Cracks in shower

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jsalama

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Hi,

Hope everyone is having a nice holiday season.

Does anyone have a product they can recommend to patch the cracks in my shower seen below.

Thanks,
 

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Verdeboy

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It's hard to tell from the photos what kind of shower you have. Is it tile, fiberglass, or some other material?

If it's tile or stone or concrete, you can use silicone caulk for the corners and grout for the bottom.
 

Jimbo

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First rule of tile> Use caulk, NOT grout, in any joint at a change of plane. The movement dooms the grout. Use a carbide grout scraper to remove as much grout as possible, then caulk with a good tub/tile product.
 

Jadnashua

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Tile Council North America (TCNA) specs call for caulk at all changes of plane (corners, wall to floor, etc) when using tile - no grout. What you are seeing will likely reoccur if you try grouting it again.
 

Verdeboy

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I don't know of any caulk that holds up underwater, that's why I recommended re-grouting the bottom crack.
Usually, a shower pan is raised up a few inches from the floor, so the seam is not underwater.
 

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It certainly appears to be a tiled base, possibly over a vinyl or lead pan, that was not done properly.

My reason for saying that is because it appears that the wall tile came down before the base tile was done. The wall tile should always overlap the floor tile to make leaking less of a possibility.

Notice I did not say that it would prevent it.

If the pan and drain have been done properly, this thing may never leak, but why force the issue. There's going to be a build up of water under that floor tile, for sure!

As far as the cracks go I would leave the grout the way it is, and go over it with Lexel clear caulking. The grout will be held in place as long as the caulk joint is wide enough to bridge it.

Trying to remove what is there will be a horror show waiting to happen, but at least the Lexel can bridge it, and be repaired with itself if necessary.

Silicone caulk can't do that after it has been applied. Any and all residue must be scrupulously cleaned or the new silicone caulk will not adhere.

Lexel, which is not silicone, does not have this problem, and it can be applied to wet surfaces if need be.

Just don't smoke around the shower while you're doing it.............

HE
 

jsalama

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Thanks,

Now I just have to find lexel clear caulking in Montreal Canada.
 

Jimbo

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As far as the cracks go I would leave the grout the way it is, and go over it with Lexel clear caulking. The grout will be held in place as long as the caulk joint is wide enough to bridge it.

Trying to remove what is there will be a horror show waiting to happen, but at least the Lexel can bridge it, and be repaired with itself if necessary.


I do not agree. Removing the grout should not be a problem. Let's go with the assumption that he does not have any leaks, just an appearance problem. If that grout crack is allowing a leak, then it is a whole different ball game.

I do not like to put a very wide caulk bead to cover something like this. Caulk is always subject to maintenance and cleaning issues. My motto is to always use the absolutely smallest ( narrowest ) bead of caulk possible. Makes life easier. A big wide bead of caulk will attrack dirt, mold, be hard to keep clean.

Just my take on it.
 
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I do not agree. Removing the grout should not be a problem. Let's go with the assumption that he does not have any leaks, just an appearance problem. If that grout crack is allowing a leak, then it is a whole different ball game.

I do not like to put a very wide caulk bead to cover something like this. Caulk is always subject to maintenance and cleaning issues. My motto is to always use the absolutely smallest ( narrowest ) bead of caulk possible. Makes life easier. A big wide bead of caulk will attrack dirt, mold, be hard to keep clean.

Just my take on it.

Jimbo,
Look closely at the picture: The space between the wall tile/wall tile, and wall tile/floor tile is what is wide. You can't make that any smaller without ripping out tile and retiling.

I totally agree with you that the best bead of caulk is the smallest bead of caulk, but unfortunately he does not have a choice this time.

If he were to remove the grout, what would he fill it with? Backer rod? He'd still have to bridge from tile to tile at some point.

If he gets the Lexel into the cracks first, and then does a masked-line caulking job that is neat, it will be the best case scenario for what exists.

Next time he builds a bathroom, on the other hand, he'll be far better informed about doing a better job.

HE
 
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