Some estimates suggest that as many as one in four showers in new homes give rise to a callback during the two year guarantee period. The commonest fault is the failure of the sealant between the shower tray and the wall tiling - it happens with baths as well but there it is rarely critical.
In a power shower, this joint gets soaked on a daily basis and, even if the original seal is good, it may not stand up to movement in the underlying structure - a new timber joist can shrink by 8 mm as it adjusts to the ambient temperature of a centrally heated house.
One of the reasons for the increasing popularity of masonry intermediate floors and of the TJM Trus Joist is a response to the need to overcome this problem.
For builders not wanting to switch away from traditional flooring techniques, there is a wide range of shower trays available with a tile upstand which is designed to fit tight against the walls so that the bottom row of tiles dress over it, rather as a roof flashing would work. However using a tray with a tile upstand does mean that the side walls have to be very accurately constructed in order to fit the tray: it is a detail more easily achieved on paper than on site.
Unfortunately the problems don’t stop there. The tiled surface itself frequently ships water, usually because the adhesive or the grouting has been poorly applied.
If the underlying material is not waterproof, the repair is difficult and expensive. And a perennial problem is badly fitted shower doors: there is no lining as such in a shower enclosure and if the side walls are not plumb there is only so much that can be covered up with sealant.
Shower enclosure manufacturer Roman has rationalised its Collage range to address some of these issues.
The door frame itself has in-built adjustability so that any callbacks can be addressed with just a screwdriver.
Roman marketing director, David Osborne, comments: “We found that one of the problems was that installers would be using different sized screws to fix the frames together and this left unsightly holes if and when further adjustments had to be made. Now we not only pack the self tappers in with the frame but also the right drill bits as well. It sounds almost too trivial but little details like that end up making a difference.”
An alternative way of overcoming the problems is the GRP shower pod produced by Advanced Showers.
The idea behind this began as a research project at the University of Surrey (which remains a shareholder in the business) and it first appeared in a rather utilitarian, hall of residence type of design in 1993. Since then the Advanced shower has evolved and during the past two years it has begun to be taken seriously by homebuilders - partly because the new stylings are more domestically pleasing and partly because the starter price has come down to around £450 for the two sided enclosure - though there are versions at over three times this price.
No way is this a cheap solution: it’s only a cubicle and the plumbing and doors are not included in the price so, in effect, it replaces just the shower tray and the wall tiling. Nevertheless, it’s undoubtedly effective and it is beginning to find a ready market with homebuilders prepared to pay a premium for eliminating aftersales problems.
Source
Building Homes
