Small leak through ceiling after shower

[rocketmanbkk]

Hello Friends

Been to a job today again where after using the shower cubicle there is a leak through to downstairs ceiling.

Speaking with he customer the shower is 6 years old. Looking at the shower all the sealant seems good although mouldy, tile grout is good.

The shower tray is on the floor and so there is no way to look under it to see if the drain is leaking.

I think that if the supply pipes were leaking it would drip more so am thinking its the drain /trap. Any thoughts?

Also, how would you get to it? The floor is tiled as are the walls, the shower cubicle is pretty shabby, rusted runners and pretty dirty also!

Any thoughts or comments?

Cheers all.

Have a good afternoon.

Rocket

 

[lame plumber]

normally mini hole in seal on tray, otherwise rip out and put back in to get to waste what other option is there apart from drilling thro ceiling from below

 

[rocketmanbkk]

normally mini hole in seal on tray, otherwise rip out and put back in to get to waste what other option is there apart from drilling thro ceiling from below

Thanks for replying.

i told her the worst case scenario is ripping it out. Then if there's no leak from waste?? I can't see anywhere else it's coming from as it only leaks when someone showers.

she will hopefully call me tomorrow and I'll get back here.

thanks again

 

[plumber0808]

Or with a bit of luck she will never phone you again

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Lol!!!

 

[Gray0689]

Maybe she will clean it first this time around them lol

 

[TomLane]

If customer is against cubicle being removed then realistically the only option is to gain access from underneath. The ceiling can be made good afterwards, as it is already water damaged it will most likely need repairing anyway!

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Maybe she will clean it first this time around them lol

It was a bit mining, stinky.

 

[Gray0689]

It was a bit mining, stinky.

Lol lovely

 

[Mike Jackson]

95% of the leaks I got to on showers are on the surrounds or sealing around the tray. A lot of the time the tray wasn't sealed before the tiling was done and with time the grouting brakes down and water gets on the tray behind the tiles and runs down the unsealed gap.

 

[Gray0689]

95% of the leaks I got to on showers are on the surrounds or sealing around the tray. A lot of the time the tray wasn't sealed before the tiling was done and with time the grouting brakes down and water gets on the tray behind the tiles and runs down the unsealed gap.

Totally agree very unusual for a waste on a shower to just start leaking
Nearly always the seals

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Ok great, thanks again. The seals looked good, but mouldy but no gaps I could see.

see what she says tomorrow.

cheers

 

[plumber0808]

I had a call Recently Shower is leaking when used.
student accommodation, go in a lad tells me water appears from under the shower when used. One look, ah I see the waste hole had split out and none of the water was going down the trap just all on the floor.

 

[gavinwilson]

Did you stand in the shower tray while looking at the sealant? Maybe there's movement ?

 

[plumber0808]

I would cut a decent size trap in the ceiling underneath if I thought it was the trap that was leaking. Rather do that than remove the enclosure, tiles and tray.

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

start spraying water in areas and check if any water start coming through, then investigate further. it will take some time and might not show immediately but worth a try. or can completely remove seal and apply new silicone then test. had once water coming through the door seal as wrongly fitted.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Thanks. The house is an 1837 terraced. The ceilings are not the normal plasterboard I don't think.

it is an option but maybe also a last resort.

Thanks again

 

[Mike Jackson]

If it's an old terraced place check the corners. I always silicone the corners as the movement in these old places causes the grout in the corner to crack. (Actually I silicone the corners in any shower that I do to stop this but that's not relevant to this)

 

[plumber0808]

Thanks. The house is an 1837 terraced. The ceilings are not the normal plasterboard I don't think.

it is an option but maybe also a last resort.

Thanks again

In that case then yes a last resort.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i agree with it most likely being the sealant having failed

 

[Daza87]

Sounds like you've got to attack the problem via the ceiling below

 

[Irish]

If its the waste the easiest way to find out is take the head of the hose and stick the hose down the trap or directly on the tray taking care not to let the water up onthe seal or tiles, run the shower for 5 minutes if no water appears underneath then it's the seal or grout, or if it's a fixed head a couple of buckets of water again taking care not to go up on the seal

 

[stevetheplumber]

was going to say the same as irish test just the waste first then water in to shower tray to check the waste to tray seal then slowly round the seals also before starting look for any water marks on the outside edges and floor sometimes its the frame leaking and going down outside the enclosure also its sometimes the seal on the door bottom allowing water out side
as previously said nine times out of ten its the seals or the grout

 

[bennythedip]

Another thing to check is that there is no water coming out from area under shower door and then running down the outside of the shower tray

 

[thompsonbrown]

it also could be leaking through grout joints in tiles. check grout lines for any cracks.

 

[Ryan Jones]

When I've been out to a couple of jobs like this, I've found that the customer has recently tried to clean trap out and actually managed to disrupt whole fitting thus causing a leak.