Caulking leak at shower base of corner shower

[RVhiker]

We've got a couple of small water leaks of our corner shower enclosure. The leaks are at the silicone caulking where the aluminum frame sits on the front edges of the shower base. I know I have to somehow remove the old silicone caulk to enable any new caulking to stick. Question: any hints about how to most easily scrape off/remove the old silicone caulking?

[DBuley]

you are chasing a endless battle due to a poor design. I have same issue, it went to dealer under warranty where they just added more silicone sealant. it failed soon after and I was forced to try and solve on my own.


Issue is the shower pan is extremely thin material even along that ridge where metal lower frame sits. They should have either glue or mold a thicker support piece of material like they do on residential tubs. When chassis flex or people use shower, there is too much flex that even silicone sealant will eventually fail. This is made worse as at least in my coach, there is alot of flex in floor directly in front of shower either from seams in floor material or poor design of sub-floor structure.



I went so far as to spray insta-foam up under the shower pan near drain from the lower storage bay to give the pan more support and removed the whole aluminum shower frame and cut about 3/8 off each end so the frame sits farther back into the shower pan giving more space for the lip on front of pan to direct water back into pan along with clean surface and new bead of silicone sealant. it lasted half a season.


My newest thought is to purchase some sort of a rubber or silicone weather strip and fasten to the bottom of that aluminum frame so it is sandwiched between the frame and pan, but has more flexability while still sealing that gap

[muckinfuss]

To your question: the way to remove silicone easily (without gel surface damage)....go to a home center like Menard's or Home Depot to get a pack of plastic razor blades. They are double edged. You should remove the metal frame since some silicone can be installed underneath. Clean the surfaces with denatured alcohol after scraping away the silicone with plastic blades. I would not use silicone for the sealing....for the past twenty years I have relied on Lexel for wet zone sealing jobs. Unlike silicone, it's formula is based on urethane and will seal to itself in the future if needed, even if fully cured. Everyone has it in the caulk isle. Lay a 1/4 to 3/8 inch bead on the bottom of the metal frame and carefully place it back into its place on the ridge and refasten. Do not attempt to over tighten to create massive squeeze out since the bead will become over compressed. If you have squeeze out that you want to smooth, wet your finger with mineral spirits and lightly pull the surface in one long sweep. Walk away and let it cure.

[RVhiker]

My thanks to both those who replied. I certainly think that many of the problems trailers have are due to a poor design or due to poor construction techniques when the trailers are manufactured.

I hadn't heard of plastic razor blades, but they look useful for many scraping jobs. I'll check out the Lexel.