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How to repair rotted wood and waterproof corner?

Hi all

I have a shower room where the skirting/trim around the doorframe is now rotting from water damage.

Do I need to treat the existing damage and prevent further rotting of the wood? Could I just silicon the rotted area?

I thought about removing the skirting and replacing it with a corner piece made of metal to prevent further water damage.

Appreciate any ideas or advice thanks

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Akanksha

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community, @monkeyspearfish! We're delighted to have you join us and hope you're finding the site a great resource for handy D.I.Y. advice and inspiring ideas.

Many thanks for your question. I'm sure our resident D.I.Y. expert @EricL will be happy to assist once he's back online later today. Also tagging our helpful members @stelz, @JoeAzza and @Adam_W to see if they have any thoughts.

While waiting, I recommend checking out this popular discussion which addresses a similar issue: How to fix rotten door moulding? You might also find this Best Advice article useful: How do you waterproof a bathroom?

Good luck with your project.

Akanksha

JoeAzza

Hi @monkeyspearfish it looks like it’s been damaged for a while, if you have building insurance you cou call the insurance provider and tell them that you have water damage from a shower water leak and rotted the studs. They should send out an assessor and let you know if it is covered in your policy. Otherwise you will have to replace a section of the stud and new architrave, then re seal with silicone

Dave-1

Good afternoon @monkeyspearfish

Ouch 😕 I second what @JoeAzza says about talking to your insurer.

If it isnt covered by insurance you possible could have some work to do. Can you get under the house and in particular under the bathrom to see what type of water damage can be seen? (water lines on the floor joists type deal) As the post that is rotted backs onto the tiled area you are going to have to redo that area waterproof wise.

I had a similar type issue years ago (tiles were falling off the shower wall 😲 ) and the water damage wasnt covered by my insurance. I moved out before I had to deal with it 😲 but the insurer told me the steps they check to see what type of issue it is.

I would suggest if the insurer isnt going to work on it, you see how far the damage is yourself by opening up the other side of the tiled wall. As in pull off some plaster. (that doorframe will have to be replaced so the plaster will have to be redone anyway) to see how far the watar damaged has traveled. As soon as you touch the tiles then whatever waterproofing is left will be degraded.

😕 Water issues are never good news I am afraid.

Dave

EricL

Hi @monkeyspearfish

I totally agree with @JoeAzza and @Dave-1 on having an inspector come over to assess the damage. If the damage goes much deeper, it might be necessary to carry out a more in-depth repair job.

However, if the damage is not so critical the rotted timber can be removed and patched up. I suggest having a look at this discussion - How to fix rotten door frame in bathroom? by @Fefe1578.

The general steps to repair the damage are to cut out the rotted pieces either using a timber chisel or a Multi-Tool with a timber plunging blade. Once the damage section has been removed the gap can be patched with similar sized timber and sealed with a waterproofing agent. Once the waterproofing cures you can then paint it and then the edges sealed with a wet area silicone.

In regards to using steel, it's definitely possible but you would need to have this custom made. The only issue that comes to mind is how to permanently seal the steel so that it does not start rusting in such a heavy moisture environment.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

monkeyspearfish

Thanks all for the helpful advice.

I found this corner piece to install once I remove the door trim. Any thoughts on if this would be a good idea and how would I mount and secure this?

https://www.bunnings.com.au/metal-mate-50-x-50-x-4mm-x-1m-galvanised-steel-angle-bar_p1130487

I thought this would be an easier solution compared to tiling the corner.

Dave-1

Good Morning @monkeyspearfish

😕 I would recomend against it. trying to match supports like that to the fllor/wall and plaster would be a pain. I would probarly go alongthe lines of what @EricL has suggested if you want to have a go at repair verse replace. Its stuck between a rock and hard place I know. 😕

Dave

monkeyspearfish

If I repair it, I’m concerned the same thing will happen again or would it be ok if I water proof over the wood/skirting and then paint it?

I just don’t want any wood near the shower area. I’m afraid if I don’t remove or cover the wood, it will eventually mould and rot again.

Dave-1

Good afternoon @monkeyspearfish

Repairing can work, and depending on your confidance level plus knowledge of products would be how I rate the job for you.

When things rot I find it best to find out why they have rotted before I attempt a repair. If you find where the water is coming from it can change how you approach the job. Just looking through your pictures again and I wonder if that door way isnt really a shower screen deal but straight painted timber.

We can see the trim has rotted but that solid door post looks rotted as well (Or I may be mistaken)

Waterproofing over damaged anything will fail I am afraid.

Possibly if you can get a builder have a look they may be able to suggest a clear path for you.

Dave

EricL

Hello @monkeyspearfish

Unfortunately, your door frame is right next to your shower area, if it was free standing then you could remove the frame and turn it into concrete and tile over it. If the original cover for the timber was just paint and no water proofing was placed over it, then it's bound to rot again.

However, if you take precautions with your repair job and waterproof the surface before painting it, the timber frame will have a much better chance of withstanding the heavy moisture. As I mentioned in my last post, once it's been waterproofed and painted over make sure to add that first line of defence which is to silicone all the timber joints exposed to the shower.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

monkeyspearfish

It rotted because water was pooling up and flowing from the shower towards the rotted area, and possibly onto the cream floor tiles at a certain point. It was doing that because the drain was blocked and tenants didn’t really address the problem until it was discovered too late.

once we addressed the drainage problem, water no longer builds up and reaches the rotted area but sprinkles of water still hit it from the shower

there was never a shower screen but looking back now that might have helped

And the door frame was just painted but the person who renovated the bathroom said he put waterproofing over the door frame and after 5 years it needs to be reapplied. There’s an on going dispute with him which I won’t go into.

I think only the edge or small portion of the solid door post is damaged which I’m hoping I can just scrape off the damaged wood, spray some wood hardener over it, paint the entire door frame with waterpoofing, fill in the rotted area with silicon, and finally install a metal angle over the corner with silicon to cover the wooden part of the door frame. Any thoughts on this?

monkeyspearfish

Perfect thanks heaps!

MitchellMc

Sorry for the delay in my reply, @monkeyspearfish. That method would potentially work, but I think you need to consider repairing the section properly, which would require the damaged timber to be cut out and replaced with new timber. You can then look at repainting the surface. However, as long as there is timber in the shower recess area, the issue will likely resurface at some stage.

Perhaps you might like to replace the damaged timber and tile over the area and around the corner. You should still add a waterproofing membrane to the timber, but the tiles would go a long way to preventing water from accessing it.

Mitchell

monkeyspearfish

I had a plumber from insurance come out and assess the damage. He said there is water under the floor tiles, I think also due to the silicon wearing off at the lip of the shower floor (see photo). He said it’s best to rip out the floor and wall tiles and start from scratch due to poor initial design of shower room. I think it’s a bit extreme?

I’ve filled the rotted area with builders bog after drying it out for several days. Feels pretty solid now but I’m still undecided on how to patch it (timber trim vs metal angles vs tile). If I tile I will need to fork out a tiler which I want to avoid.

I’m also going to resilicon the entire shower floor corners. Hoping these patch ups will hold for the short term. I may need to consider putting in a shower screen to stop any water reaching the door frame. Any ideas for long term solution instead of ripping out everything and restarting?

JoeAzza

@monkeyspearfish From the recent photos it looks like the tiled or shower base has moved, if insurance won’t cover the cost of repairs, you could resell the tiles with silicone, however not knowing what water damage has or is doing to the floor underneath the tiles , is it timber or concrete subfloor.

if it is timber, you could get wood rot from water damage and mould.

as for the trim you could replace it with a suitable timber that will last for a while, do not use mdf architrave.

also have you thought of installed a shower curtain until you are able to install a glass screen.

Please note, this is only a temporary fix,

monkeyspearfish

Thanks Joe.

I’m not sure on subfloor material but I could find out after I get the report from insurance on the damage.

As for the trim, are there any specific materials you recommend that are more waterproof? Bunnings had pine, tas oak etc but wasn’t sure which one to go for.

shower curtain is a good temporary solution, will consider it thanks!

JoeAzza

@monkeyspearfish , I would use tas oak, cedar would be ideal, maybe @EricL @or @MitchellMc can help with the correct choice of wood.

EricL

Hi @monkeyspearfish

I was pondering on the possibility of other solutions for your shower area. Have you considered installing an Estilo 900 x 1830mm Chrome Adjustable Framed Shower Screen - Front Only. This is on the condition that the opening is within the range of the screen door.

Unfortunately, there is no permanent solution to water leaking into timber. My best recommendation is to cover it with waterproofing and sealing the edges with silicone again.

I believe that a combination of waterproofing the post and screen door installation is your best option for a long-term repair.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

monkeyspearfish

I agree, installing a shower screen might be the only term solution. I just need to keep water away from the wood. I thought about cutting that piece of wood out entirely. I wasn’t too sure and it’s a brick wall but didn’t want to risk anything.

Will look into installing that shower screen after things are patched, thanks everyone, appreciate all the advice 🙂

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