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Posted by trader-of-some-jacks on March 1, 2009, 9:37 am
For quite some time, I have had evidence of leaking from my bathroom,
in the form of first a soft spot in my kitchen ceiling, and now the
spot has tears in it.
The spot in my ceiling is directly under a corner of the shower stall
in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
the shower.
Because I thought the caulk and grout looked okay, I called a plumber.
Plumber checked out the drain and it was okay, fixtures seemed okay,
and he suggested that I recaulk, just because it had been several
years since I did that.
So I did things the right way - carefully removed all the old caulk,
washed down the surfaces thoroughly, dried them out in three separate
cycles involving paper towels, a hair dryer, and cloth towels, taped
off the area to be caulked, used GE silicone caulk, pressed the bead
in with my wet finger, carefully removed the tape immediately, let the
caulk cure for 36 hours before using the shower - and as soon as the
shower went into use today, leakage from ceiling.
As I said, the plumber "blessed" the drain and the fixtures, and ran
the shower without standing in it, and there was no leakage. It's not
the toilet; the toilet was flushed several times during the 36 hours
of shower non-use and there was no leakage, and the ceiling soft spot
felt warm and dry to the touch last night.
I have looked, VERY hard, at the grout along the wall from where the
leak point seems to be. The grout is ugly, and I've never done
anything with it in my 20 years in this house, but I just plain don't
see anything that would appear to be a reliable leak point.
To quantify it, we're getting maybe 5-10 tablespoons of water coming
through our ceiling when my wife and I shower. Obviously, there's
more that leaks but stays within the ceiling.
I'm guessing that the problem is with the wall with the shower
fixtures on it - not just because the ceiling leak is directly under
that wall, but because if the shower runs and runs with no one
standing in it, no leak. Only when the shower water bounces off a
person and runs down that wall do we get the leak.
With all the above information, what should I look at as a leak
source, bearing in mind that I see no deficiencies in the grout?
And if the problem IS the grout, what's the easiest EFFECTIVE way to
fix the problem? Meaning I don't want something that will challenge
me; I'm pretty worthless at repair, but I want the repair to last for
years, not weeks or months.
One final thought: I'm contemplating duct taping a plastic dry cleaner
bag along the shower wall in question, just to see if, with the wall
covered, the leaking stops, since I'm pretty discouraged after doing
the best caulking job I've ever done, and having that NOT be the
answer. How useful will this approach be as an investigative tool?
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Posted by Ed Pawlowski on March 1, 2009, 9:56 am
> The spot in my ceiling is directly under a corner of the shower stall
> in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
> the shower.
> Because I thought the caulk and grout looked okay, I called a plumber.
> Plumber checked out the drain and it was okay, fixtures seemed okay,
> and he suggested that I recaulk, just because it had been several
> years since I did that.
> As I said, the plumber "blessed" the drain and the fixtures, and ran
> the shower without standing in it, and there was no leakage.
The ceiling is going to need repair, why not remove a section and take a
look while someone showers?
Since it does not leak with no on in the shower, it is probably not the
drain. IMO, it is not the water bouncing off a person, but the weight. The
bottom pan of the shower may be depressed just enough that the water is
getting around the drain flange. It may then run along the bottom of the
pan and drip to one side or the other. It may have to be re-sealed or
re-gasketed, it may also need some support. Weight may also be opening some
other gaps but I can't suggest anything not knowing the construction.
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Posted by RBM on March 1, 2009, 10:00 am
> For quite some time, I have had evidence of leaking from my bathroom,
> in the form of first a soft spot in my kitchen ceiling, and now the
> spot has tears in it.
> The spot in my ceiling is directly under a corner of the shower stall
> in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
> the shower.
> Because I thought the caulk and grout looked okay, I called a plumber.
> Plumber checked out the drain and it was okay, fixtures seemed okay,
> and he suggested that I recaulk, just because it had been several
> years since I did that.
> So I did things the right way - carefully removed all the old caulk,
> washed down the surfaces thoroughly, dried them out in three separate
> cycles involving paper towels, a hair dryer, and cloth towels, taped
> off the area to be caulked, used GE silicone caulk, pressed the bead
> in with my wet finger, carefully removed the tape immediately, let the
> caulk cure for 36 hours before using the shower - and as soon as the
> shower went into use today, leakage from ceiling.
> As I said, the plumber "blessed" the drain and the fixtures, and ran
> the shower without standing in it, and there was no leakage. It's not
> the toilet; the toilet was flushed several times during the 36 hours
> of shower non-use and there was no leakage, and the ceiling soft spot
> felt warm and dry to the touch last night.
> I have looked, VERY hard, at the grout along the wall from where the
> leak point seems to be. The grout is ugly, and I've never done
> anything with it in my 20 years in this house, but I just plain don't
> see anything that would appear to be a reliable leak point.
> To quantify it, we're getting maybe 5-10 tablespoons of water coming
> through our ceiling when my wife and I shower. Obviously, there's
> more that leaks but stays within the ceiling.
> I'm guessing that the problem is with the wall with the shower
> fixtures on it - not just because the ceiling leak is directly under
> that wall, but because if the shower runs and runs with no one
> standing in it, no leak. Only when the shower water bounces off a
> person and runs down that wall do we get the leak.
> With all the above information, what should I look at as a leak
> source, bearing in mind that I see no deficiencies in the grout?
> And if the problem IS the grout, what's the easiest EFFECTIVE way to
> fix the problem? Meaning I don't want something that will challenge
> me; I'm pretty worthless at repair, but I want the repair to last for
> years, not weeks or months.
> One final thought: I'm contemplating duct taping a plastic dry cleaner
> bag along the shower wall in question, just to see if, with the wall
> covered, the leaking stops, since I'm pretty discouraged after doing
> the best caulking job I've ever done, and having that NOT be the
> answer. How useful will this approach be as an investigative tool?
My personal thoughts are that you are on the right track. I would try
standing in the shower with the water running in a stream and not hitting
any walls. This would prove the grout theory. It does seem like the ultimate
outcome will either be a leak in the feed piping, between the faucet(s) and
the shower head, or a leaking pan, neither easily solved without some degree
of demo
>
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Posted by John Grabowski on March 1, 2009, 10:19 am
> For quite some time, I have had evidence of leaking from my bathroom,
> in the form of first a soft spot in my kitchen ceiling, and now the
> spot has tears in it.
> The spot in my ceiling is directly under a corner of the shower stall
> in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
> the shower.
> Because I thought the caulk and grout looked okay, I called a plumber.
> Plumber checked out the drain and it was okay, fixtures seemed okay,
> and he suggested that I recaulk, just because it had been several
> years since I did that.
> So I did things the right way - carefully removed all the old caulk,
> washed down the surfaces thoroughly, dried them out in three separate
> cycles involving paper towels, a hair dryer, and cloth towels, taped
> off the area to be caulked, used GE silicone caulk, pressed the bead
> in with my wet finger, carefully removed the tape immediately, let the
> caulk cure for 36 hours before using the shower - and as soon as the
> shower went into use today, leakage from ceiling.
> As I said, the plumber "blessed" the drain and the fixtures, and ran
> the shower without standing in it, and there was no leakage. It's not
> the toilet; the toilet was flushed several times during the 36 hours
> of shower non-use and there was no leakage, and the ceiling soft spot
> felt warm and dry to the touch last night.
> I have looked, VERY hard, at the grout along the wall from where the
> leak point seems to be. The grout is ugly, and I've never done
> anything with it in my 20 years in this house, but I just plain don't
> see anything that would appear to be a reliable leak point.
> To quantify it, we're getting maybe 5-10 tablespoons of water coming
> through our ceiling when my wife and I shower. Obviously, there's
> more that leaks but stays within the ceiling.
> I'm guessing that the problem is with the wall with the shower
> fixtures on it - not just because the ceiling leak is directly under
> that wall, but because if the shower runs and runs with no one
> standing in it, no leak. Only when the shower water bounces off a
> person and runs down that wall do we get the leak.
> With all the above information, what should I look at as a leak
> source, bearing in mind that I see no deficiencies in the grout?
> And if the problem IS the grout, what's the easiest EFFECTIVE way to
> fix the problem? Meaning I don't want something that will challenge
> me; I'm pretty worthless at repair, but I want the repair to last for
> years, not weeks or months.
> One final thought: I'm contemplating duct taping a plastic dry cleaner
> bag along the shower wall in question, just to see if, with the wall
> covered, the leaking stops, since I'm pretty discouraged after doing
> the best caulking job I've ever done, and having that NOT be the
> answer. How useful will this approach be as an investigative tool?
*You should open up the ceiling to confirm where the water is coming from.
Water tends to travel to low points. The spot that you see in the ceiling
may not be the exact spot where the water is coming from.
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Posted by dpb on March 1, 2009, 10:23 am
trader-of-some-jacks wrote:
...
> The spot in my ceiling is directly under a corner of the shower stall
> in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
> the shower.
...
I'd venture the seal around the valve handle escutcheon, etc., has
failed and you're getting water behind them.
--
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> in my bathroom - same side as the shower fixtures, at the entrance to
> the shower.
> Because I thought the caulk and grout looked okay, I called a plumber.
> Plumber checked out the drain and it was okay, fixtures seemed okay,
> and he suggested that I recaulk, just because it had been several
> years since I did that.