water leaking out of shower enclosure

[glasgowm8]

hi

In the picture...where the dark shadowy hole at the shower trackis im 100% sure (by doing water tests) that water is going in there and somehow escaping outside the shower enclosure and coming out onto the floor outside while showering

What is the purpose of that hole where the track is? (Vic plumb shower)

Re fitting the shower enclosure is not an option so can i just seal up this hole with sealant? Surly this hole where the track is serves no purpose whatsoever?

I have no issues with the opposite side...just this

Help!

 

[YorkshireMidge]

It would be useful to see a photo from the other side. I would expect a bead of silicone all the way around the bottom of the frame where it meets the tray. The frame joints aren't water tight. So if, when the frame was fitted, someone just put silicone UNDER the rail you'll get leakage by capillary action.

If you look at the outside of my shower (photo attached), you will see there is evidence of a bit of capillary action on the vertical joints where the base rail meets the main upright, and where the main upright goes into the section attached to the wall (this allows adjustment if the wall is out of true). But because the bead of silicone is there at the bottom, the water is contained.

 

[glasgowm8]

Ive attached a pic of the outside.

But what is the point of that shadowy hole area on the inside of the shower where the trim is....like i cant find a reason for it being there. If water is going in there then surly its not helping?

The water doesnt come out where the silicone is but actually comes out at the bottom right of the pic..where the beige floor trim is
..

 

[YorkshireMidge]

Bear in mind that these shower enclosures arrive in sections and lock together so its common to have holes like that due to the extruded form of the rails - though most enclosures have a shaped bit of rubber/plastic to hide the hole and make it look neater. But the key point is if it's leaking - it's not the fault of that hole and there is another problem. As it is sealed OK on the outside as far as I can see - I'd suggest the most likely explanation is water is working it's way along the underside of the frame to a breach in the sealant where the vertical rail attaches to the wall, and then down the wall behind the trim, emerging at the bottom.

The only other thing you can do before biting the bullet and removing the frame is to check that inside corner where the vertical rail meets wall meets tray. I can only see a little bit of that - but there doesn't look much sealant there.

 

[glasgowm8]

The option of removing the shower is defo not possible....cant afford to do it and dont have the expertise.

The other option you talk of is get rid of what sealant is there in the corner and then reseal with loads of sealant? (Where the black bit of wall meets the white sealant???)

But as a last resort and the easiest solution for me is to seal that hole up where the horizontal rail meets the vertical rail on the inside....theoretically its not the best solutiob but it should work if no water is able to get through there and its the best of a bad situation? I know ur not supposed to seal inside the shower but im out of options which dont include removing showers etc

Thanks for your help so far

 

[bernardgreen]

Be careful that the hole inside the shower is not intended as a drain hole to allow water that has got into the metal work to drain out into the shower basin. Closing that hole may result in water building up in the metal channel and then over flowing out onto the floor of the room.

Shower cubicle designs seem to be a compromise between keeping the water inside the shower and also having the lowest possible edge to step over. And the lower edge but leaky seems to be the most popular designs
.

 

[YorkshireMidge]

@Glagowm8 - no, what I'm saying is the leak may not be where you think it is. It's surprising where water gets to in a shower.

Have a look at my sketch below which I hope shows you how the thing slots together.

1. On your original photo, I can barely see any sealant along this joint. As it's the one you can get to, you should investigate it first and make sure this isn't the problem
2. It looks like there IS a line of sealant up this vertical seam
3. Your nightmare scenario is the U shaped channel which is fixed to the wall wasn't bedded properly in sealant at the bottom/back of it. If that's the case, the frame has to come out.
4. This represents the line of sealant you have outside the enclosure
5. These hidden screws secure the U channel to the wall
6. These look like capped screws which secure the main part of the frame into the U channels - and give you your adjustment if the wall is out of true
7. Just shoving sealant into the hole will probably achieve nothing.

In summary, there should be no gap in the sealant lines 1,2,3,4, or the shower is going to leak. Correct - you shouldn't seal the frame inside the shower as there are so many ways water can get in the frame, it's just gonna sit there and it could make things worse as Bernard has already pointed out.

To remove the frame isn't as bad as you might think. You can get gel that you put on silicone to soften it - so you won't inadvertently damage the aluminium finish or the shower tray with trying to scrape it off.

a) Remove the bottom line of sealant outside the enclosure.
b) Undo those capped screws on the wall U channels inside the shower
c) You should then be able to ease the whole enclosure frame out of the U channels, and you'll probably be able to see what's wrong
d) You may then have to take the affected channel fully off the wall to reseal it properly

 

[coolperson]

@Glagowm8 just wondering what did you eventually do to fix your problem ? I am in a similar situation and just wondering if I have any learnings from that experience..

@YorkshireMidge, Thank you very much for your last post. Its really helpful . May I request you to suggest the name / brand of the gel to put on silicone to soften it...

 

[YorkshireMidge]

@coolperson - most manufacturers who produce silicone sealant also do a chemical based removal product, so just have a look in your local DIY shop and you should find something. The stuff I have is Unibond which is widely distributed and is likely to be available in Ireland. As I mentioned though, be careful not to use any sharp metal tools as both the shower tray and the shower frame are easily scratched and damaged. Just leave the removal gel to do its thing.

 

[coolperson]

Thank you @YorkshireMidge

 

[Chud]

Generally enclosures like that are sealed on the outside of the enclosure - to allow water that gets into the frame to drain out into the tray.

I would check that your door seals are ok (especially the ones at the bottom) and not compromised and check the state of the sealant outside the enclosure. My old enclosure was well fitted and caused no issues but with the power shower if you squirted it at the bottom of the door water was still able to escape just due to pressure/volume of water overwhelming the threshold bar & brush strip.