Trying to find leak behind wall

[JamiePattison]

Hey guys

Thanks to everyone for helping me in the past.

Cutting a long story short I could smell some plaster/wet paint in one of the rooms.

Turns out the shower waste pipe leads into this room which is sitting behind the wall in this room. Eventually i eliminated other areas and then I turned on the shower and couple of minutes later I heard some drops behind the wall

My question now is I have an endoscope camera and tried putting it down holes around the bathroom to see if I could see any leaks from these pipes but nothing could be seen of interest.

The wall that protrudes out is in the downstairs room and the room above it, this wall must have a waste pipe going from the shower and behind this wall.

I think I could drill a hole and put in the endoscope camera to look around but I don't wanna create a new problem either e.g. have a few holes which don't help me narrow down where about in the wall the issue is with the pipe or worst case scenario drill a hole into the pipe.

Can anyone share any ideas of where an appropriate hole should be made to narrow down the source of the water drip on the pipe, any other ideas? Or simply is it time to call in a professional?

 

[Spectric]

I think I could drill a hole and put in the endoscope camera to look around but I don't wanna create a new problem either e.g. have a few holes which don't help me narrow down where about in the wall the issue is with the pipe or worst case scenario drill a hole into the pipe.

Shower waste pipe or shower waste itself, either way you will need a much larger hole to repair this than that needed for the scope. Is the pipe within a boxed in section ? If so you will need to remove the decor to see if there is a panel that can be removed wich might be better than drilling holes to find a leak that will need fixing anyway.

 

[JamiePattison]

Shower waste pipe or shower waste itself, either way you will need a much larger hole to repair this than that needed for the scope. Is the pipe within a boxed in section ? If so you will need to remove the decor to see if there is a panel that can be removed wich might be better than drilling holes to find a leak that will need fixing anyway.

Is a shower waste pipe. The pipe leads from the shower then all the way downstairs.

I can hear drops downstairs when the shower is in use.

What I'm trying to ask is although the hole to repair the pipe would be much bigger, I'm trying to find a starting spot to look and see where around the pipe may need fixing which is hidden behind the wall.

So I think the room upstairs needs a hole somewhere so I can try and view where the leak is. The wall is 8 feet high so I don't know where about I could first drill a small hole and to see what's behind the wall to give me a starting point to?

Overall what I'm attempting to avoid is drilling 10 holes only to see where the leak is coming from. Once I know and if I feel I can silicone it or something I can then cut a bigger hole, finally repair any holes and the cut made.

I don't know if there is a standard area on the wall where I could drill a hole leading me to some joints or something (me taking a wild guess).

I hope this made some sense as I'm not a plumber but just someone trying to see if I can fix this before calling out a professional.

 

[HappyHacker]

In my experience leaks normally appear at joints and the most common place for joints is at changes of direction although the shower outlet is often a problem. I would start at these places although finding a leak is often a problem as water often appears some distance from the leak.

Good luck.

 

[JamiePattison]

In my experience leaks normally appear at joints and the most common place for joints is at changes of direction although the shower outlet is often a problem. I would start at these places although finding a leak is often a problem as water often appears some distance from the leak.

Good luck.

Based on that would you think the problem could be on the same floor as the shower? As I was thinking maybe the room under the shower maybe a starting point?

 

[Inspector]

Have you ruled out the water feeds to the shower? It is possible when the water is turned on some leaking occurs after the valve on the way to or at the shower head.

Pete

 

[HappyHacker]

Based on that would you think the problem could be on the same floor as the shower? As I was thinking maybe the room under the shower maybe a starting point?

It may be anywhere and where you hear the drip may not be where the leak is. I would try at the shower first and if it is not try to find a joint somewhere in the middle to try and narrow the area of the leak.

 

[Bingy man]

Hearing water in one location doesn’t mean that’s where it’s leaking. Water will often follow the underside of other pipes and then drip onto another pipe or joist and do the same again . Yep call in the professionals - why don’t you claim of your insurance and let them deal with it . The leak itself could be fairly minor but getting access to it is a completely different story. If you start drilling holes looking for it you could invalidate your claim . Leave it to uout insurance ..

Below are picks from such a job leaking onto kitchen ceiling but shower tray was as good as welded to the floor / cust had no insurance so as there was no access under the shower tray and the ceiling below had been recently cladded they opted to replace the entire bathroom.. turns out there was also several leaks from the hot and cold supplies +all the waste pipes were blocked ..

 

[Bingy man]

Picks of old waste pipes and new water pipes

 

[Dabop]

Recently had to find a leak in a friends roof- the drip itself is definitely no indicator of where the actual leak is- in her case, the actual leak (blocked gutter) was on the opposite side of the roof ridge from the actual leak!!!!

Her roof has 3 different levels of gutter- the highest had a small blockage at one end (away from the downpipe lol)- that caused water to spill back into the roof cavity and run along beams, changing direction several times, before dripping out her bedroom light fitting!!!

It had traveled almost 15m by this point away from the actual source!!!

I was amazed that it could be so far from where it finally appeared- I spent several hours checking and rechecking the roof over her bedroom looking for it- both visually and with a hose- it wasn't until it appeared after a weeks worth of rain I climbed up into the roof cavity and traced it back to its source... following the wet beams right across to the far side of the house!!!!

The leak was at the front right of her house, the source was literally as far away as it was possible to get, at the back left!!!

 

[Henniep]

Can you get a garden hose into the shower waste drain. Start shallow, open the hose water and then feed more and more into the waste pipe until you don't hear the drip any more. May have to shut the hose water frequently to allow the waste pipe to drain. Then pull out the hose and measure - hopefully it will give an indication of where the leak is?

 

[Agent_zed]

Drilling holes for an endoscope shouldn't be a problem. Plasterboard is typically 12.5mm with maybe 3 or 4mm of plaster so put a bit of tape around a drill at ~13mm and very carefully drill. If it isn't through go an extra mm or so. I'd hope the pipe isn't pressed up against the plasterboard anyway so quite unlikely you'll drill straight into it, unless you are super heavy handed.

If a joint is leaking I wouldn't use silicone. That will just sit on the top of the pipe. Proper pipe cement chemically bonds the pipe together as it's a solvent.

 

[Spectric]

If a joint is leaking I wouldn't use silicone.

Fully agree, once found then cut that part out with a pipe slice and just replace using solvent weld fittings.

 

[cowtown_eric]

Thee are such things as non-penetrating moisture meters, for what it's worth.

Interesting story.

Man years ago I was tasked to repair a Leaky shower" in a basement apt.

Things didn't look quite right for that, so my moisture meter tracked moisture along the swollen baseboard, and max was found about 3' away from shower.

Asked building mgr what's behind this wall...

Answer was boiler room ( and plumbing supplies) an an investigation was a sweated copper fitting leading exactly where max moisture was detected!

 

[Cabinetman]

Obviously I don’t know for sure but the first places I would look are at the connectors to the shower valve and under the tray where the waste pipe joins the U bend. — actually start under the tray and hope it’s there, it could be tiles off to get to the valve!

 

[JamiePattison]

Can you get a garden hose into the shower waste drain. Start shallow, open the hose water and then feed more and more into the waste pipe until you don't hear the drip any more. May have to shut the hose water frequently to allow the waste pipe to drain. Then pull out the hose and measure - hopefully it will give an indication of where the leak is?

Sorry for a newbie question but what would this achieve?

 

[JamiePattison]

I'm assuming it's a waste pipe as we only hear a mild drip when the shower is on. The drip is heard downstairs when the shower is on upstairs.

The pipes under the shower can be seen if I remove the front panel and nothing is showing up (water leak wise from the part that is attached into the shower and leading to the pipe) but in comparison the shower is in a different location to the pipe leading downstairs towards the area where the drip is heard downstairs.

For a few days we've stopped using the shower and the smell has gone. Definitely a leak somewhere.....I think, UNLESS it's some blockage somewhere??.

I think drilling a small hole by the ceiling maybe a good spot to view behind the wall but if anyone has any other ideas please do advise before I try anything.

Thanks everyone

 

[Bingy man]

It’s a leak for sure as if was blocked it would back up into the shower tray , it may well be restricted if the waste pipe is poorly installed, you could consider putting some fluorescent drain dye down the shower trap as this maybe easier to pick up than the actual leak - available in several types and colours ..

 

[TomGW]

Are you 100% certain that the leak isn't starting from around the waste trap, where it seats in the shower tray? This is the most common source of a shower leak as the trap can loosen. Before you do anything else check and ensure that it is tight - the top ring simply screws on and can be checked & tightened in seconds. After that run plenty of water into the tray and down the waste while making sure that the walls stay dry, thus eliminating the possibility of the leak being around the tray itself. Once both of those have been exhausted it's worth starting to drill holes.
I'm surprised that there's no visible sign of dampness yet there's a damp smell which disappears if the shower isn't used for a few days.