Shower tray / floor tiling

[juls1522]

Hi I'm new here. Hopefully someone can help me.

Is there some sort of finishing seal that goes where the shower tray meets the floor, (we have tiles), or is it just the grout. The reason I ask is that the floor tiles have been grouted but where it meets the shower tray, it is all cracked and doesn't look finished properly. We had someone fit the bathroom for us and it has only been in for 2 months. The shower was leaking at each corner, where the cubicle meets the wall, we put some sealant where it was missing.

Another question, inside the shower the seal has lifted away for the shower tray not all of it just in parts. Is this because the seal hasn't been done correctly, or any other reason.

Any help very much appreciated.

Also the floor grout isn't the same colour throughout. There was a leak initially from the toilet but this was fixed but not after it had leaked under the tiles. Should the tiles have been lifted and regrouted.

I don't think the guy we got in did a great job, my OH says I'm too picky.

 

[gcol]

Just use silicone to seal to the floor.
Sealant should have been used around the seal between the shower tray and the tiles.
Shower trays usually settle a bit. If you re-seal the tray now, it should last. It might be an idea to get some weight in the tray whilst the sealant goes off. That way the pull on the sealant will be minimised.
The grout should have dried out fine - it'll be water resistant so if it gets wet it'll cope with it. If it's still a different colour, I'd still be looking for a leak. Or has something been spilt on it? Either way, the grout shouldn't need replacing.

 

[juls1522]

Thanks for replying. So the sealant should be used where the shower tray meets with the floor tiles, so it looks finished properly.

I'm just a bit wary of doing this, as I've never done it before. It is relatively easy to do? With the seal coming away inside the shower, how do you prevent that from happening. When I've been cleaning inside the shower, the seal rubs away (I hope that makes sense), and there is no longer a neat line.

Also where my bathroom sink is, the seal there is on the tiles and on the sink, rather than a nice neat line joining the two. Is there some product that can remove this but not remove the seal or would I have to remove the seal and do it again.

Sorry for more questions but hopefully you can help.

 

[gcol]

If you have any silicone seals that are questionable then I'd say remove the lot and redo it properly.
Once you've removed the silicone, give the area a good wipe down with white spirit to degrease it so that the new silicone will stick. Then wipe over with a dry paper towel to make sure all the white spirit is gone.
Get some masking tape (or electrical insulation tape is especially good) and mask off both surfaces just leaving a smallish area where you want the seal. Make sure it's pretty straight and not wavey.
Now run a small bead of sanitary sealant along the joint.
Right now the fun part. Get a paper towel ready in one hand and suck the end of the middle finger of whichever hand you intend to use to smooth the silicone out. Start at one end and run your wetted finger along the bead of silicone. This pushes it into the joint and gives a smooth finish to the sealant as well. Now you know what the paper towel is for, so use it and wipe the excess off your finger.
As soon as you've gone along it with your finger and you're happy that it's pretty smooth, remove the masking tape. You don't want to leave the newly applied silicone masked up for too long cause at the edges of the seal the silicone will be very thin and will go off (set) quite quickly. If you leave it too long before removing teh tape you run the risk of the sealant sticking to the masking tape and the edges of your nice new seal will pull and tear and look terrible.
Don't forget to report back with how you get on. Go get em tiger!

 

[juls1522]

Hi again, thanks for that info. Just another quick probably stupid question. How do you mask round a curved edge, ie. the shower tray and either side of the sink?

 

[gcol]

To mask around a curve, you can either overlap strips of tape to form a curve. Or if you use electrical insulation tape you'll be able to form and stretch the tape with your thumb so that it'll seemlessly go round a corner.

 

[loafer]

dispense with the paper towel altogether and build your own wet suit starting with the arm pits... its ggod fun picking it off and isnt nearly as anti social as picking your nose
good advice gcol

 

[juls1522]

To mask around a curve, you can either overlap strips of tape to form a curve. Or if you use electrical insulation tape you'll be able to form and stretch the tape with your thumb so that it'll seemlessly go round a corner.

Thanks for your help, have done inside the shower again, still to do around the base of the shower tray but will give it a go.

Thanks again.

 

[Moz]

juls1522

for the novice , the DIY sheds sell a cheap sealant tool to make a BOSS neat silicone line finish ,

use a cup of fairy liquid with a drop of water as a finger dip NOT stinking your finger in your mouth ..lol to clean silicon off /paper towels ...

the shower cubicle part , I would say the rubber seals arent adhered to the walls you shouldnt really need silicone there if fitted by a proper bathroom fitter ..lol

silicone there is terrible ... as it looks cheap an tacky ..,

most cubicles can be dismantled an reset ,
if you are handy at diy try it ,
an then blast each section with water ..,
if its still leaking , THEN , take off
an along the rubber seal use a silicone along the rubber seal , an put back , it will be water proof , an no silicone line along where you can see ..
hope this may help