shower tray sealing.

[striker]

Anyone used pu40 or sikaflex etc. Silicone only lasting a couple of years. Thinking upvc quadrant stuck into corners with pu..even best silicone comes unstuck. The 10 yr guarantee stuff only guarantees against mould and discolouration not sealing.
Any thoughts?

 

[Shedendman]

You wont get an even bead with both pu40 or sikaflex ,well its not easy to,cant see why your getting a problem with any good silicone sealers how big a gap you covering,is the area clean?
Even cheap no nonsense stuff from screwfix works

 

[Shedendman]

sorry meant to add,quadrant can be used like you ask but its not as neat esp joins

 

[Tommyf]

We have been using CT1 for the last year or so on everything that we used to use silicon or building adhesive on and it seems to be holding up really well , Brilliant stuff.

 

[Shedendman]

Yer used that myself,is good gear,but sadly not cheap,swings and roundabouts

 

[striker]

About 4mm gap. Is ct1 polyurethane adhedive/sealer?

 

[Wedg1e]

I think the mistake most people make with showers is putting the tray (or bathtub) in first then tiling from the top of it. I always tile the walls then put the tray in, then you can get 4" deep sealant down the sides of it, no leaks that way
Also means that if you re-model the bathroom later, you don't have any gaps in the tiling.

 

[Tommyf]

I have a tube of CT1 here and it says it will cover 9.25m x 6mm bead, cant see what its made from though . But it is a sealant & adhesive.

 

[PhillipM]

I've used PU40 with no issues before, usually where there's some wood trim or similar involved as silicone doesn't bond very well to it.
I have no issues getting an even bead with it, it's not quite as smooth as the better silicone sealants but a flat bead is no issue.

 

[striker]

Yeah I really like pu40. I sm sick of failing silicone...might try it with upvc quadrant. Scribed into corners...(like ultraseal 10 system) may last longer than two years...

 

[Titus A Duxass]

I think the mistake most people make with showers is putting the tray (or bathtub) in first then tiling from the top of it. I always tile the walls then put the tray in, then you can get 4" deep sealant down the sides of it, no leaks that way
Also means that if you re-model the bathroom later, you don't have any gaps in the tiling.

that's how it's done over here as standard
The floor is sealed, wall's tiled and then the bath and/or shower is fitted.
Same with the kitchen (obviously not with a shower or bath).

 

[Sean]

is it "Bathroom week" on MIG Welding forum ?

 

[tlovatt]

Personally I think that the quadrant look awful - even before they discolour.

You should not have any problems getting a seal with standard silicone and tiling from the tray up - the gap is there to allow for expansion, and provided the walls are tiled properly and the shower tray is loaded before you apply the silicone it should last for many many years.

If the silicone is coming off you have another problem to dela with, either leakage from the tiles, the silicone was not put in properly or the shower tray is moving too much when you stand on it (if you did not load it when doing the silicone in the first place)

The various miriad of modern 'marvels' for shower installation such as large sealing strips, tanking kits, quadrants etc are only needed if the job was not done properly in the first place.

 

[striker]

Hmmm. My tray is cast resin and rock solid. My walls are built with aqua panel cement type boards. Large 450x300x12 travertine tiles. They were sealed before grouting and after grouting. No movement in anything but the silicone seems to go black and lift at edges...

 

[Sean]

2 possible causes there.

First the sealant for the Travertine may be resisting the silicone ( some of them are quite oily) allowing water and the oils from you under the edge of the silicone which then feeds the mould

or Travertine being porous is allowing the moisture in.

Either way id clean all the silicone off with a knife then use a silicone eater to get all the residual out the surface of the stone then clean it with a degreasant leave it a day to dry out , silicone with Mapei or Dow allow it to cure then over with the stone sealer again for the bead you want it as small as is practical dont butter it 10mm up the face of the tile.

tool station brake cleaner is the product i use for cleaning off silicone and for degreasing the job before silicon sealing any of our bathrooms it softens the cured silicone so that it can be removed with a stanley blade

once you have black mould into any porous surface such as grout or natural stone its a real pain to get rid of it
http://www.toolstation.com/shop/p17879

(2 bathrooms finished and 1 wet room roughed out this week...its what I do)

finally some of the travertine coming from afar isnt stored in ideal conditions and can become contaminated with mildew which is what causes firstly orange staining and then black spots.

 

[striker]

Thanks sean..have some tooly brake cleaner in the garage.. will give it a go..what is the very best sealant you have used, have you tried pu?

 

[Sean]

Thanks sean..have some tooly brake cleaner in the garage.. will give it a go..what is the very best sealant you have used, have you tried pu?

Nope i always went for the Mapei silicone to blend in with the the grout lines But the Dow stuff works well as white against china, baths and shower trays. Clear on bright encolsures.

I ve heard of it being used but on the occasions i have used it for sealing up on cars the surface seems quite open, as in matt, so it will hold on to dirt

How do you apply your silicone do you use a well licked finger? i often wonder it it causes bacterial inclusions in the edges of the silicone . I always apply a heavy ish bead, then use a wetted chamfered tool to profile it and follow up with the lightest of finger smooths using a soapy water or meths for lube.


in your case you need to get all the old stuff off especially if there is any mildew, this may mean raking out the joint between the tray and stone and possibly the grout where it has been covered by the contaminated silicone

and test your brake cleaner to make sure its not going to react to the surface of the tray, I know the Tectane stuff doesn't but i don't know what the stuff in your garage will do. also dont go soaking the travertine with it as the stone is filled with stuff a bit like Isopon and you dont want lumps of that falling out the stone work

 

[ukracer]

Nope i always went for the Mapei silicone to blend in with the the grout lines But the Dow stuff works well as white against china, baths and shower trays. Clear on bright encolsures.

I ve heard of it being used but on the occasions i have used it for sealing up on cars the surface seems quite open, as in matt, so it will hold on to dirt

How do you apply your silicone do you use a well licked finger? i often wonder it it causes bacterial inclusions in the edges of the silicone . I always apply a heavy ish bead, then use a wetted chamfered tool to profile it and follow up with the lightest of finger smooths using a soapy water or meths for lube.


in your case you need to get all the old stuff off especially if there is any mildew, this may mean raking out the joint between the tray and stone and possibly the grout where it has been covered by the contaminated silicone

and test your brake cleaner to make sure its not going to react to the surface of the tray, I know the Tectane stuff doesn't but i don't know what the stuff in your garage will do. also dont go soaking the travertine with it as the stone is filled with stuff a bit like Isopon and you dont want lumps of that falling out the stone work

Do tbey do the white in the highly elastic version. Seems like screwfix don t list white

 

[sg66]

Bit late but classi seal is best thing I have found to make a seal between tiles and shower tray, you may have to do cosmetic silicone now and again but nothing gets passed it.

 

[ukracer]

Bit late but classi seal is best thing I have found to make a seal between tiles and shower tray, you may have to do cosmetic silicone now and again but nothing gets passed it.

Where do you get that from??