HELP!! with a leaking shower!!

[quackfly]

well fellas, just wondering if any of you have come across this problem, i went to a customers house to look at a leaking shower which is leaking down to the room below, the lady reckons the water comes down fairly heavily when the shower is in use as in its more than just damp coming thru if you follow. now, she told me her husband removed some tiles 8 months ago and the wall was wet, he let the wall dry for a week and replaced the tiles, re-grouted with a waterproof grout and re sealed the shower with silicone. all was well for 8 months until now and the problems returned. ive examined the shower, a standard domestic one, two tiled walls, two glass doors. i cant find any major holes or gaps in either the sealant or grout other than a couple of pinhole holes here and there and the wet wall isnt the one with the shower unit on it. what is puzzelling me is i just dont know if its a pipe problem or a tile/sealant problem. ive told her i would re seal and re grout the shower for her because according to her its worked for quite a while and if it was a leak in her pipes it would certainly have come out somewhere else very quickly. taking the tiles off are a last resort as the place she got them has gone bust and the whole bathroom is tiled in the same tile. have i choosen the right course of action to start with by trying the least costly option for the customer? i dont have regular computer access at the mo so wont be able to reply in real time to any questions but any and all thoughts will be most welcome cos im quite cunfused!! hope that made sense lol

[CJ]

Is the damp wall area in the same area as the pipe runs? or even the waste pipe?

[frostfree]

If the floor is not tiled, try and take up a section of flooring and have a look underneath the shower tray. This may give an idea of where the water is coming from. A waste problem wiil be obvious when the shower is used.
Could also be the weight of a person in the shower causing the tray to move slightly and open up a crack in the grout or sealant.
Personally I wouldnt regrout, as the problem will only occur again in a few months time.
I've seen quite a few of these type of leaks and often there is quite a lot of unseen damage such as rotten floors and joists.

[Dave]

If it has taken 8 months to leak again then maybe it is a silicone problem...is it a plastic tray..?..maybe flexing of the tray has weakened the seal over time....and the split is not noticeable till you stand in the tray....push down on the corners of the tray and see if there is any flexing...

[Colour Republic]

also check the trap. Over a period of time the top screw in part (the bit you see when standing in the shower) can work its self loose if it hasn't been fitted correctly. I've seen this happen on at least 6 trays in the last couple of years

[365drills]

Yes I'd go with Colour Republic. My gut would be a leaking waste pipe under the shower tray. It might be possible to access via the room below.

Cut a patch out of the plasterboard ceiling to investigate the trap.



The facts are that the shower leaks when in use.
There are only minimal signs of tiles being at fault.

If it were water feed pipes the leak would be the same even if the shower wasnt on.

If the leak is at the shower head water may be at chest height.

But leaks are funny things.

My gut still tells me to look at the waste trap under the shower tray.



Dry or leaking ? - Can you take a photo if you cant get your head in? This is how we inspected the trap for this shower