experience ,if water can find a way out it will.
Try it and see ,but there is no substitute for doing it properly.
Good luck.

 

[denmachan]

Eureka ,I think you have grasped it !!
You may be lucky ,by siliconing inside the enclosure ,the full height of the wall Chanel ,down to the tray. In my experience ,if water can find a way out it will.
Try it and see ,but there is no substitute for doing it properly.
Good luck.

Thanks Terry, I've given it a go with the silicone, so I'll see what happens. It DOES irk me that I'm not doing it 'by the book' and I can't believe that the original bathroom fitter didn't seal the tray before fitting the enclosure! However, thanks to you I now understand whats going on, and I'll keep my finers crossed that my (admittedly amateurish) attempt at a repair has worked!

Thanks again for the advice - its much appreciated!

 

[terryplumb]

Your welcome mate. It may have been siliconed ,maybe badly ,or its failed. Silicone can come adrift ,especially if the tray has been subject to movement.

 

[denmachan]

Hi again Terry, not sure if you will see this, but you were right. The shower tray is leaking from exactly where you said it would, still. It's only drops and only really when the shower head is pointed to the corner of the shower, but nevertheless it's not watertight and needs sorting.

It looks like I'll have to remove the enclosure like you said, but I'm not sure how? There doesn't appear to be any visible screws, but it looks like there are thin decorative strips that snap into the vertical channels, and I'm guessing if I remove them then I'll find screws.

Anyway, if you DO happen to see this, any advice would be gratefully accepted! You were 100% right before, so your judgement is sound in my book! Cheers.

 

[terryplumb]

Hi ,some enclosures have a decorative chrome trim that clips in and hides the screws. Get up high ,looking down into the wall Channel you should be able to prise it off from the top to get a start.

 

[denmachan]

Brilliant, Thank you! I'll give it a go next weekend, Cheers!