How do I seal a bathroom?

[NerdyIsMyMiddleName]

Just looking for advice from anyone who's done this really. We've got two large-ish bathrooms, each with a walk in shower (one has a bath as well, not sure if that's relevant) in our 1st and 2nd floor flat.

We've also got two teenage sons, who have long showers and don't always keep the water inside the shower 🙄

Under both showers there's now water damage, and just recently the flat below us has reported that water's now coming through (most of it is on the ceiling in our hall, but it looks like it might be traveling along to theirs now too).

My question is - is there a way of completely waterproofing the bathroom floors? And what's the best way to go about that - with a bathroom company, a builder, or something else? Has anyone had any experience of this they'd be OK with sharing?

It needs to be properly tanked out. I’d say that’s a professional tradesman job personally.

What's on your walls? In one house we had cladding on the walls which flexed allowing the sealant to pull and crack. We had to remove it all and replace with tiles and it never leaked again.

I think the walls are just plaster! We only bought this flat a couple of years ago. It looks like it's been done up to sell, including an attic conversion, and the bathrooms look like they've been put in to look good but on a tight budget so some things may have been skipped.

So you recommend tiling the walls?

If it's done up to sell I'd get a plumber in to work out where the water is coming from . It could be a dodgy waste pipe connection. If not the whole thing will need resealing.

What do you have, stand alone shower cabinets? Or is the shower against the wall?

The showers are both the same Aqualisa ones, they're against the wall (tiled) on two sides, with a glass panel on the third and with an open entrance - which is where at least some of the trouble is, but not all of it.

The teenagers deny they're spraying any water out of the cubicle, but I have my doubts!

I just had a look, and behind the chrome shower head there seems to be a bit of rust - plumber has been called!

How old are the tiles? It could be that you need to redo the grout to stop water moisture going between the tiles. With any other areas or corners that need sealing, you should use a very good quality silicone sealant. Cheap stuff you buy from the DIY store is filled with rubbish and simply doesn't last that long.

If its anything more than that, it could be that you need to rip it all out and start again. Wet rooms are a pain as, and I think you rightly know, the water gets absolutely everywhere.