Toilets, Sinks, Showers, Tubs and Disposals - Multi-piece shower leak

Hello.

I'm having continuous leaking problems with my shower. It is a multi-piece shower where all the wall panels have to be sealed to each other and the tub. I just recently resealed the seams between the tub and the walls as they were looking old and moldy anyways. There are just so many places for the sealing to not be perfect that leaks will inevitably pop again. Other condo owners in our building have the same type of shower and have had the same problem.

Does anyone know of any type of waterproof clear adhesive strip I could put over the sealed seams to seal better and avoid resealing so often? Are there any other tricks/tips besides the usual sealing/caulking procedures?

Thanks.

The mistake is in trying to seal that joint to begin with. They are designed to not to need to be sealed. What happens is that if the vertical seams seals lose their integrity, water enters there, runs down in the joint, then runs around the top of the tub, behind the caulk, like a raceway, and ferments in there and mildews, and turns the caulk black.

Scrape out the caulk, clean it up, and leave it uncaulked.

I have seen people have to caulk like-made shower pans however, especially those flimsy elcheapo basement jobs, because water splashing off the shower pan floor can actually jump over the pan flange. But with bathtubs, that should not be an issue, if it is a quality tub/surround kit. Water should sheet down the tub surround and not jump the flange.

If, by chance water gets around the top edge of the tub and causes the wall outside the tub/shower to rot, there is a cure for that, which entails removing the wet rotten sheetrock or plaster, and sealing the end (only! - outside the tub/shower unit, by the wall) of that joint between the tub and shower panel, with something like a super gooey adhesive, maybe epoxy putty, or silicone caulk, or maybe even that taffy-like putty a/c guys use - and then apply something like Durobond setting mud (a plaster) against that, to keep the sealant tight in place. And then when the water tries to get out that joint again in the future, it can't, - and then the water runs out where it is supposed to -back along in that flange joint, and runs back into the tub, the way you want. There are a few tub/shower kits on the market that actually have a channel built into the top edge of the tub, that allows for this proper water drainage technique.

But on many of the older units, there was no such way to get the water to run back into the tub, once it got in that joint. You would not believe the number of wall repairs I have made, outside the tub, due to this.

Only those installers with lots of experience, that are privvy to this scenario, would know enough that during installation, to sandwich a sealant-filler out there in that end-area where say a glass shower door is, so that water cannot continue in that joint, and has to run back into the tub.

Thanks for the reply ecman51,

So the root of the problem here is poor installation of this multi-piece shower. I can see that in certain areas the wall is correctly screwed/bolted to the tub and there is basically no gap. But in other places, the wall and tub do not come together completely, producing a gap, hence the need for a seal. That's why I believe the whole interior of the wall/tub joints were sealed. I think to truly fix this, I would have to take everything apart and put it back together correctly. Sealing is just the quicker way. If I don't seal it, there is MAJOR water leaking on the outside of the tub and down into the condo below mine, so not sealing it is really not an option. But I suppose if I have to take out the wall behind it anytime soon, I could seal up the outside as you suggest, but it's not very accessible at the moment...

So, no type of vinyl strip adhesive that would last on the interior of a shower that anyone knows of?

Oh poop, I just made a brand new thread about what appears to be exactly the same issue. I may try later today to setup an account on photobucket or something to post some pictures, but from what you describe we're dealing with the same thing.

I'm kind of worried about not sealing this joint. It looks to me like water is going to wick or drain back into the wall behind the shower surround.

I'm certainly not disputing what ecman51 is suggesting, but I've just always thought these joints were supposed to be sealed with silicone?

Anyhoo, I'm surfing around for as many ideas and suggestions as possible. Often the correct one for a specific particular situation can be gleaned from using a variety of ideas.