Pesky leaking shower

[Drew99GT]

Have you ever had a problem so frustrating that you've come close to ripping your eyeballs out? Well, I'm dealing with that now. My upstairs shower developed a leak into my basement - thankfully the room below it is the furnace room with no drywall. I recently installed a new glass shower door, cleaned everything up, perfectly installed GE Silicon II caulking (the best of the best), and it was fine for about 2 months, then started leaking. I checked all the grout and tile, everything looks fine, so I re-caulked it. 2 months go by and it's fine and has recently started leaking again. It only leaks when weight is in the shower basin - ie when someone takes a shower. I just did all the testing - filled the basin with water and let it sit over night - no leak. It didn't even leak when I stepped in the basin and stood there for 15 minutes listening to the freakin radio. So I take a shower - waterfall into the basement. I just ripped out the new door and got on my hands and knees and inspected everything - the best I can tall is, it's been leaking before I got the house because the boards below the shower are fairly rotted. There's some big gaps between the wall and the shower basin on the exterior, I'm guessing from contracting and expanding from leaks. That leads me to believe that the whole darn thing flexes so much that after 2 months, the caulking starts cracking and ripping off the surfaces from excessive movement, and the waterfall begins.

So now I have to take a half day from work and get someone in here to look at it and likely rip the whole [censored] thing out and install a new shower insert. I want to rip the tile off and get one entire molded shower "thingy" for lack of a better word. That way there's no tile grout or sealing issues ever again.

Thanks for letting me rant.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Have you ever had a problem so frustrating that you've come close to ripping your eyeballs out?


Yes.

Leaks are a pain. From your post I couldn't tell if it's coming from the drain or from the piping to the shower. You could have a bad valve or some kind of valve issue in the plumbing.

Good luck with it; with the rotten wood I'm surprised the home inspector didn't find it.

 

[Drew99GT]

It's definitely not a valve/pressure side issues, and it's not the drain. I can look up right at the drain from the furnace room below. No leakage there!

 

[Warstud]

Maybe the shower head is at fault. Make sure it's on tight and not dripping down the wall and thru the badly grouted/caulked tile or tub. Second.... aim the shower head out further to see if it quits leaking.

 

[demarpaint]

This might help you. I had a customer go nuts with a shower stall, he called in a plumber who had to open his living room ceiling to have a look from the underside. He claimed to have fixed it, I plastered up the ceiling and painted it. A few months later I get a call back to re-plaster the ceiling.

I asked my customer if he minded if I had a look at the shower causing the problem. Tile, and grout was fine, the plumbing was good too. I pulled the metal plate off the wall, that covers the hole that the pipe the shower head is connected to, comes out of. I wanted to see if water could be bouncing off a person and finding its way into the wall. As it turns out the water was bouncing off my customer when he showering, and getting behind the plate which leaked down the wall. I took some GE caulk and caulked the opening then put the plate back, problem solved. Two plumbers were not able to find it. My guess is because it wasn't a plumbing problem. Tall people sometimes have those leaks, for some reason shorter people don't.

I'd suggest pulling the plate down and have a look.

 

[mrsilv04]

Something as simple as water can make homeownership a nightmare...

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Something as simple as water can make homeownership a nightmare...


Water always seems to be the homeowner's biggest nightmare!

 

[dwendt44]

The leak could be between the diverter and the showerhead.
BTDT. Only leaks when showering, and sometimes not.
What's on the other side of the wall from the showerhead?

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: dwendt44
The leak could be between the diverter and the showerhead.
BTDT. Only leaks when showering, and sometimes not.
What's on the other side of the wall from the showerhead?


The kitchen pantry.

I'm pretty much 100% sure it's not on the pressure side - I can run the shower for hours and it doesn't leak as long as no one is standing in the shower basin. It has to be from the basin flexing under weight.

I've got a plumber coming in tomorrow to check it out - the so called expert of shower leaks for one of the big plumbing companies here.

 

[Warstud]

When caulking a tub your suppose to fill it three quarters of the way with water and let dry for 24 hours.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

I learned an awful lot about plumbing over the years, but I've never had to replace all the support structure under a tub. You've got one on me. Best of luck with it.

We had a leak from our shower/tub that was discoloring the ceiling over the back door. There was no access to the shower from the backside wall.

I had to remove the toilet in the adjacent room and cut an opening to get to the faucet. I almost had it done but tighented the 40 yr old faucet just the tiniest bit too much. I discovered you can't get replacement parts for my 40 yr old faucet. I bought a new faucet set.

But to install it I had to do all new piping and soldering. To do that I had to open the wall all the way up to the shower head. While I was in there I had to replace the stopper assembly, requiring a new drain set. I had to open the wall downwards to get to all that stuff.

27 connections later, with everything open for two weeks to ensure none of them developed leaks, I was confident enough to make a replacement panel (with trim) for access to all that new plumbing. Eventually I was able to get the toilet put back and give the wife back her bathroom. All this was done with the wife sticking her nose in to ensure all her priorities were given weight and consideration. She doesn't know plumbing, but she sure knows what she wants. Usually what she wants is non-standard in both style and size.

Still, we remain married and all the joints still aren't leaking (knock on wood.)

 

[Drew99GT]

Just got back from home and a visit with a plumber who concluded what I subconsciously knew - the shower structure is compromised and the entire thing needs rebuilding. So now I'm gonna be out a couple grand for a new shower.

 

[mechtech2]

I am thinking the drain is leaking, not the sides or splash.

These problems reek, but if you go into them with the proper attitude, they are more palatable.
Drywall and mud is cheap, and labor is up to you. The ceiling underneath may have to be opened up.

 

[Summerwind]

Drew, had a similar problem in an older house some years ago, You mentioned tile..I know good grouting is one issue, but I was told that the tile itself must be periodicaly sealed as well, so we opted for a whole tear-out, and had a liner assembly put in. Our little "waterfall" came down into our dinning room.

I feel your pain, both frustration-wise and in the pocket book!!!

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT

The kitchen pantry.

I'm pretty much 100% sure it's not on the pressure side - I can run the shower for hours and it doesn't leak as long as no one is standing in the shower basin. It has to be from the basin flexing under weight.

I've got a plumber coming in tomorrow to check it out - the so called expert of shower leaks for one of the big plumbing companies here.



You said you can see the drain from the basement...have you checked it while the shower was running with someone in it?

 

[Drew99GT]

Yes, that's how I first saw the leak. It's being ripped out today.