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Water spilling out from new frameless shower

11 years ago
Hello all,
We have a newly built shower that is relatively flat, with a new frameless shower screen installed. We have had a nightmare of a time with our tiler so I don't want to explore any options of ripping up and getting it redone with a steeper fall.

However, with just a plastic door sweep, the water will simply flood out under the door rather than down the drain!

The shower installers recently added an aluminum strip to the floor, however they were afraid the door wouldn't be able to close over it (with the plastic sweep), so they placed it 10mm inside the shower. The problem with it's current placement is: 1. The door sweep cannot connect with it so it stops most of the flooding effect (water does not flow up and over the middle of the strip) BUT water falling from the shower/splashing simply falls down between the strip and the door gap and flows under the door. 2. You can pull the door in towards you so that half of the plastic strip forms a seal with the aluminum strip - however this angle leaves a wider gap where the door joins the panel, for water to flow down and out as mentioned above. 3. The strip is the exact length of the door, so when it terminates at the door hinge water can flow over the corner.
(See photo)
I like to imagine that removing the aluminum strip and placing it directly under the door will be better, since the plastic deal will be able to connect with it, and the door can currently swing over the strip - so it won't be the case that the Door movement will be restricted.

I would like your comments on my situation.

Also - see the kind of drain cover I have, is there one that would be better for faster drainage?
I am not too worried about having a tiny puddle of water that manages to get between the glass panel and the glass door - however any suggestions of options to minimize any water leaks will be welcome - eg is there a different kind of plastic seal for that which I could install only below the lower door hinge?

Are there other kinds of water stop strip that I Should consider? Some kind of wide splash guard for the inside of the door?

Many thanks!

Comments (26)

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Without addressing the main issue (which is the angle of slope in your shower) the rest of the solutions offered will be "art rather than science".

    First, these types of showers do tend to have more splash and water spill than others per se. How much of a problem is this? If you placed your bath mat to the right of the shower when exiting, and the water flows out under the door - is this a huge problem (flooding bathroom) or just an irritation?

    If you still find this a problem - a few ideas that might improve the situation:
    1. angle the shower-head slightly inwards so that the water splashing off the shower is less "explosive"
    2. try reducing the intensity of the water flow in your shower to see if this makes a difference
    3. You can use a silicone gun to draw a low clear line on the shower floor to align under your shower door when closed (and scrape it away with a blade if it doesn't work)


  • 11 years ago
    Thanks so much for the comments ASV. One thing you mention is the shower head. This pic is before the shower screen installation but you can see that it doesn't reach much into the shower. Also the plumber took something out of the shower head that restricted flow so maybe I should consider alternative shower head if that might make a difference.

    The amount of water that leaks under the shower is currently a big deal, and would flood the carpet if not addressed - I am hoping to get it to the damp bath mat point.

    Ideally the solution will not involve a long list of instructions of quirky ways to block the flooding for any guest or tenant to follow!

    Any other thoughts please let me know as I will have the shower installation guy come in 36 hours to move the metal strip directly under the door. I will go to a hardware store tomorrow and see what I can find. It's bad enough in terms of water leak that I don't mind if the solution is not pretty.

    Emma
  • PRO
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Is there a door stop along the edge of the door which creates a seal along the adjoining side panel when the door is closed? From the picture it looks like there is nothing there which could be your problem.

  • 11 years ago
    Hi GN, there is nothing between the glass panel and the door panel in terms of the vertical gap. How will I find the product that you are mentioning and will I install it myself with clear silicone?
    I agree that is part of the problem and if I can fix the main flooding this will be the main leak point.
  • PRO
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Hi

    I think GN means something like this? Sorry about sideways - we put this on between the wall and the glass panel door but equally it can be added around the L shape of the door (side and below)

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Thanks GN - you have all the right illustrations!


  • PRO
    11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    Get this bottom sweep its the most popular

    you can get it on Amazon just make sure to get one to match your glass thickness.

  • 11 years ago
    I have done an embarrassing amount of CSI shower!
    So if the shower head sprays at the drain directly without anyone in the shower, the water puddle does not quite reach the aluminium bar. If it is tilted so that it sprays to hit the floor a little further than the drain, the whole bathroom floor floods as if there was no drain, with water flowing over the aluminium.

    When showering, with the pressure on moderately instead of high, and pulling the door so that the current bottom-sweep makes a seal with half of the length of the aluminium strip, then the floor still gets to the point of a large puddle. Through: mainly water falling down between the aluminium and the door gap since the bottom-sweep does not touch the floor. Also through the corner of the aluminium strip and the glass panel, as this is floor level even though a small space. Also there are two points where the bar has not been sealed properly to the floor so small leaks start there, plus minimal splashing through the door-panel gap which is worse with say hair washing when there is lots of splashing.

    So lower flow/pressure, shower head angle slightly away from the door (though awkward) staying still in the shower - all these help but there is still a flooding problem so I need to add a few changes ...
  • 11 years ago
    The door gap seal looks great - I will try to find one online. The bottom sweep I have is like the one attached. The splash deflector bit is maybe even smaller on mine. Is there a better design to suit my situation? Is the aluminium strip I have the right thing? Yr pic one is not too clear to me.
    Thanks!
  • 11 years ago
    Pic of bottom sweep
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    The picture 1 is instead of your aluminum trash-hold

  • 11 years ago
    If you have a good local bath supply retailer you may be able to get them to order one for you. They would probably be a good resource to track one down that works for you. Crazy that you are needing to do this at all.
  • 11 years ago
    Ok I will try to find a store that sells these things. I understand pic one threshold now- so it's a larger version of what I have.

    So am I right that the sweep should sit directly over the threshold when the door is closed?

    Thanks!
  • 11 years ago
    Regarding the gap between panel and the door, that is not the point at which the door opens, but the door is hinged there. Is the above seal still the right one for the vertical seal? Will it restrict the pivot of the door?
    Thanks
  • 11 years ago
    Hello, just to update for anyone with a similar dilemma: the existing water bar was moved directly under the door, with the existing water sweep in place and it stopped the leaking water. We also don't shower at full pressure so if we rent to tenants I might put in a flow restrictor so they don't face flooding. Thanks again for the ideas.
  • 11 years ago

    GN Builders where can i get this from in perth or can i get it from bunnings?

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    I don't know who sells them in your area. I would check with local shower door distributors or installers.

  • PRO
    10 years ago

    Goodness, this serves as a good reminder to everyone the importance of using a contractor familiar with no threshold showers. It doesn't appear there is sufficient slope in the floor, which is why there is all this trouble in the first place, plus the drain is too small. Of course I know this doesn't help you now, but for others considering a project of this, take note.

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Wow! Good tile contractors are worth their weight in gold. There is no good way to fight physics for a permanent solution. The patches don't look good and they take lots of maintenance. Like your Mom told you do it right the first time : )

  • PRO
    9 years ago

    Frameless shower doors all leak. If you want a tight zero water get semi to framed. Th elimination of the frame is what causes water to leak as the glass is not fully sealed. I agree a possible slope problem but that type of door does leak water. By design any water on the floor will be pushed out onto the floor. Another example of form over function.

    To anybody who disagrees call any shower door MFG and they have kits that have additional plastic diverters to help with the situation.

  • 9 years ago

    My frameless shower door for my curbless shower never leaked. Not one drop.

  • 8 years ago

    my ove Shelby wont stop leaking even with factory instructions -would nt recommend this item

  • 6 years ago

    Can’t really understand why so many showers leak as badly as they do. Simple solution is to have a barrier that water can’t flow over. Frameless glass doors and “flat” shower entrance just result in water damage, Recent renovation included 3 showers all of which leak. But they looked really nice.

  • 6 years ago

    irismead

    2 years ago

    "My frameless shower door for my curbless shower never leaked. Not one drop."

    How is this possible without any type of seals added? As far as I can tell, all truly frameless shower screens will leak to some degree and so it will just come down to how much leakage you can put up with.

  • 3 years ago

    hi i have the same problem with my glass shower - water leakage under the door onto the main bathroom area. i have a silver strip under the bottom edge of the glass door. i have purchased one of the sweep strips but I cannot put it on - it keeps slipping off. i have cut it to the size of the door and also cut a smaller one and cant get that on either. any ideas? thanks so much.