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Hi there... Wondering if anyone can help me solve an issue with an old shower base. I have a shower room which i cant use at all. The paint on the shower base is peeling. It looks like concrete underneath? I have used some cleaners, bleach etc to get more paint off. I tried showering with a shower mat and broke out in an allergic rash. I think the paint might have led in it. My house is 1950s or 60s red brick.
The aim is just to make the shower usable for the least amount of money. If i can paint or seal it somehow to make it safe, that would be ideal.
Thanks so much for your time in reading this.
Linda
Hi @Linda_Grace,
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community! It is awesome you have joined and thank you for your question about re-sealing your shower base. I'm sorry to read that the shower mat didn't help at all, that sounds awful. Our resident DIY expert @EricL will be online later this afternoon but let me tag our great members @MikeTNZ, @Ari, and @MGusto to check with what they would suggest.
If you ever have more home improvement questions please do not hesitate to ask, we are here to help.
Katie
Sorry for the slow reply @Linda_Grace. I'm sure Eric will get back to you ASAP.
In the meantime, there is plenty of expert advice from our other resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert Mitch in this article - Can you paint a shower base?
It's going to be really important that we correctly identify what the base is. Could you have a go at removing some more of the peeling paint and sharing some close up photos to help identification? There's a chance lead-based paint could have been used on the shower base, so please wear protective equipment such as gloves and mask.
Jason
Hello @Linda_Grace
My apologies for the late reply. As much as I would like to recommend a stop gap measure, I recommend fixing this problem properly in one go. Painting the surface will give you a few months at best, it will then start to chip, and you would have to spend more to have it fixed again.
If the base material has lead in it the common repair procedure is to cover it rather than disturb the layer causing lead particles to spread. I recommend getting a quote from a tradesperson or tiler on how much to do just the base of your shower. By covering your shower base with tiles, it will effectively isolate the old layer and you won't have to worry about it for a few years until you decide to renovate the bathroom.
In the meantime, if you have another shower at home, I suggest not using the other one until you have the floor tiled over.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
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