Shower Leak Repairs
Do you need a permanent solution for a leaking shower or mouldy
silicone?
If
a permanent solution for the leaking shower is the desired result, the shower
recess will need to have the tiles and substrates replaced with a waterproofing
membrane barrier installed.
The
replacement of silicone is only recommended for maintenance of a properly built
shower, it is not a solution for a leaking shower or a shower with an
established leak.
Silicone
will fail if the shower has not been properly built in accordance with
AS-3740-2010 Waterproofing of Wet Domestic Areas.
How
are shower screens made?
Laminate safety glass is used on framed and semi-frameless
shower screens.
The glazier cuts the glass to size to manufacture these shower
screens and inserts them into the aluminium framing.
The glass inside the shower screen frames remains sharp at the
edges; this is why an aluminium frame is needed around each glass perimeter.
What is that rubber shower screen seal around the glass?
The rubber seal provides cushioning to the edges of the glass
within the frame.
If you see a glass section without a frame, this glass would be
a different type of glass; toughened safety glass, also known as frameless
glass.
Toughened glass is the type of glass used in frameless
applications. The process involves cutting the glass to size and then placing
it through a heating process where the glass is heated to approx 700°C followed
by rapid cooling utilising cold air.
The edges on this glass
are polished therefore not sharp. This process is more costly than using
laminate framed glass due to the additional work required in manufacturing.
These are usually custom made as there is almost no tolerance for sizing error.
All shower screens are required to comply with Australian
Standards AS/NZS 1288 and 2208.
To meet this standard, Grade A safety glass must be used in all
shower screens.
Laminated and toughened Grade A safety glass is designed to
shatter into small blunt pieces of glass, which are unlikely to cause harm
instead of large sharp pieces.