Shower Leak

[philgil]

To all the experts out there:
I have a water leak from my second floor shower everytime a member of the family takes a shower. The leak looks worse eveytime my son is taking a shower. (Usually, he is the last one that takes a shower in the morning).

I tried to simulate the problem by pouring water into the shower stall or just turning on the shower without a person inside. It does not leak during this process. There is a crack on the faux marble on one side. I already sealed it and during the simulation, I do not see any leak.

I have sealed all the possible places like the shower valve cover, the gap between the brass frame and the faux marble, the water drain, around the doors and all the seams.

Some friends are saying it could be water splashes on something higher.

Or, after 3 showers, something gets saturated, opens up and the leak starts.

Or is it just my shower drain that start leaking after 2 - 3 showers.

Help!

[kactuskid]

I wonder if the water supply pipes could be leaking at the valve. Do you have an access panel behind the shower valve so that you could peak in and take a look, it may be beneficial to make one if you don't. Also, where the walls meet the floor all around the inside of the shower. One other place is outside of the shower, if any water is splashed out of the door and then runs towards the walls.

quote:Originally posted by philgil

To all the experts out there:
I have a water leak from my second floor shower everytime a member of the family takes a shower. The leak looks worse eveytime my son is taking a shower. (Usually, he is the last one that takes a shower in the morning).

I tried to simulate the problem by pouring water into the shower stall or just turning on the shower without a person inside. It does not leak during this process. There is a crack on the faux marble on one side. I already sealed it and during the simulation, I do not see any leak.

I have sealed all the possible places like the shower valve cover, the gap between the brass frame and the faux marble, the water drain, around the doors and all the seams.

Some friends are saying it could be water splashes on something higher.

Or, after 3 showers, something gets saturated, opens up and the leak starts.

Or is it just my shower drain that start leaking after 2 - 3 showers.

Help!

[philgil]

Thanks for the reply kactuskid!

Let me say that when I opened the ceiling right below the shower, I can see water leak coming out of the shower drain but my simulation does not show a leak.

I do not know how the shower pan is built. If there is a leak somewhere in the pan, does it have another layer underneath so that water is directed towards the drain (or outside the drain).

When I opened the ceiling, I can see the water pipe for the shower valve and ther is no leak.

I can do another simulation using hot water to see if it will show a leak.

Thanks again!

[kactuskid]

The water should be directed to your drain if it was built correctly, but who knows if it was or not. A membrane is supposed to be installed underneath the tiling to keep the water from leaking through. Here are a couple of links to show you examples of how a pan is made, there are many variations so yours could be different.

http://www.leakyshower.com/ARTICLE%20Mortar%20Bed%20Shower%20Floors.htm

http://leakyshower.com/shwrpncn.htm