Mini jack / prop / wedge

[Pford75]

Wonder if anyone can help?

I'm looking for a mini jack or wedge. Basically, I need to provide more support to a shower tray which is moving during use. Access to the base of the tray is limited and my plan is to insert some timber (or suitable material) and then jack this up from underneath to force the tray upwards. I can't simply make a timber support since the access won't allow me to get it into place.

I'm sure these must exist, but can't seem to track them down. Any thoughts much appreciated

 

[Gervase]

Folding wedges are always handy, and can give a level surface for support - just push the thin ends of two identical wedges over each other and knock the thick ends until the desired height is reached. Rubbing a candle over the faces of the wedges helps them slide better over each other.

 

[Pford75]

Thanks - where can I find the wedges?

What do you think of the idea of using a mini jack?

http://www.sgs-engineering.com/spx-power-team/jacks/mini-jacks.php

 

[Gervase]

I generally make them myself - depending on the size it's done with a bandsaw or a plane. The advantage of wedges over a jack is that you have more 'feel' for the amount of pressure you're exerting. A jack can exert a huge amount of pressure over a small area, which could prove disastrous. They're ideal for hefty lifts, like jacking up A frames and the like to replace pads and wall plates, but I'd be wary of using them for smaller jobs. And wedges are virtually free!

 

[Gervase]

...that said, those mini jacks do look rather neat. Another piece of Gucci kit for the toobox!

 

[chuckey]

What I would attempt to do is to raise the shower tray with a crowbar or substitute. Then with a small clearance you could stuff in shims of hardboard, wooden blocks and shims etc. Removing the crowbar will allow the shower tray to sit tightly upon your new bits and hopefully remove any spring from the tray.
If you really want a small jack:- get a bolt say about 10mm diam and X mm long, a nut for it, a large washer and a block of wood with a hole greater then 10mm through it. Now assemble it thus, nut on bolt then washer then block of wood. Turn upside down. Now with a spanner or two hold the bolt head and twiddle the nut, the bolt head will rise and fall. It will be able to support 100Kg or so. So the thing to do is to arrange the length X and the thickness of the wooden block so it can fit in with the nut screwed up the bolt (lots of thread in the hole in block). So high block + short bolt or short block and long bolt. If your bolt is short, screw it up as far as you can, put in another block next to it to be a temporary support. Unscrew the nut and put another piece of wood under the screw block and start again.
Frank

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

Any chance of a photo?

I'm struggling to understand how you can get a jack in place but lack the access for a simple timber support. I'm obviously not getting the full picture here.....

 

[middi]

Gervase solution to the question is the best, the easiest and the cheapest. If you obtain a length of hard or treated wood 2/3 inches longer than the shower, the wood of same thickness after having estimated as accurate as possible the thickness of wood required to bring the tray level . All you need then to do is splice that length of wood diagonally end to end and you will end up with the perfect wedge. You can do that with a circular saw if you take care.

 

[Penners]

I've certainly used Gervase's/middi's method on a number of occasions. It has the additional benefit that - if you want to do this - the pair of wedges can be left in place as a permanent support for the shower tray, at whatever height you want.

Just bash them towards each other until you reach the required height. Then drive in a few screws to lock them together.

PS: I think middi meant "split" or "slice" rather than "splice".
(è vero?)

 

[Pford75]

Thanks all for the sage advice. Will let you know how it goes.

 

[middi]

I've certainly used Gervase's/middi's method on a number of occasions. It has the additional benefit that - if you want to do this - the pair of wedges can be left in place as a permanent support for the shower tray, at whatever height you want.

Just bash them towards each other until you reach the required height. Then drive in a few screws to lock them together.

PS: I think middi meant "split" or "slice" rather than "splice".
(è vero?)

Molto corretto, Davide.

 

[chuckey]

My ones can be left in as well, at the cost of the nuts and bolts. In my cottage we have a tall unit for the built in cooker wth insufficient headroom for conventional 165mm legs and plinth.I have installed four of these to give a plinth height of about 70mm. If my wife brings her digital camera up with her this weekend I will try and post a picture.
Frank

 

[Pford75]

After the sage advice from here (and having found out the price of the mini jacks in the link ), I decided to go with the wedge option. But being both lazy and busy at work (oh and also worse than useless at manual dexterity tasks), I cheated and purchased some wooden wedges from a chap on eBay http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Cole-Woodturners

I cut a number of blocks as tight as possible before using the wedges to drive the blocks tight up underneath the tray. I also purloined a couple of adjustable legs from an old kitchen cabinet in one of our barns.

Have also removed the grout between the tray and the bottom row of tiles and will be sealing right in the gap between tray and wall before regrouting.

Has persuaded me that either a stone tray or an all in one shower cabinet will be required for the ensuite....what's the view on here? I would imagine that leaking shower trays are one of the biggest sources of damage?

 

[Gervase]

I've found that shower trays - particularly those on wooden floors - are terribly prone to leakage unless you take one of two courses. One is to buy a tray with an upstanding lip all which goes under the tiles. Even then, however, there is a risk of leakage as the floor moves in relation to the wall.
The other, which I can wholeheartedly recommend, is a clever sealing strip made by Sealux. It's not cheap, at around £30, but it works, accommodating any movement but retaining a watertight seal. Screwfix sell it.

 

[Feltwell]

The other type I've seen recommended is TeleSeal:-

http://www.teleseal.co.uk/

Which you can retrofit, i.e. fit over tiles as well as under tiles on a new project. Also on Screwfix.

 

[Pford75]

I considered Teleseal, but my issue is that it looks so damn ugly. I suppose we should have done as Gervase has suggested and purchased a tray with an upstand.

 

[Flyfisher]

I can second the upstand suggestion from personal experience. Even if you could guarantee absolutely no movement between shower tray and wall, butt-jointing tiles to the shower tray is always going to be prone to problems as the sealant degrades. An upstand completely eliminates the need for a water-tight joint in the first place and allows for movement between the shower tray and wall, which is surely the majority of cases.

 

[Penners]

Those Sealux and Teleseal tips are invaluable - thanks Gervase and Feltwell.

Getting a good, permanent seal around a bath or shower is a perenniel problem, and those two products look like really good solutions.

Having used a shower tray with a water-retention upstand for the first time, last year, I would now never use anything else. It seems incredible that anyone makes shower trays to any other design.

 

[Pford75]

I just wish I had known this before having the shower fitted and the bathroom tiled.

If this current solution fails, I may be tempted to remove the bottom row of tiles, insert a Sealux and retile. Anyone know if I'll be able to get a good match on the grout colour or will there be an obvious difference?

 

[Penners]

If the grout is still pretty new, and you use the same brand, I don't think you'll notice the difference.