Fit a Shower Screen Without Leaks

A shower screen seems simple: glass panel, two brackets, done. Then six months later there's water on the bathroom floor every morning. Almost every leaking shower screen I'm called to fix has the same handful of root causes.

Step 1: check the tray or floor is dead level

Before any screen goes up, the tray or floor where the bottom edge sits must be level — or sloping toward the drain, not away from it. A 2mm slope outward over a 1m screen will dump water onto the bathroom floor every shower. Use a spirit level and shim if needed.

Step 2: pick the right screen type

• Fixed wet-room panel: single glass panel, no door. Best for walk-in showers. Easy to clean, least likely to leak if installed correctly.
• Hinged or pivot door: one moving panel, swings out or in. The seal at the hinge is the typical failure point.
• Sliding bath screen: over-bath, folds inward. Compact, but more seals to maintain.

Step 3: prep the wall fixings properly

The wall channel that holds the glass needs to be screwed into something solid. Tile + plasterboard usually means: drill through the tile (carefully, with a diamond bit), then into the wall behind. Use the right anchor for the substrate — metal anchors for plasterboard, brown plugs for brick.

Step 4: silicone the right places (and only those places)

Apply a continuous bead of bathroom-grade sanitary silicone:

• Behind the wall channel before fixing it (compresses against the tile to form a watertight seal).
• Along the inside of the bottom edge, between the screen and the tray.
• Around the top of the wall channel where it meets the tile.

Do not silicone the outside of the bottom edge of the screen — you need water that gets onto the screen to be able to run off back into the tray.

Step 5: smooth the silicone properly

A clean tool with a corner edge, dipped in soapy water, run along the bead in one smooth pass. Don't tool wet silicone with a finger and water — you'll get a wavy, dirty line that traps mould.

Step 6: let it cure before testing

Sanitary silicone needs 24 hours to cure fully. Use the shower lightly after 12 hours, fully after 24. A "test shower" in the first 6 hours will displace fresh silicone and create gaps.

Common mistakes that cause leaks

• Skipping the bead behind the wall channel — water tracks behind the tile.
• Using regular silicone instead of sanitary (no mould inhibitor).
• Tray slopes outward — install was on top of a previously botched job.
• Door seals worn or perished — replace as a kit every 2-3 years.
• Tightening the brackets unevenly so the glass is slightly twisted — creates gaps at corners.

When to call a handyman

If you have to drill tile, if the tray's not level, or if the silicone job is going to be visible (i.e. all of the time), it's worth getting it done by someone who does it every week. Most shower screens take me 90 minutes to fit, including drilling tile, fixing the channel, hanging the glass and siliconing.