Steven Campbell ) wibbled on Wednesday 26 January 2011 12:27:

Hi guys I recently had a shower tray installed (Bathstore, low profile,
plastic I presume) and had new tiles fitted round about it.
The floor it all sits on was particle board.
On top of this was some sheet ply and underfloor heating insulation boards
The under floor heating element and then the floor tiles.
The shower tray has been sealed with silicone round the outside but it
only seems to bond for a few weeks and then seems to peel off the try at
certain points.

I think maybe either the tray moves slightly when in the shower or the
tiles move slightly and it is enough to break the bond of the silicone.

Is there anything I can use or trick to make the silicone stay bonded?

Thanks.

Silicone's "peel strenght" is relative weak as the material bends so easily
- but if it is virtuall falling off by itself you my have a poroblem.

How well was the tray cleaned before siliconing? And is the particle board
moisture resistant - I thought someone mentioned that such board was
sometimes waxed to achieve this - which would make for a poor bond.

Or is the silicon bonded to the tiles?

In the worst case, scrape it off, clean with a degreaser (I use IPA which is
usually strong enough and rarely a risk to plastics) and reseal with a
quality silicone (Mapei, Siroflex or Dow Corning for example - I have had
excellent results with all of these).



--
Tim Watts