Before applying any sealant to a bath enclosure, it
is important to fully understand some basic concepts about
the nature of sealants and how they perform when applied.
Any sealant, whether it’s latex caulk or silicone, acts
as a barrier when applied in a wet environment such as a
bath enclosure. The objective is to keep water from extending
beyond the barrier of sealant that the installer applies.
For this reason, regardless of the type of door being installed,
the easiest, most practical and most functional seal is
obtained by applying sealant along the entire outer perimeter
of the bath enclosure. In layman’s terms, to keep water
to the wet side, seal the dry side.
Although an installer may elect to seal the total interior
perimeter of the enclosure as well, it is important to note
that an exterior as well as an interior barrier can create
a reservoir of water. If water can find a way to get beyond
the interior layer of sealant it most certainly will not
run back into the shower. The interior sealant precludes
this possibility. Thus, the installer has inadvertently
created a potential service call if a reservoir is formed
and fills faster than it can drain. What’s worse, the eventual
leak is not the source of the problem, but merely the result.
You can reapply sealant at the outer leak point repeatedly,
but the true source of the problem is not being addressed.
This is not to say that sealant should never be applied
to certain interior components. It’s just necessary to ensure
that water can weep back into the shower and down the drain.
For instance, in the majority of installations on tile,
the surface of the tile has a great deal of texture. When
a wall jamb is attached to such a surface, there are often
small air gaps between the metal and the wall. Sealant can
be applied here, but its function is solely aesthetic.
Specific Tips for Bypass Units
For bypass units, it is advisable to seal the full exterior
perimeter. The joints where the wall jambs and the bottom
tracks meet can be sealed to preclude water from collecting
underneath the bottom track. This can be accomplished after
installation with frameless units, but framed units utilizing
our free-flow or “double L” sills need to have sealant applied
to the end of the track prior to installation. It is most
difficult to attempt this after the unit has been installed.
At that point, the only way to ensure that the area is sealed
is to pump a great deal of sealant into the corner, the
results of which can be objectionable to the homeowner.
Specific Tips for Stand Alone Swing Doors
The shallow underside of our low profile thresholds
provide excellent areas for sealant application. Seal between
the drip anchor and the bottom rail on the framed doors
to preclude water from leaking down behind the sweep when
the door is open.
Frameless doors utilizing tape applied drip rails need
to be sealed once the drip rail is attached to the bottom
of the glass. A bead of sealant against the glass at the
top edge of this drip rail will ensure that a barrier of
protection is given to the tape, as certain cleaners have
the possibility of eroding the tape’s adhesive properties.
Specific Tips for CrystalLine Custom Hinge Units
Perhaps the most functional interior sealant is that
applied when “wet glazing” between the interior sides of
buttress glass panels and their respective thresholds. Instead
of glazing vinyl, applying a bead of sealant between the
glass and the threshold eliminates the possibility of water
entering the buttress threshold. Deflecting water in this
manner not only makes a tight seal, but also precludes the
necessity of unsightly weep holes in the buttress threshold.
When glazing vinyl is used horizontally, every application
requires weep holes on the interior side of the threshold.
Weep holes in a door threshold that are a mere 5 inches
above the shower pan are hardly noticeable. Buttress threshold
weep holes can approach 36 inches from the shower pan and
prove to be aesthetically objectionable to the homeowner.
Should an installer decide to seal down the interior
walls, it is advisable to stop the sealant bead at the top
of the door threshold. This allows any water that might
seep into the door threshold to drain to a wall and back
into the shower. If the installer seals all the way to the
curb, then this water has to build up to the first possible
weep hole it can reach.
In some cases it might prove worthwhile to seal the
joint where the buttress threshold nests inside the corresponding
vertical member. If this is done, make sure that it is executed
only on the exterior side of the enclosure.
