diagnosing cause of leaking shower
3katz4me
9 years ago
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klem1
9 years ago3katz4me
9 years agoRelated Discussions
Leak in shower and dont know what is causing
Comments (2)Charlie, What is the construction of this shower? Is it tiled, floor and ceiling? Is it a prefab fiberglass or acrylic unit? It is a shower in a tub? If so, what type of tub...cast iron, or fiberglass/acrylic? Since you have access to the shower body, does the shower body remain dry when the shower is running? Leaks typically come from the parts that move...in this case the valve assembly or if an acrylic/fg base, the drain. Since it's only 4 years old, I presume the unit has ceramic disc valves...they sometimes can leak and can be repaired by snugging the stem up just a bit. Depends on the type. Stem leaks can leak all the time, or just when the unit is not in use. If the shower head was recently replace, it's possible the threads were crossed, or no teflon tape or dope was used, and it's a slow leak through the threading. That type of leak would only occur when the unit is in use. A drain leak in an acrylic base may only leak when the user is standing in the shower and the base is flexing. There are a couple other options if it's tiled. Mongo...See MoreSeriously?? Ungrouted tiles around shower causing water leak????
Comments (15)You should be able to shower with the pan liner in, cement board up(actual cement board), and shower curtain. Build curb, floor mud preslope, install liner(no fasteners), and another 1“ minimum floor mud on top, float curb. Cement board walls, silicon the edges, tape the seams, thinset level, and red guard the curb and walls. There won’t be any leaks at this stage. The tile provides merely aesthetics in the grand scheme of it all. They help shed water but offer very little to the game of waterproofing. It’s an illusion! Red guard is completely unnecessary and I don’t recommend it on every surface. Don’t use it on the bottom 6” or liner height of wall, or the top 3ft of wall, or on the pan floor, and never on drywall. The cement board will be submerged in the pan tile deep so it needs some breathing room. You’re just asking for moisture to accumulate in the wall but wait there’s a moisture barrier behind the cement board. That barrier got screwed up from the durarock install but you siliconed each stud, right? That’s called a hole in the plan. Welcome to the shower install conflict. For the love of grout don’t seal it! A 1/16th square. That’s impressive. The line of a dull carpenters pencil. You’d be lucky to buy board that’s within a 1/16”. I’ve worked with all kinds of framing types and they’d throw you off the deck if you were fussing over a 1/16”. Finish guys now that’s a different story. A 1/2“ square per 12ft, 1/4“ plumb average per 8ft, and a 1/16” level per 4ft in all reality is the best workmanship you‘re going to find in any home. Any thing else is an empty promise or a rubber square....See MoreLeaky Shower, How to Determine Cause
Comments (1)The best way to dtermine the cause of the leak is to open the area and visually confirm it. To avoid removing/replacing tile, you might want to open a hole in the ceiling or wall below where the stain occurs and trace it back that way. Patching the ceiling is relatively easy and needs to be done anyway to fix the staining. Turn on the shower and see where the water naturally splashes the walls. Then, connect a hose to the sink or some other source to apply water to localized sopts on the wall until someone below sees the leakage. You should be able to find the "hot" spot where the water enters the wall. Good luck...See MoreHeated floor causing shock from shower fixture
Comments (11)Yes I agree with you the mat must be leaking current in order to produce this effect. Unfortunately the cost of materials is so low compared to the cost of installation. I imagine if we go further with the troubleshooting we will reach a point where it's impossible to prove whether the mat is defective or if it was damaged from install, without ripping the whole thing out. The contractor was present when mat was installed and claims it was not damaged. The manufacturer is unlikely to warranty anything without proof of that which would presumably entail removing the floor. So that would mean we'd be paying a lot more for labor to have the issue diagnosed. I think we want the contractor to finish the kitchen work (install sink, DW hookup and backsplash) and then we'll have them cap off the system and abandon it. It's on its own breaker so it's not a risk right now. I will not expect to be charged for the install, I can return the thermostat and I'll be out $200 for the mat itself worst case scenario. If I need to get an electrician in there to separately confirm that it's most likely an install issue (ie if contractor charges me for install), I will. There were no extra leads, the mat came with the wires attached. We turned on the floor about 7 days after install when we moved back in, no one instructed us otherwise. I did see in the instructions online later to wait 28 days. I figured that is to allow mortar to set avoid cracking etc, but I didn't see that info until I watched the video after getting the shock. Lesson learned, if you want something like heated floor get an installer who has experience with the product....See Morebus_driver
9 years ago3katz4me
9 years agobus_driver
9 years ago3katz4me
9 years agokudzu9
9 years ago
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