Shower stall has pulled away from the wall

[sivartneelia]

The shower stall wall (one piece) has come unstuck from the wall. How do I fix it? I cleaned all the existing caulking from the top edge and added a second layer of thin foam double-backed tape (the same stuff that's already there). I re-caulked using HDX Latex Plus Silicone All-Purpose caulk. I checked on it the next day and it had pulled away from the wall again, cracking the caulk.

Any suggestions?

[sonora]

Does anybody have any idea how to remove the same type shower surround from the wall when it is NOT pulling away from the wall and is still firmly glued?

In the future I need to do that to be able to replace the lower tub as it has cracked from pour bracing from underneath.

[sivartneelia]

Oh, by the way...I checked and there are no screws that I can see anywhere in the shower/tub assembly, nor in the accordion shower door frame. I'd rather keep it that way if at all possible to minimize the potential of future leaks. Also, when I push on the flat part of the shower wall near the door frame then let go I can hear it unstick from the wall, as though it was originally attached with a spray adhesive and it's no longer effective.

Aileen.

[sivartneelia]

I hope this works. Hopefully you'll see the top part of our shower stall in the first picture and the cracked caulk in the second. After I clean all the caulk and residue off the shower stall and wall (again) I'll try to get another picture of what's behind it. I found it rather interesting and I'm not sure if it's the norm. It may be a while before I can get that done, though. Thank you all again for your help.

Aileen.

[sivartneelia]

ScottG wrote:
There are adhesives designed for shower stall walls that might work better (avail. at ACE HW). Any chance you can also use a discretely placed screw or two to mechanically hold it?

Thanks for your suggestions. I'd rather not resort to screws if I don't have to. I'll try your other idea of an adhesive designed for shower stalls. I just used what I had on hand.

I'll try to upload some pictures so you have a visual of what I'm working on.

[handye9]

Another option may be a PVC Cap molding. Like this

Run it accross the top of shower wall (to cover the gap), fasten it with screws (predrill the cap material), and put a bead of caulk accross top of the cap.

[myredracer]

A photo would help. If it's anything like ours, the frame is screwed to the wall. The screws need to go into some solid wood like a stud or other backer wood. If the screws only go into the thin 1/8" luan plywood, the frame can pull away from the wall. The factory may have missed a stud (due to poor workmanship). You may need to angle the screws to hit a stud. Screws need to be long enough to penetrate a stud but not too long so it comes out the other side and causes damage.

If re-doing the shower with new caulk, you must completely remove all traces of old silicone because fresh caulk will not adhere to cured silicone and the caulking WILL fail. For a shower stall to adjacent walls or floors, I would use 100% silicone and not siliconized caulk. For caulking around tubs, tiled showers, kitchen counters, etc., I like to use premium grade caulks (not the HD stuff) which can bought at tile supply shops and contractor tiling supply shops. A little basic info. here: http://www.factsfacts.com/MyHomeRepair/caulk.htm Silicone makes a strong joint and is used for example, in holding glass panels in place in cabinet doors.

[BarneyS]

Moved to Tech Issues forum from DIY.

[westend]

I'd suggest to use a shower stall adhesive instead of the tape. Brace the stall walls for a couple of days to let the adhesive set up. What's working against you is that the stall walls have some compression force that wants to move part of stall wall away from the framed opening.

[ScottG]

There are adhesives designed for shower stall walls that might work better (avail. at ACE HW). Any chance you can also use a discretely placed screw or two to mechanically hold it?