Wooden Frame in Shower area.. How to Seal... HELP

Hi Guys,

I am currently in the final planning stages of redesigning a bathroom. I have an issue that I don't know how to 100 percent tackle in regards to the placement of a relatively large window (Wooden frame) where the Shower will be situated.. The major issue I have with it is that of sealing Because water wil be splashed up near it on a daily basis when showering & the aesthetics of it. I have read the following thread where someone had a similar issue:

https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2748


In summary the best recommendation there was to do the following to seal the window using an Epoxy fibreglass resin from a Marine Supply store.. Below is an extract (Compliments go to Captwally):


"If you decide to keep the wood, seal it with a quality Epoxy Fiberglass Resin, Then caulk it with either a polysulfide (3M 5200) or combination polysulfide/silicone type sealant such as "boatLife." These products are very much superior to anything you find in a home center or hardware store."


What I am planning to do is the following:

A: Remove the Wood frame around the window, place cement sheating & suitable tiles right up to the edge of the frame.

Refer to Picture "A remove Frame.jpg"


B: Levaling out the inside of the frame all around the inner part of the window. place cement sheating & the right small suitable tiles all around the inside. I am hoping that by placing cement sheating on the innder wood trim of the window it will mitigate against expansion & retraction so that the tiling on top of it will remain intact.

Refer to Picture "B Leval out Picture 1 .JPG"


C: Finalizing the job by using a Epoxy Fibreglass Resion as suggested by Captwally (See above) around the all other parts that have exposed wood. This would be around areas such as the wood that holds the Frosted glass in place.

Refer to Picture "C Epoxy Resin & Window Lip.JPG"

In Picture "C Epoxy Resin & Window Lip.JPG" X represents the LIP the Glass window touches when the window is fully closed. Everything in front of the LIP (Towards inside of Bathroom) will be tiled as mentioned in point B. Whilst everything behind the LIP (Towards outside of house) will be using a similar Epoxy Resin method as mentioned above in Point C.


I am hoping by doing the above it will seal the window frame from water sufficiently & also give a resonably nice aesthetic appeal to it. Removing the frame & replacing it with a completely waterproof material is last resort. Its a MASSIVE job & I really think the above should suffice. I really hope to get peoples comments here.


Thanks in advance.


Brad

Cement board isn't affected by moisture, but it is not a waterproof surface...it will absorb and transmit moisture.

I think you'll have big issues with an opening wood window in a shower area. You won't be able to seal the wood to glass junction well, either. I'd bite the bullet and replace that window with a vinal one, then you'd have a chance.

At a minimum, I'd use something like RedGard on the windowsill and any areas you can't epoxy that is going to be tiled. You can't paint over this, but can put cbu on then tile. You might want to do the Redgard after installation of the CBU. I'd ask questions like this over at www.johnbridge.com. The hassle is, any moisture that hit the window might flow down it, and you don't want it to get underneath the waterproofing layer. It will be very tough to do well. That's why it would be better to replace the window with one that won't be affected by moisture at all. They specialize in tile and stonework there...you'll get some people that can give you expert opinions from long-term experience.

Save yourself a lot of headache and replace it with an all vinyl awning window and use vinyl trim.

Can't source Vinyl window frame in Australia

Hi guys,

The more I look into thie the vinyl window frame sounds like the best option. BUT, I have been trying hard to source a supplier of an all vinyl window frame over this side of the world in Australia. Noone seems to have it.. All that is around are wood & aluminium based frames.

What are peoples thoughts on using aluminium? Obviously its not going to rot or rust. Aesthetic wise (Unless you paint it which means more overall maintanence) its probably going to be harder to blend in with the tiling (I have white tiling) so I am not sure on how the end result would really look.

Are there any concerns in using an aluminium frame that I should be aware of?

The insulation factor of aluminum is horrible - it's a great conductor. If it doesn't have a finish, it will eventually pit and look terrible and will be hard to keep clean. You can buy an aluminum shower door that is anodized and they can look good for a long time, but to get white, I think it would need to be painted. You should be able to find a window treated the same.

Also, aluminum expands and contracts a fair amount, so you will need a flexible seal to keep water from going under or around it. The windowsill is likely flat, ideally, it would be sloped back into the shower.