Shower Caulking

[Kyle241]

Has anyone re-caulked their shower stall? I have 3 times in one area only below the shower head where the floor meets the wall. It continues to fail over a period of time due to what appears like movement between the floor and wall of the stall. I am not a fan of these types of stalls and would never have one in my home but in the RV, I don't have a lot of choice. I have been using GE brand for bathrooms & kitchens. Usually it takes a number of weeks prior to it coming 'un-glued' but this time it took only 1 week!!! We didn't shower in until 4 days after I caulked.

Any suggestions?

Tks.
Kyle

[Harry B]

I believe that GE uses almost exlusively silicone based caulking. Silicone caulking does not adhere very good. You might try a urethane based caulking, which adheres a lot better.

Inorder to caulk over silicone, either with silicone again or an other product, you have to remove the old silicone caulking completely. Nothing including silicone will stick to silicone.

[Hikerdogs]

Is the seperation of the caulk caused by the movement of the pan and the sidewalls, or is it caused by the plastic expanding and contracting?

I don't have a cure for you but have experienced the same problem. Last month I recaulked the seam in 35* weather on the way to Florida. When we got to the keys all was well until the coach warmed to the ambient temp of 82* When everything stabilized at 82 the plastic had expanded enough to make the caulking bulge. On the way back home in 10* weather the plastic parts shrunk enough to seperate again.

Like you I used the GE tub & tile caulk. I did notice that the caulking I removed was rigid rather than flexible like the tub & tile I replaced it with.
At the current temp of -10* it's too cold to do anything about. I plan to contact Winnebago for recommendations and hopefully do a final repair when the weather warms a bit.

[lthrnk]

As mentioned you must remove all of the old caulk and any residue left by it. Check their website for removal.

If you want to do it once and be done use Lexel, available at a good hardware store, not available at the big boxes. Use it sparingly as it is a PITA to remove but it woks well.

[js9315]

A picture would help, but I have gotten out of the caulk business and make all repairs that I want to be / remain waterproof using eternabond tape. It looks good when installed, is relatively easy to instal, and lasts / stays waterproof. Maybe it would work here??

[Kyle241]

Actually I had removed all the old caulking each time. However I did use silicone thinking that was what was used previously but to Harry B's note, it looks like I need to use urethane.

Hikerdogs, there is no expansion or contraction. If I push/lean on the sidewall of the shower stall from the inside, movement occurs because the pan and the wall as it's not all one unit in my coach. I also did notice the initial caulking was rigid compared to the GE replacement I used. It sounds like Harry B. might have the solution with urethane.

I'll also look for the Lexel product that was recommended as well.



Tks.
Kyle