leaking water from shower

[Howie]

I installed our neo-angle shower in our downstairs basement, exactly as the instructions said. Where told to put sealant, I did so. After a couple of years, the shower leaks in two places and it is rotting the drywall. (see these photos):

Should I coat the joins of the shower with sealant even though the instruction said not to? Is water supposed to drain back from some of these joins?

Also, in our upstairs bathroom, the tub surround leaks as well. I replaced the old silicone with a product recommended by a Home Depot "expert" (LOL)... The product was a piece of sh** (I think it was a type of MONO sealant. It now leaks as bad as ever (see pictures):

I'm just asking what others would do. I have some ideas, but I'm just looking for a little input before I proceed. I have left this too long and now I have to fix it. Tips? comments? advice? suggestions?

Howie

[Howie]

correction on last photo:

Howie

[Yep]

Well first you shouldn't have caulk on the outside of the shower it should only be caulked from the inside and the reason is if you do have a leak you can see it and fix it before it goes behind the wall and do the extensive damage it has done to your walls. I had one of these showers in my last house I had a heck of a time finding the leak as the water runs out over here but the leak was over there. It ended up being the bottom of the wall panel that came down and met the pan. I scraped out the old redid it and it never leaked for me again.

Rich

[Howie]

I haven't caulked on the outside of either the downstairs shower nor the upstairs tub surround. The downstairs shower has a rubber liner strip that presses up against the drywall.

it

should I caulk the entire interior of the shower so no water can find a way into the wall?

[MLD]

I have a Sterling (aka Kohler) neo angle shower. The glass walls are calked to the side panels both on the inside and outside as well as along the bottom against the base. The walls of the shower (two pieces) are not calked including the joint where the two side pieces meet. I called Sterling and specifically asked about calking this joint as I could get at it from the back (open wall, just studs, at the time). the answer was an emphatic NO. Apparently the way the wall panels fit on the base there is a means for any leakage to drain back into the shower and calking would direct water leakage in other, less desirable directions. Hate to say this, but you might be faced with removing the glass wall in order to determine just where the leak is coming from. MLD