How to fix leaking shower frame?

Question

Hi,

Water is leaking from the shower frame at the bottom door hinge. The other shower does the same so I’m thinking that this is a design flaw in the shower screen setup and the hinges need to be moved (perhaps to the side of the glass door rather than top and bottom). Any advice is much appreciated, thanks.

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @JB3,

I suspect the inadequate amount of silicone on the top edge of the trim allows water to enter the C-channel. It is effectively bypassing the trim and drip lip completely. The trim is acting like the gutter on your house. It's funnelling all the water directly to the end and hinge. Once it hits the end of the trim at the hinge, it's finding its way out the door. The amount of water on your floor appears to be more than just residual spray making its way past the hinge. By adding the silicone where you have, you've likely sealed the gutter or escape route.

If the problem persists, I'd remove the trim and add a nice thick bead of silicone in the bottom of the channel and stick it back on. This will solve the gutter phenomenon.

Mitchell

JB3 · Answer

Hi @MitchellMc

Thankfully the shower doesn’t point towards the door so it is just spray running down the glass. Thanks for your idea about the drip trim. I’m thinking that a different style might be worth a go - the current trim has a ledge to direct water back into the shower so maybe a trim without this ledge would allow the water to drop straight down rather than being forced between the trim and hinge cover then over the front of the shower frame.

Cheers

MitchellMc · Answer

Hi @JB3,

@EricL will be back on the site this evening, and I trust he'll add to the conversation if he has any other tips.

If you've stopped the leak at the moment, it might be a wait and see type of situation.

Does your shower head spray directly onto the glass? If so, that's quite a bit of water running down the screen, and it will try to find any route to escape. It would have been nice if the drip trim had been cut at an angle to fit the contour of the hinge snuggly. If your fix fails, then that would be the next step.

Please keep us updated on the situation. If it isn't resolved, don't hesitate to let us know.

Mitchell