UKC

Been having a persistent problem with leak from our shower room after it was created and tiled 5 years ago.

The plumber, who doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, reckons the water is seeping through the grout, and has replaced a couple of flaky bits. I've spotted another cracked bit and redone that.

The question is, should we now put some sealant over the new grout ?

Conflicting opinions on the web, you can buy grout sealant, but Wickes don't stock any and say it's unnecessary

Yes I could ask the plumber, but I'd rather not at this stage

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Not good if the grouts cracking.

Never recommend tiling shower enclosures these days.

Unless the tiling ,and prep have been done right ,by someone who knows what they're doing ,you will eventually get problems.

A bit clinical and boring ,but wallboard (e.g respatex or mermaid ) are the way to go.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Shouldn't be any need to seal the grout - what you need to be doing is fixing the leak.

UIn reply to Chris the Tall: u may have a leak from water supply to shower or waste. Can u check?

Have u a shower tray or 100% tiles. If tray make sure silicone seal is gud.

Cheers Davey

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Have you got another shower/bath you could use? If so, try not to use the leaking shower for a couple of days.

If you still get water leaking then it will be from the supply, could be a pinhole or a threaded joint (i.e. the back plated elbow which the mixer is connected to) that's leaking a little bit but constantly.

If you only get a leak when you shower then check the waste, could just be a loose compression fitting or loose plug and waste.

If all this is fine then refer to the sealant on the grout or the silicone lining the shower plate, having said that, also check for any movement in the shower plate which could be affecting any of the above.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

My understanding (DIY not pro') of the purpose of grout sealant is that by providing an 'oily' film, the grout sealer helps to keep the grout clean for a longer period. I don't think it's there to seal cracks.
I'd go with andymac's suggestions.
I think many of the aftermarket sealants and proofers etc are more for the plethora of products such as natural stone, crackle glaze and the like which require more care and maintenance than bog standard ceramic tiles.

If it's cracking then sounds like there's movement in the structure which holds the tiles. Either there's movement where there shouldn't be movement ( e.g. a 'bouncy' floor),or where movement is likely to be anticipated along a joint line then a flexible sealant should be used, not rigid grout.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

A lot of problems with baths, shower trays and wet rooms is that the supporting structure is planned and implemented by people who have no idea what they are doing. Because of this, the structure bends more than the joints and leaks occur. I find this is true for the majority of installations.

No material is completely rigid but the supporting structure needs to be stiff enough to have a broadly comparable stiffness with the wet components so that they cannot move in relation to each others when there is a fat wet anthropoid and load of water loading the structure.

Typically, baths are badly supported and significantly more wooden framing is required if an enduring sealed installation is to be provided.

Nobody wants to pay a structural engineer to design framing for a bath but it might be cheaper than replacing the bathroom floor, and making good, every decade.

In reply to king_of_gibraltar:


I've not had a shower for three weeks - and you can tell !!!!

Yep, we have a bath we can use, not used the shower for three weeks whilst waiting for the useless plumber to make an appearance. And when he did send a couple of lads round, all they did was slap a bit of grout in one joint, which may or may not be the problem.

Appreciate all the replies, but at this stage ripping it out and starting again is not an appealing option. It's a once piece shower tray, with the rest of the room tiled, all in Lakeland slate. Looks great........

So at this stage it's just a case of making the best out of a bad job

Anyway, have found some sealant that came with the tiles and grout, so we'll see how that works

In reply to Chris the Tall:



Have you not been listening? You've had some good replies but choose to ignore them all. Why ask? Go ahead and seal it with whatever you've got, it wont work.

In reply to jimjimjim:

Ever noticed how threads asking for advice on windows 8 always get dominated by people saying you should switch to Linux.......

At this stage, whilst I appreciate all the advice, I'm looking at simple solutions as to make the best of a bad job - it's called the science of muddling through.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

I should dob a bit of slunk in it

In reply to birdie num num:


Slunk can't be dobbed without it invalidating your home insurance if the slate comes from seams younger than Cambrian period.
In such circumstances this is sometimes used by practitioners of muddling

http://www.sitebox.ltd.uk/docs/feb/pdf/56_pdfsam_Feb%20Brochure.pdf

If this fails, you can get a shower free in hospital if you sneak in and dress up in a gown and pretend to be a patient.

In reply to Chris the Tall:
Lots of good advice on here. I'd assume the plumber has already checked the waste pipe - but have known some dodgy plumbers so maybe not

It's going to be worth your while spending a day finding out exactly what the problem is - and my experience with "muddling through" is that it involves more work and gives an inferior result, to identifying the problem properly and making a permanent fix.

How long has this problem been going on? You say the shower's been in 5 years, but I'm guessing it hasn't been leaking that long?

Get a bucket of water, and pour it carefully down the drain hole. If you get drips, then the leak is in your waste pipe, or the seal around the drain hole itself. if not, then try spraying water around the edges of the shower tray - also try getting in the shower and making a visual inspection of the seal when it's loaded. could be movement of the floorboards under load that isn't obvious when the shower is empty. If that turns out to be the case, you might get away with stripping away the old seal and resealing it with some weight in the tray - If bodging is your preferred tactic

If the grout has deteriorated to the extent that it's letting water through, then it ought to be obvious. if the grout has any cracks in it at all, then it needs reapplying. once again - if muddling through is your preferred option, then duct tape and visquine will ensure that water never touches the tiling, and can be removed when not actually showering. If you're married/living with a partner, that's a sort-term fix at best, and will probably cause you great suffering.

You might have a loose tile, which will cause the grout to fail - easy enough to fix if that's the case. carefully remove it - soak it overnight and remove the tile adhesive and grout from it, then clean up the surrounding tiles and the wall behind, then slap a dab of adhesive in each corner - reseat the tile - remember to use spacers - once the adhesive has dried, then re-grout

Like any other problem - you can't fix it until you've identified it, so the first step is to find out where the water's escaping from, and then you have to stop it getting to that point. Problems with the waste pipe are fairly easily fixed, but then you have to ask yourself why there are problems - movement of the shower tray can cause joints to pop - flexible tubing might be an answer to that.....

Sorry for the length of the post - I've never had the gift of brevity

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Can you actually get under the shower tray to check the waste without ripping it out?

Are there any cracks in the shower tray?

Is there silicone seal where the tray meets the tiles?

In reply to csw:

Again, thanks for the advise, but maybe I need to explain the situation a bit better.

The work was originally done 5 years ago by a local plumber, subcontracting some aspects to a plumber. It's difficult getting hold of either of them.

The leak has never been more than a few drops - enough to damage the plaster in the room below and leave a little pool of water, but not as much as a constant trickle.

On the previous occasion the plumber did get a micro camera under the floor to check the waste etc, concluded that it was coming through a crack in the grout, spotted a few cracks, fixed them and sure enough no more drops for a year or two.

This time around, after much badgering, he sent round a couple of lads you put a bit of grout in a couple of likely places. The reason I started this thread was that I spotted another section (outside the shower enclosure) and put some grout in that.

Now I appreciate that we need to know why the grout is cracking, but I'm not going to get anywhere with either the builder or the plumber until we have given this latest fix a try. Investigating is difficult as there is no easy access under the floor. It may be the case that we need to completely regrout, or do something else, but not at this stage.

In reply to Chris the Tall:

In which case the answer to your original question is no. You don't need to seal grout nor will it help keep it water tight if you do. The seal you buy is to prevent staining on grout and porous tiles and it wouldn't last long in a shower anyway.

In reply to Chris the Tall: Whatever is said about grout - and the chap who tiled our bathroom said it should stay intact and waterproof for ten years - it does erode and it isn't forever, no matter how professionally installed your bathroom and tiles are.

We routinely have to re-grout (every 18 months or so) some areas of the shower on which water falls most often, usually towards the bottom of the wall on which the shower is fixed and towards which your back is when showering. The tell-tale sign is a drop or two - no more - of water appearing on the ceiling below.

It isn't difficult. Get a grout scraper and before you use it, have a damn good look at the grout. The hole needn't be large - it's usually about the size of a pinhead, sometimes less. When you spot something have an exploratory scrape. The area that's letting water through will be soft and easily removed. Take out all that you can and leave it be for a day or two for the area to dry. Then re-grout and leave it for at least two, ideally three, days before using the area again.

And that'll probably sort your problem out. Yes, you can do all manner of things such as removing sealant and much else, but generally identifying the problem grout, removing it and replacing it will sort out your problem. Just be prepared to do it every once in a while and once it's repaired clean regularly but try not to be too forceful or use cleaning products that are too aggressive.

And to answer the question, don't bother sealing the grout.

T.

In reply to andymac:



I was thinking of just putting this over existing tiles ( cracked and discoloured)

Is that possible, if so any tips?
( I don't have the cash to re- do the bathroom/ shower room, but thought this might be a good way to smarten the place up without spending a fortune.)

In reply to Jim C:
Don't see why not.

Just make sure you have enough space between the wall and rim of bath or shower.

Wallboard is 12.5mm ,and with adhesive adds up to 15mm.

Shouldn't advertise the fact, but ,I don't bother using the plastic bath seals anymore.

They definitely serve a purpose ,but just spoil the effect.

A good sealant like sikaflex ,or a really good sanitary silicone does the job between boarding and bath/shower.

Mermaid stuff is nice ,and comes with some clever trims/profiles.