lady in trouble
02-25-2009, 10:38 PM
I have a slow leak in my basement shower stall which I cannot find. I know this is a long thread, but want to give as clear a picture as i can.
I have a tiled shower stall that was built about twenty years ago.One of the shower stall walls shares a wall with the laundry room. The laundry room has an exposed concrete floor. About six months ago we noticed a small leak along the bottom perimiter of the laundry room wall (which adjoins the wall to the shower). The leak became bigger and bigger, so finally before christmas, we removed all of the tile from the shower floor and up the wall about half way up to the ceiling, removing all of the backing board until there was no evidence of water stains which had wicked up. We hired a contractor to replace all of the rotted wood and wet backing board (with new concrete wall board). He also put liner behind all of the concrete wall board. We did not break the existing concrete floor and did not replace the drain as the drain is surrounded by the concrete floor. There were no visible cracks in the concrete floor. He spread on a thin layer of contrete and then applied a red fluid which dried to a plastic finish. Once all was dry, I ran water down the drain to see if it leaked and it did not seem to (at least that I could notice). We then laid down,glued and grouted new tile along all of the walls and the floor. I then put a sealant on all of the grout and put a bead of silicone along all corners from floor to ceiling and along the floor seams. I also siliconed around the drain. THOUGHT IT WAS TIGHT AS A DRUM .
OK, then took a couple of showers and everything seemed to be fine. :rant: Well, not anymore. Two days ago, a water line appeared again along the laundry wall about 1/2 hour after a shower. Waited until the water dried again, then today, meticulously grid by grid, ran water down the drain, where the wall meets the floor six inches by six inches (all around), and then down the wall (grid by grid). No water appeared along the wall, until about ONE HOUR later. Then the line of water appeared again. The amount of water leaking is nowhere the same as it was when this whole project started, but it runs the permiter of the same length as the shower wall.
Sorry it took so long to explain, but I am now at a total loss as to what to do next? any ideas as to how to find out where the leak is? Could it be deeper in the drain and if so, how to find out?(the drain is white pvc). why does it take about an hour for the leak to appear?? If I hired a plumber, would he have a way of finding the source of the leak, or would he just tell me to break up the shower stall completely and start all over again!!!Please , please i need ideas! thanks for taking the time to read this through.
I have a tiled shower stall that was built about twenty years ago.One of the shower stall walls shares a wall with the laundry room. The laundry room has an exposed concrete floor. About six months ago we noticed a small leak along the bottom perimiter of the laundry room wall (which adjoins the wall to the shower). The leak became bigger and bigger, so finally before christmas, we removed all of the tile from the shower floor and up the wall about half way up to the ceiling, removing all of the backing board until there was no evidence of water stains which had wicked up. We hired a contractor to replace all of the rotted wood and wet backing board (with new concrete wall board). He also put liner behind all of the concrete wall board. We did not break the existing concrete floor and did not replace the drain as the drain is surrounded by the concrete floor. There were no visible cracks in the concrete floor. He spread on a thin layer of contrete and then applied a red fluid which dried to a plastic finish. Once all was dry, I ran water down the drain to see if it leaked and it did not seem to (at least that I could notice). We then laid down,glued and grouted new tile along all of the walls and the floor. I then put a sealant on all of the grout and put a bead of silicone along all corners from floor to ceiling and along the floor seams. I also siliconed around the drain. THOUGHT IT WAS TIGHT AS A DRUM .
OK, then took a couple of showers and everything seemed to be fine. :rant: Well, not anymore. Two days ago, a water line appeared again along the laundry wall about 1/2 hour after a shower. Waited until the water dried again, then today, meticulously grid by grid, ran water down the drain, where the wall meets the floor six inches by six inches (all around), and then down the wall (grid by grid). No water appeared along the wall, until about ONE HOUR later. Then the line of water appeared again. The amount of water leaking is nowhere the same as it was when this whole project started, but it runs the permiter of the same length as the shower wall.
Sorry it took so long to explain, but I am now at a total loss as to what to do next? any ideas as to how to find out where the leak is? Could it be deeper in the drain and if so, how to find out?(the drain is white pvc). why does it take about an hour for the leak to appear?? If I hired a plumber, would he have a way of finding the source of the leak, or would he just tell me to break up the shower stall completely and start all over again!!!Please , please i need ideas! thanks for taking the time to read this through.