Tile shower base broken and leaking

Originally Posted by gt88

Hi, we have a mosaic tiled shower base and there appears to be a crack of some sort underneath a section of the tiles as it is soft and I can push down on it. The shower base tiles have broken away from the corner wall tile which I presume has occurred as the glue has deteriorated underneath and weakened. Water is now going through this gap. I checked under the house and water is leaking so the waterproofing has failed.

We had the bathroom renovated 5 or so years ago by a tradesman but the shower itself was done poorly. . Would it be possible if I pull out the bottom row of wall tiles and the shower base, re-waterproof (i know technically the entire shower area should be waterproofed but want to avoid ripping apart everything) then install a proper shower base then re-tile the bottom row of the wall tiles?

I'm looking at getting a custom shower base from these guys as we have a 1100x800 base and I cannot find one anywhere as it is non standard base. I do not want to re-tile the shower base again.
UltraLow // Custom Shower Base | by formed

Would the above method work or would we have to literally rip it all out and start again?
Thank you.

To install a preformed shower base the wall foot plate and part of the upright wall timber has to be trimmed so that the wall sheeting overhangs the lip on the Back edges of the new shower base.

You could make a cut say 50mm below the second tile up the wall and insert a new bit of sheeting to get the overhang and make sure the cut joint is waterproofed as well as the wall floor joint before sliding the new base in, but this would be a bodgie fix.
Also set the base on a tile glue bedding to reduce movement, and make sure the 'O' ring on the drain connection is spotlessly clean as they are prone to leaking.

Note the above advice is not the best fix but will get you out of jail.

Good luck and fair winds.

Reminds me of this work mate I met once at Bunnings. He dragged me to the silicone stand to ask me which one he should buy to fix the shower in the first floor of his house that was leaking.
I asked how did he know it was leaking and from where since I knew his house was rather new.
He said ... it's from the crack in the shower floor ... (?) ... I can see the light from the room downstairs ... you see I have 4 boys and they are my same size ... (1.9m) ... and when someone opens the hot water in the kitchen they all communicate with the lower floor by stomping on the floor rather hard ...

Quote: We had the bathroom renovated 5 or so years ago by a tradesman but the shower itself was done poorly. The rest of the bathroom is in good condition. Would it be possible if I pull out the bottom row of wall tiles and the shower base, re-waterproof (i know technically the entire shower area should be waterproofed but want to avoid ripping apart everything) then install a proper shower base then re-tile the bottom row of the wall tiles?

Just re read your original post.

If this shower waterproofed only 5 years ago it will be covered with a warranty from the tradesman who did the job.

Have you considered contacting the tradesman?

Under the warranty you would not have to do anything, just provide access and the shower will be stripped, waterproofed and the tiles replaced at no cost to you.

Good luck and fair winds.