Tiled shower floor - sooner or later trouble due to silicone joint?

Hello everyone,

if I want to tile the floor of the shower area, won’t I sooner or later (probably > 10 years) have problems at the following spot: the silicone joint between the outer floor tile and the first wall tile standing vertically next to it. This will surely be smeared over with silicone/acrylic and sooner or later there will be a spot that is not watertight. Then water will run – without me noticing much – under the tiles while showering.

Isn’t that a big disadvantage for tiled shower areas?

Thanks and best regards
Annabell

there is a dense layer underneath ... And: silicone joints are maintenance joints. Better not to wait 10 years to renew but to act "proactively" and have them renewed after, let's say, 5-6 years, or earlier if needed. ... commas are not really my thing, I have been placing them by feeling for 40 years ....

Silicone joint between the outer floor tile and the first wall tile standing vertically there.

What would be your thought, trouble-free alternative?

This will surely be smeared over with silicone/acrylic

...or you apply a properly done silicone joint. "Smearing over" also somehow works. You can also smear plaster and paint on the wall, lay cables tangled around, install doors & windows crookedly, etc... :D

Then water runs - without me really noticing it - under the tiles when showering.

You should check now and then; but that applies everywhere in the house... If the joint gets damaged at some point then you make a new silicone joint. You can easily do that yourself and it doesn’t take long. As long as THAT remains the only problem during house construction you can consider yourself lucky. If you use a shower tray, you just have the joints where it meets the wall tiles.

Isn't that a bigger drawback for tiled shower areas

That is just as big a drawback as a full ashtray in the car... you wouldn't buy a new one because of that!

(And there is also a silicone joint between the tray and the wall in shower trays)

What actually happens to water that runs onto the waterproofing through a defective joint? I mean, at some point the waterproofing must be completely flooded, right? o_O

What do you think? Either it evaporates....and if not, it does what standing liquid does....with shower gel, sweat, and other things that run down your body. Now honestly....are you really worried about this? Every bathroom in Germany has this and you don't hear much about resulting disasters. Joints are properly sealed, always check now and then as in the kitchen or elsewhere, and if they become brittle, new ones are installed. Kitchen drain, toilet drain, rain gutter, etc., just like motor oil or coolant. Check and correct if necessary!