should a new shower cubicle installation always be tanked?

[shardy]

If you are building a loft conversion and installing a shower cubicle into the new bathroom, is it better to tank the shower area first, and if so what would a reasonable price be in Outer London?
The contract with our loft company only specifies installing bathroom so I think it will be extra to tank the shower area

many thanks in advance

 

[Doggit]

If the shower is done properly, then tanking shouldn't be necessary. It depends on the quality of the job, and how confident you are with the installer. Is it going to be tiled or paneled.

 

[Mike2007]

Most showers will leak eventually, but if the jobs done well that would be a long time. Leaks from traps or along the tile/tray border is most common. Just make sure you use cement board or waterproof plyboard as a background for the cubicle.

 

[bernardgreen]

Showers quickly develop leaks if the wall and floor can move relative to each other. A couple of milli-metres of movement in the floor when a person walks in and out of the shower can be enough to affect the seal between shower tray and wall. The floor of the loft needs to be substantial enough to prevent that.

Tanking does provide an extra layer of protection.

 

[shardy]

Thanks for replies folks.
re confidence in installer, I haven't met him yet, or her of course. Just met the 1st fix team who are good.
My parents shower leaked between tray and tiles. Maybe it was a plastic tray
I will choose a sturdy shower tray which I think will help. We were going to tile. Panels sound convenient but I read they can be hard to clean, so I think the missus prefers tiles.
I will ask them to use hardy backer or some similar product and ask for a price for tanking just to be extra cautious

 

[BigSnoopy01]

in an ideal world its not needed, in the real world its a good practice along with a lipped tray and ensuring there is no floor deflection.

 

[Doggit]

I've only just started to to use plastic panels (10mm - 1mx2.4m), so I can't give long term comments yet, but they're a lot warmer than tiles, and go in much quicker. I'm reluctant to use the composite wood and plastic ones, as Mike2007 is right when he says that most will leak eventually, and it only takes a slight leak, and reckon they'll start to blow. I take out the wooden floor, and drop in P5 T&G chipboard to get things as stable as possible, and whilst I used to use lipped trays, I now put a 3mm spacer under the panels, and then use CTI sealant (as it has very good flexible properties) to seal the gap.

Time will tell on my new system, and any comments will be well appreciated.

 

[shardy]

I'd never heard of CTI sealant Doggit, I wonder if that can be used between tiles and shower tray? I did think about plastic panels but the ones I found online were really expensive, I think around £600-700 hundred for the shower area, though I suppose you save time or money on the tiling. I did read that tiles were easier to clean than panels but thinking about it, with panels there is no mouldy grout to worry about

 

[Doggit]

I assume you're talking about the gap at the bottom of tiles, just above the shower tray - which is where I put the spacers to allow the sealant to go. I found a local supplier that was doing the panels for £50 each, and they're not perfect (slightly out at the top) but they cut nicely using a plunge saw on a rail, and they were a good choice to have a go and learn on. You get mold on both grout, and sealant, and the trick is to lean how to deal with it. With grout, I use an Ferm oscillating saw with a grout blade - which takes about 10 minutes to do a shower cubicle - and silicone sealant remover to take out the grubby sealant, but that actually takes longer to do. The shower looks as good as new after a couple of hours renovation.

 

[shardy]

bargain panels Doggit. I bought some grout sealer from Topps Tiles. they reckon that will keep mold at bay