Siliconing question - shower door

[z00ber1979]

Hi All.

Back again to ask the good people here for some advice. Thanks all for the time and effort that goes into making this such a helpful environment.

Just had an en-suite (almost) finished. Plumber was fine in most respects but came up short in others. He was occasionally feeding me nonsense and I thought for a time that he was just a bit odd but now I’m wondering if he just doesn’t know certain things.

He’s placed the shower door frame right up flush against where the tiles finish. Same wall, so full height tiles above the tray, then trim, then painted wall. There is literally 1mm between the frame and the tile edging trim. I’m of the understanding that there should be a bead of silicone on the outside of the frame and that the inside should be left clear to allow drainage back into the tray rather than to the outside of the enclosure. He’s adamant that silicone should be on the inside, and that any on the outside is for aesthetics. I’m going to assume that he’s wrong, unless anyone has another opinion?

Trouble is, there’s no room to put a bead down the outside. My plan is to put the smallest line of silicone down between the shower frame and tile trim, do the inside too to keep the worst out but leave 10mm free at the bottom to allow for drainage. The bottom of the screen is fine, that’ll be sound, it’s just the frame that’s the problem. Will post a photo later. Any thoughts?

 

[denso13]

Follow the manufacturer's instruction, but generally on the outside only.

The enclosure should be fitted on top of the tiles.

 

[z00ber1979]

The instructions are to silicone outside, but the plumber has left insufficient room. Please see photo. Just looking for some ideas on how to get around it

 

[z00ber1979]

Dare I try and squeeze a bead of clear silicone into the tiny gap?

 

[denso13]

I would, it won't take much down the sides

 

[Mottie]

I’ve fitted two different shower screens to my bathroom and at this very moment I’m fitting my third. The first two said to apply a bead of silicone to the rear of the wall mounting frame before screwing it to the wall. The current one says to apply a bead of clear silicone to the outside edge only of the mounting frame. I’m just going to follow those instructions.

 

[Pete the Feet]

This will explain why the silicon on the inside of my shower frame goes mouldy. It shouldn't be there. Next time it needs replacing, I will just silicon the outside.