leaking shower/tub

[MELLOWSV]

i live upstairs in a condo, my downstairs neighbor had complained of water leaking after i would shower. i had a plumber out and i was told i had a leak within my shower head and handles, causing water to leak into the downstairs garage. (the plumber went up through the crawl space in her garage to determine this), he quoted me 880.00 not including parts and would not repair any drywall damage - i have to enter through my closet and tackle the leak this way..
of course i sent him on his way and refuse to pay that much for labor. i am pretty handy and not mind a little hard work. how hard is this to repair and any tips before i begin?
thanks

[LazyPup]

In your post you state that the leak is only present after you take a shower, therefore the leak must be either downstream of the shower mixer or in the drain and waste pipes. (If the supply lines to the mixer, or the mixer itself were bad the leak would be constant.) Sight unseen i would suspect one of four locations for your leak, two of which are servicable without opening the wall.

The first step is to determine if the leak is in the supply pipes or the drain system. Try running some water in the tub, then drain it out and see if you have the leak, if so, the problem is in the drain. If not then you have a problem in the supply pipes downstream of the faucetts.

If the problem is in the supply pipes the 1st possibility is the shower riser pipe. On the top of the shower mixer (the shower faucett assembly inside the wall) there is a pipe riser that goes up to the shower head. If the leak is at the point where the shower riser connects to the mixer body it will be necessary to open the wall to access it.
On the top of the shower riser there should be a 90deg elbow with mounting ears that are secured to bracing inside the wall. If the leak is where the pipe meets the 90 again you would have to open the wall to fix it.
The 2nd location is the Shower Arm connection. The output end of the 90 should have 1/2 female threads to accomodate the chrome plated shower arm. You can carfully unscrew the shower arm from outside the wall and using an inside diameter fitting brush you can clean the threads on the inside of the fitting as well as the male threads on the shower arm, apply new Teflon tape to the male threads of the shower arm are screw it back into place.
The 3rd common cause of the leak you describe is the stem packing washers on the faucett handles.
Begin by turning the water off at an isolation valve (both hot and cold) If you do not have isolation valves on the supply lines to the bathroom you may have to turn off the main water valve for the house.
Once you have turned the water off, begin by opening the hot and cold faucetts on the tub to drain down the residual water in the line and insure the pressure is off. Next, remove the faucett handles, and unscrew the chrome trim escutcheons that cover the faucett stems.
Using a plumbers socket of the appropriate size (Plumbers sockets are available at all hardware or home centers and are really cheap, about $7 a set) you should be able to reach through the hole in the wall and unscrew the faucett stem. Pull the stem out, remove the stem packing nut and replace the stem packing. Hint. once you have the stem out, now would be an excellant time to replace the faucett washers and seats if they appear worn. Although the seats and washers are not the cause of your leak, they are a common point of failure that cause the faucetts to drip and once you have removed the stems it is a great time to take the extra step.
many faucett stems have a neoprene or plastic flat washer type seal. Make sure it is in place on the stem before you replace the stem.
Again, using the plumbers sockets, replace the stem, then find the appropriate socket for the packing nut, turn the water pressure back on and final tighten the packing nut to be sure it is not leaking, replace the trim escutcheons and knobs and you should be done.

[Troy]

Sounds like good advice, LazyPup!