Tile to shower tray

[mderoy]

I’m going to be installing a 1700x800 shower tray soon and will be tiling to the tray. Before tiling I will tank the walls and use the corner and edge tapes for tanking. Question: do I leave a little gap between the tray and tile? I’ve read that there should be a gap and this gap should not contain grout whatsoever but instead when running the finishing bead of silicone the silicone will push into that gap having a good grab inside as well as being slightly flexible between the tile and tray for any thermal expansion.

Is this the correct way? How big a gap should I leave?

 

[yorksbuilder]

Yes you're on the right track
I put the 2mm tile spacers sideways in between the tiles and the tray. Leaves a 3mm gap

 

[mderoy]

Yes you're on the right track
I put the 2mm tile spacers sideways in between the tiles and the tray. Leaves a 3mm gap

Thank you. What about the 2 internal corners where tiles meet the 90 degree internal corner bends? What’s the best way to do those and does that need siliconing too instead of grout?

 

[yorksbuilder]

Make sure your vertical sections are completely plumb, and tile the 'back wall' of the shower first and then tile up against that for the sides, with a 2mm gap

Some would grout that corner too, I actually usually silicone it with a colour matched silicone, to prevent any movement cracks

 

[foxhole]

I like to seal the tray before and after tiling , helps ensure a good seal .

 

[yorksbuilder]

Thats right, I usually seal tray to backer board with stixall or similar, then add tanking, then tile, then silicone the joint after grouting the rest of the tile grout lines

 

[simplesteve]

+1 for not grouting the ‘tall’ internal corner in the shower. You’ll get a much better seal just siliconing down it.
I also run a silicone bead along the two ‘wall sides’ of the tray before I push it onto the walls.