From the photos, there seems to be gap opening up between shower base and adjoining tiles. Not sure if this is common in wet areas. Is this a grouting issue..or I can apply the Silicon for wet areas to cover the gap and that should fix it.... I am concerned about water dripping from the gap and doing further damage. cheers
Hard to tell from the pics but it looks like you should re grout it and silicone over the top or you can just silicone if you like.
It looks like someone has used grout between the wall tiles and the shower base. This should not be grouted, but should be siliconed. I would dig out that grout, leave the shower to dry completely and the use mould resistant silicone. If you run the bead along, then spray a mist of water along the line and wipe with your finger, the silicone will flatten into the gap and won't stick to where you've sprayed water. There are other ways, but this is easy. You'll likely still have mould start to appear, but you just have to re-do the silicone every couple of years (or when it gets ugly).
Actually, hubby "cut back" the silicone in our shower to remove the black mouldy surface. He left silicone there and it looked like there was plenty left, but a few days later, the shower area beneath the tiles had "filled up" and was dripping into the garage below. Our tiler came back and said hubby had either removed too much or he had possibly cut through some of the silicone left there and water was leaking through. We stopped using the shower for a few days to allow the base under the tiles to start to dry out and then we added another bead of silicone. So, be careful and make sure you don't skimp on the silicone. And from the looks of that photo, you would possibly have water under the tiles already. If it is a solid base, you may be lucky and not have had water penetrate behind the wall yet.
thanks @wylie. This is the 1st time I'm taking DIY approach . Hopefully it goes well. I've got transperent silicone to be used in wet areas....might as well use that. unfortunately we've only one shower means will be using bath tub for a day....
Thanks. I've the white silicone but don't think its to be used in wet areas. I dont't care if it looks bad want to make sure it works. I think, it looks water has already been leaked through this gap. How many days should i let it dry before & after to make it work approx....u reckon using blower to dry it up is good idea...
Probably should get a professional in, at least to do a free quote. Not good if it has been underneath for a while.
If desperate you can sit there with a hair dryer and try to dry out the joins as much as possible. Grab a tube of white anti mould silicon and seal it up. See how you go. Edit - and make sure you scrape all that loose grout out
I agree. But I would try that before ripping everything up. Unless you are getting damage in the walls behind it
Hi S0805 Please note that water proofing of showers is done as part of a system these days. This involves painting on a membrane, and using a bond breaker. The water proofing does not rely just on a bead of visible silicone between the tiles and shower base. Ripping out tiles could pierce the waterproofing membrane. If it's an old shower, though, there may be no waterproofing membrane in place. It looks from the photo like you have one of those acrylic shower bases? Usually these have a 'lip' that the tiles come in front of. If so, then it is highly unlikely that the water has got out unless the water level in the shower has been unusually high. Is there any evidence of leaking? If a single story house on stumps, get underneath and see if there is any evidence of leaking. If not, just put a bead of silicone down, following the instructions on the tube. Don't lick your finger before smoothing the bead as it encourages mound.
Yeah, a tray isn't necessarily used these days. It can be done by someone who can do the waterproof membrane.
Thanks all. I've applied the transparent silicone (as that was mould resistant). It was odd when i was scraping the broken grouting i found silicon at the back of it. that confused me so i end up only scraping most damaged grouting and left the other as it is. I applied silicon on top of it and hoping that it will not let water get through..... @Joynz , yes the point where shower base and tiles are connecting is little high than base so in fact there is less chance of water getting through unless i fill the shower base for abt 1cm and then let it b....its single story house on stumps, I'll test this for a week and see if silicone is being broken or not....fingers crossed..
