It’s common to have a shower screen for walk-in showers, or showers with a bathtub above them. While not ideal, the wall that a shower screen is going to be attached to can be uneven. Today, I will cover whether a shower screen can be installed on an uneven wall.
As a general rule, you can put a shower screen on an uneven wall. However, only if the uneven wall is only out by a maximum of ¼ of an inch (5 mm). For a shower screen that is attached with metal brackets the wall needs to be evened out so it’s plumb.
The framing (channel) for a shower screen is not what holds the glass, it’s the silicon liners. Therefore, shower screens with a channel can be out by a little bit. The unevenness of the glass inside the channel won’t be seen and will still function correctly. Below, I will explain if it’s a good idea to install a shower screen on an uneven wall, and what tools and preparation you need to do it.
Can You Put Shower Screen on an Uneven Wall? (How To)
Walls in bathrooms are almost always made of drywall, and some bathrooms are also tiled. While care is typically taken to make walls perfectly flat they can be slightly uneven. So, this is whether it’s possible to put a shower screen on an uneven wall.
Overall, you can put a shower screen on an uneven wall. Shower screens with a channel that sits against the wall can be installed provided the channel doesn’t need to bend more than ¼ of an inch (5 mm). Shower screens with metal brackets need to plumb to make the shower screen level.
There are about 4 types of shower screens. But, they connect to the wall in 2 days. Either with a channel, or with metal brackets. The channel for a shower screen can still screw into a wall just fine provided it doesn’t need to bend more than about ¼ of an inch (5 mm).
For example, if parts of the wall are raised the channel will need to bend over the raised area. This is perfectly fine. When you fit the glass for the shower screen into the channel it will leave enough room that it can fit securely into the channel.
The channel itself is not what holds the glass in place by rather the silicon seal. If it has brackets on the bottom, these also hold it in place. However, if it’s the type of shower screen that has brackets on the wall, the wall can not be uneven.
The reason is the brackets fit very precisely into the glass panel. If they are slightly off they won’t fit into the glass. Therefore, you need to use one of the methods below to even out the wall first.
Should You Put Shower Screen on Uneven Wall?
In an ideal world all walls everywhere would be perfectly flat and level in all directions. However, it’s often the case that a wall is slightly off, and has raised or lowered areas, and is not perfectly level vertically or horizontally. So, this is whether it’s a good idea to put a shower screen on an uneven wall.
Overall, you should put a shower screen on an uneven wall. Provided, the wall is only off by a maximum of ¼ of an inch (5 mm), and it’s attached to the wall with a channel and not brackets. If it’s a shower screen that attaches with brackets, the wall needs to be perfectly flat.
Otherwise, the metal brackets won’t fit the glass. A channel is more forgiving and the glass can be adjusted so that it’s not pushed in all the way inside the bracket. Doing so will avoid any minor areas that are uneven.
And allow it to be perfectly level, even though the wall is not. However, a glass panel that is attached with metal brackets to the wall requires a perfectly flat wall.
The glass panel has very precise areas where the brackets attach. So, if the brackets aren’t true and are at a slight angle they won’t fit into the shower screen.
Issue with building up an uneven wall using spackle or builders clay
Spackle, builders clay and similar materials work great to even out drywall, and are very easy to use. It’s generally accepted that they are not strong enough to hold a load bearing screw. Therefore, if you are building up areas where the screws for the brackets, or channel need to go, you need to bear in mind the built up area won’t hold any weight.
Only the drywall underneath. So, the layer of spackle or builders clay can’t be very thick.
Generally, no more than about ¼ of an inch (5 mm) of spackle, or builders clay above the drywall where screws will go. This will allow enough of the screw to be lodged in the drywall, and provide enough strength to hold the shower screen in place.
What Tools Do You Need To Put Shower Screen on Uneven Wall
To install a shower screen requires a few common tools. But, for a wall that is uneven a few extra tools are required, if it needs to be adjusted so that the shower screen will fit. Here’s a list of the tools you need to put a shower screen on an uneven wall.
An angle grinder with a tile attachment (optional), a spirit level, electric drill, hammer, pipe detector, pencil, masonry bit (optional), caulk, and a caulk gun. An angle grinder is only required if the surface is tile and out by more than ¼ of an inch (5 mm).
A masonry bit is typically required to drill into the tile floor. Care needs to be taken when drilling into tile floors so that the tiles don’t crack. But, it isn’t required for a shower screen that is installed above a bathtub.
Bathtubs are made of a few different types of materials. So, before drilling into a bathtub you need to know what your bathtub is made out of. In extreme cases a drywall panel will need to be replaced so it’s flush, or built up using builders mud.
Copyright protected content owner: ReadyToDIY.com and was initially posted on September 23, 2022.
Builders mud is not very strong, and you should not have an area of thick hardened builders mud where you need to drill the holes. If the glass door is accidentally bumped reasonably hard it can crack the builders mud, and it will need to be patched.
What Preparations Do You Need To Install Shower Screen on Uneven Wall
While it’s possible to install a shower wall with a channel on an uneven wall that isn’t too uneven, it’s necessary to do some prep work for shower screens that attach with a metal bracket, and very uneven shower walls. This is what prep is required to install a shower screen on an uneven wall.
In general, you only need to do some preparation if the wall is out by more than ¼ of an inch (5 mm) and it’s a shower screen that attaches to the wall with a channel not metal brackets. If so, you will need to grind down raised areas, and build up depressed areas. Explained below.
To grind down raised areas you can use an angle grinder with a tile attachment. It’s impossible to build up raised areas on tile. But, can be done on drywall.
This should only be done for shower screens with a channel. If it attaches with a metal bracket the wall needs to be perfectly flat and level. To build up areas that are lower than the rest of the wall use spackle, builders mud or similar (for drywall).
However, there is an issue with doing this for shower screens that are attached with a metal clip. This is explained in detail a bit further up in the article under the heading ‘Issue with building up an uneven wall using spackle or builders clay’.
How To Install Shower Screen on Uneven Wall
Installing a shower screen needs to be done properly otherwise it can allow too much water to get in the rest of the bathroom. An uneven wall makes installing a shower screen more complicated, but it’s still possible. Here’s how to install a shower screen on an uneven wall.
Overall, you should first measure the wall to see how uneven it is, to see if any preparation is required. If the shower screen has a channel (metal frame) it can be installed as per normal. But, for a shower screen with metal brackets, the wall needs to be evened out, explained below.
If the wall is tile, and no more than ¼ of an inch (5 mm) off, then using a shower screen with a channel (metal frame that attaches to the wall), is best. It’s possible to grind down the tiles using an angle grinder with a tile attachment. But, this won’t work in all cases.
And can require removing a large amount of the tile and grout. Therefore, you will need to decide whether to remove the existing tiles, and install new ones that are perfectly level or not.
Copyright article owner is ReadyToDiy.com for this article. This post was first published on September 23, 2022.
In general, you can put a shower screen on an uneven wall. If the wall has uneven areas that are raised or lowered by more than ¼ of an inch (5 mm) some preparation is required. Also, for a shower screen that is attached with metal brackets rather than a channel, the wall needs to be perfectly flat.
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ReadyToDIY is the owner of this article. This post was published on September 23, 2022.