In 2001 a local contractor installed a Corner Shower in a 6 x 6 washroom. The contractor did all the work from building the 6 x 6 washroom (taken from a very large laundry room/furnace area). I installed the vanity and realized then the room was not perfectly square however I was able to overcome the variance for the vanity. The contractor installed the shower complete – a base – wall jambs – top rail – and wall panel. The wall panel is a separate unit and was glued to the wallboard. I NOW HAVE A LEAK AT THE BASE OF THE WALL PANEL. It appears to me the wall panel did not have sufficient glue applied the the bottom 4 inches and so is not adhered to the base flange. Further, the instruction sheet (which I still have) says the wall panel is to rest on the base – – which it doesn’t. It rests on one corner but is about 1/4″ above the base in the center back. Is there any type of waterproof membrane I can install to overcome the leak? Also, should a waterproof membrane been applied to the wallboard before the wall panel was installed? The contractor is know to take shortcuts!!!
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The pre-made shower packages I've seen and installed all have the base with an upturned flange around the perimeter. The walls are made to rest on the horizontal ledge of the base with the upturned flange running behind and above the lower edge of the wall unit. All that I've seen would easily compensate for a small gap of 1/4" that you describe. Water runs on past the gap because the upturned flange is higher.
So, maybe the flange was broken off level with the ledge? You probably can't see the entire flange now.
I have also seen cases where a poor caulking job allows water to creep (by capillary action) up and/or laterally to a point where it does damage to the floor or framing.
At this point, you probably don't want to tear out the thing, so your best bet may be to do a really good job of caulking the entire joint where the walls meet the base, and where the walls meet each other.
You'll first need to thoroughly clean the surfaces for the caulk to adhere. For caulking, I've had very good luck with "Dynaflex 230" (I think 230 was the number, but the Dynaflex is right.) Anyway, it's a siliconized latex acrylic caulk that has enough flexibility for your job, and it's easy to apply and clean, and--this is it's advantage over silicone caulks--you can re-caulk over cured caulk; silicone caulks will not stick to a layer of cured silicone.
Thanks rd - - I was concerned about my description but you read it right! I'll search for that caulk because I don't want to tear out the unit.