Sealing a shower tray

[Pete Wilson]

Can anyone please recommend the best method/product. Tried the usual silicone sealant but it always leaks after a few months.

[BigWallop]

Normal silicone sealant is fine for this type job, but it is the way it is applied that makes the difference in how long it lasts.

There is normally a reason why the sealant doesn't take to the site, and the most common things that stop it are dirt, grease, no applied thick enough and to much movement between the two surfaces that want to seal.

So, you need to remove all the old sealant, using a scraper if needed but be gentle with it. Then you have to remove any dirt and grease with a good wash and clean up with some hot water and washing-up liquid solution and a clean cloth. Now you need to make sure the site is perfectly dry, and the best method of doing this is wiping it all down with some loo paper or kitchen towel.

Now you need to place heavy objects in the tray to make sure the joint opens as much as will when someone is standing in it. Put your tool box, Encyclopaedia Collection, the kids, the wife and mother-in-law in there to give weight and open the joint between the two surfaces as much as you can. Without breaking the tray of course.

Spread some masking tape along the edges of the joints so the sealant can be spread and smoothed out thinly, then peal the tape off later to leave nice smooth edges to the whole job.

Don't cut any of the nozzle off the sealant tube. Place it deep inside the joint and begin to apply pressure to the gun trigger until the sealant starts to seep out around the tip of the nozzle in the joint. When it begins to seep out, start moving along the joint keeping enough pressure on the gun trigger to keep the sealant squirting out around the tip of the nozzle. Don't stop until you reach the other end of the joint, and keep the tip of the nozzle as deep inside the gap as you can while moving along. Smooth it off with a wet finger, and keep it wet, to give a nice pretty shape and finish that shows you've done the job properly

This should now give you a deep layer of sealant that isn't just a thin skin sitting on the surface of the joint. Leave all the weight in the tray until the sealant has cured off, which will normally be 24 hours but, you should read the instructions on the tube to make sure. Once you are happy that it is all set and firm, then remove the weight to tighten up the sealant the joint. Doing it this way makes the sealant act like a big rubber washer around the joint, and when you stand in the tray in the future the sealant won't stretch and break and leak because it moves with the tray.

Good luck with it, and take your time. It's worth it in the end.

[Pete Wilson]

[Stickems.]

Wilkes sell a self adhesive tape for this. It has a crease in the middle along its length so that when folded to 90 degrees half goes on the shower tray and half on the wall. It is simple to apply and works a treat.

[John]

But looks cheap and nasty IMO. Nothing beats a well done and tidy silicon bead!

HTH

John