Diagnosing the cause of a leaking shower

[Random Orbital Bob]

Ive got a head scratcher on my hands. Pals upstairs shower is leaking at drip rate through ceiling so cant see where the leak is coming from. On inspection although a bit old there is no obvious poorly grouted tiles and no obviously blown tiles etc. No obvious leak point at all.

How the heck do I diagnose it? The only thing I've been able to do it train the shower just on the plug area and that has yielded no leak so I have to assume the source isn't the plug.
Is there any magic approach to doing this that I'm missing?

 

[Zeddedhed]

It could be the case that when someone stands in the shower the sealant or even the seal around the waste/trap fails. When the water runs in an empty shower the leak goes away.
I've seen this happen in my own house. An ensuite shower used by a lodger only leaked when she was in it. Even on one occasion when my wife used it it din't leak. But when the lodger who was a 'large' girl, used it then it leaked.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

mmm pals wife is a bit of a "big bones job"!!!

 

[Zeddedhed]

As Cartman from South Park would say - 'Festively Plump'

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Trouble is she's been a "fat lass" for some time so that's not new. Any other things I should look out for?

 

[paulm]

Had the same with sealant on our two upstairs showers, it only needs a surprisingly small gap to open up for a power shower to create a noticeable problem !

If there's nothing visibly wrong with the sealant, maybe tape and bin bags or similar over the sealant and run the shower for a while with some weight in it, just to isolate whether the sealant is indeed the issue ?

Cheers, Paul

 

[scotty38]

Trouble is she's been a "fat lass" for some time so that's not new. Any other things I should look out for?

Your pal coming on here! :lol:

 

[marcros]

we hd an issue where the water was going through the grout on the wall tiles and running down the other side of the wall (not that we could see it).

My father would say- water is pretty searching- it will find any gap to escape from.

 

[Flynnwood]

Wait for the drips to stop.

Put someone called Dave or Trigger downstairs to report on the following.

Point the shower directly for circa 30 seconds at the left side of the (sealed?) edge of the tray.

Ask (Dave) to report.

If OK .... :lol:

Point the shower 90 degrees clockwise at the other (sealed?) edge ...

Rinse (sorry) and repeat.

 

[doctor Bob]

Bob, would you mind videoing your accusations to the fat lass, I feel it could be mildly amusing.

 

[Bod]

Check the drain pipe, all the way from the shower to the drain pipe.

Bod

 

[Water-Mark]

Point the shower head at the corners where the enclosure meets the tiles.
It's a common fail point.

Its likely the enclosure will need to come out and be re sealed properly.
Sometimes you never get to see the problem anyway

If the tray doesn't have any movement in it and there are no defective tiles it should be ok.

If it was put in even half properly taking it out shouldn't be a big job.

 

[RogerS]

Ha ha..'Festively plump'...I like that. Reminds me of one of the first PC's I sold for word-processing.

"This computer keyboard is generating random letters" cried the customer.

On investigation, I found that his PA had an extremely large chest. She was also very short-sighted and refused to wear glasses.

So she would lean forward to peer at the screen.

 

[Lons]

As said, the most likely suspect is grout where it meets the tray, the same problem happens with baths which is why you're supposd to fill the bath before applying silicone.

water needs only a hairline crack to cause major leaks due to capilliary action.

I had a BMW once with a boot full of rainwater and it took them a week to find a hairline crack which was the culprit

Bob

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Thanks everyone....on my way now......tools including Slimfast!

 

[whiskywill]

This all sounds so familiar. I have had an intermittent leak problem with a shower for the past two years and have tried everything including removing the enclosure to renew the sealant and scraping out and replacing any suspect grout. Because the ceiling beneath had been damaged I cut a large hole in it to try to pinpoint the exact place. The problem is still there eighteen months later, but so is the hole in the ceiling.
There are some good tips in this thread suggesting ways to find the position of the leak.

 

[mind_the_goat]

Got a similar issue, no obvoius leaks when testing but with someone in the shower it drips pretty fast downstairs.
The really annoying thing is when we had the en-suite built we gave the builders a roll of that waterproof membrane to go on the floor, they used it under the tiles, but not under the shower ! They also propped one the showers base legs up on a few sheets of thin ply, maybe easier then adjusting the legs. I think that got wet and now gives a little when there is weight on it. Needless to say those builders have not done any more work for us.

 

[blackrodd]

I wouldn't have used any membrane under the shower either, rather than water just appearing or rotting out flooring areas, in this very situation, at least you know it is the shower area or tray that's leaking, or at least, where water
is showing.
As a process of elimination, get a hose rigged up in the shower tray and test the waste and pipe work carefully.
Next, switch on the shower rose and feed that into a bucket or two, check for leaks,that's the feed pipework and joints tested
Finally, switch on the shower and fire it all around the tray and cubicle from outside and then get in and see if that's the reason, bagging flooring and joists etc, not always as easy as that, but a good start.
Regards Rodders

 

[Graham Orm]

Bob sorry I'm late to the party. I do these regularly. You don't clarify whether it's just a shower base or a bath. Either way, you need to see under and behind it to see if you can see any signs of damp that will be a give away clue. A good torch is a must. I then get the customer to run the shower for at least 2 minutes directly onto the waste outlet, if that shows no drips, I then get the spray moved upwards in stages. This always finds the leak. Besides the waste outlet strong suspects are the back corner at the bottom. The back corner itself at any height. The seal along where the tiles meet the bath/shower base. The shower controls themselves, these pass through the wall and often are not sealed properly. If it's a mixer shower the chrome covers will have to be removed.

Any suspect silicone has to be stripped out completely...a sharp woodworking chisel is superb for this (wash my mouth out with soap). I then dry everything with paper towel, then with a hot air gun (or hair dryer) before re-sealing.

 

[Lons]

I agree with Rodders and Graham.

I have one of those snake cameras with built in light on the end of a flexible rod. Was expensive when I bought it though paid for itself very quickly. Prices have dropped through the floor now and it might also be possible to hire one - just a thought.

Mine is a "SeeSnake" brand but just googled and you can buy them for about £50 or so. Type in snakescope flexible camers.

Bob