Streamline was initially developed after a large project builder became completely frustrated by the never cycle of call-backs to fix leaking showers.
Leak testing undertaken by the builder involved plugging the waste with an inflatable bladder and filling the recess with water from another source. The recess would hold water, indicating that the membrane was sound. The builder would then call the plumber who would pressure test the pipework and find no leaks.
This cycle would repeat itself over and over until the builder, out of shear desperation, called on the industry to find out why the leaks were occurring and to come up with a more reliable method of sealing a shower.
Australian manufacturing firm Gleda Pty Ltd recognised the need and began a detailed examination of current methods and designs.
Exhaustive testing was undertaken to establish exactly where and how these leaks were occurring. These tests began to show a common thread across numerous shower designs. Whether the shower utilised a tiled hob, a recessed substrate or a flow-through design with a submerged angle, any sealing of the screen was reliant on a silicon join between the screen and the tiles. Over a time span much less than the warranty period, the silicon join was degrading and causing the integrity of the seal to be compromised. Secondly, models using dyed water showed that even while the silicon remained intact, grout, being porous, was allowing water to seep down below the tiles and into the glue cavity between the membrane and the tiles. Expansion and contraction resulting from the cycles of heat and cold was “pumping’ water over the hob or angle to escape the enclosure entirely.
Once this process was understood, it became clear that for any design to be successful, it would have to incorporate a method to seal the screen directly to the membrane.
A group of professionals consisting of Waterproofers, Tilers, Screen-Installers, Building Supervisors and Certifiers were called together to look closely at the current methods and list in detail, the issues they saw as being important to their respective tasks.
From this list, a series of requirements were drawn up which would address each issue and provide the design parameters for a new method of shower construction.
The design parameters were:
• A positive connection between the waterproofing membrane and the screen, with a failsafe incorporated to prevent leaks due to time-induced silicon failure. Any seal was NOT to be reliant on a silicon join between a screen and tiles.
• One piece design to minimise potential leak points
• Correct fall to waste
• Compatibility with modern, liquid membranes
• Minimal tile cutting
• Ease of screen fitment
• Minimum footprint to maximise available floor space
• Full compliance with Australian Standards
• Aesthetic traits to be adaptable across a wide range of bathroom styles and price points
• As close to cost-neutral as possible when compared to traditional methods
Prototypes were developed, tested, refined and tested again until eventually a system was developed which encompassed all of the design requirements.
A small production run was undertaken and the showers were installed in the field with feedback from each trade closely monitored. Once approval was received from all parties, the dies were cut and Gleda set about tooling up their 1500 square metre factory for production.
The frustrated builder became Gleda’s first customer. So great has been the market acceptance that over half a million showers have now been produced and installed right across the country.
Waterstop Streamline is fast to install, seals the screen directly to the membrane and provides a fail-safe in the event of silicon degradation. It also incorporates a template for the tiler so that the correct fall to waste is ensured and screen fitment is simple. Tiling costs are significantly reduced and it doesn’t rely on an exposed and vulnerable bead of silicon to prevent the screen from leaking.
With the new accessibility requirements, one shower needs to be wheelchair accessible to comply with the accessibility requirements.
However, rebated showers can be quite problematic for the various trades involved.
They are fiddly for concreters to box up and very difficult to get in exactly the right place. After the house is framed, the rebates often extend into hallways or adjoining rooms.
There are often large gaps between the bottom of the wall sheeting and the bottom of the rebate, forcing Waterproofers to bridge the gap, often with plastic or aluminium angle. Adding more joins simply increases the number of potential leak points.
The recesses in the slab seem to be a convenient place for other contractors to sweep their rubbish into, leaving the waterproofer to clean up the mess before he can even start work.
Being a low point in the slab, the recesses naturally hold water and are often wet when the waterproofer arrives. This increases the cost when the waterproofer needs to reschedule the job.
The bases of the rebates are often very rough, which creates problems for liquid membranes like inadequate thickness at the high points and very thick, slow drying areas at the low points.
Very often, the edges of the recess are raised due to the formwork, and this needs to be ground down by the waterproofer. The waterstop placed around the periphery of the rebate needs to be level, and this can be difficult to achieve.
By contrast, Streamline hobs are one-piece and rigid, making them easy to level.
Gleda’s Managing Director, Brett Krey explains “When the accessibility requirements were first released, we had a number of builders decide to make all of the showers in the house rebated, but due to the problems mentioned, most of them are now installing one rebated shower to cover the requirement, and using Streamline for all other showers in the home. It’s a no brainer for builders to use Streamline for the nonwheelchair accessible showers. Why invite more headaches than you need to?”
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phone (07) 5426 3700 or email
