Shower Stall Leaking

[mfassing]

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We have a shower stall in the bathroom off of our master bedroom. The shower does not have a door, but rather a shower curtain. I am aware that the caulking around the base of the stall is missing in some spots and needs to be replaced. My concern is that when we use the shower, a large puddle of water appears on the floor and water drips out of the ceiling in our laundry room downstairs. We have a split level house, so the laundry room is directly below the bathroom. We've used the shower without problems for the past year. The leak is a rather new problem. We have not been using that shower lately, but I am concerned about not having water running through the lines during the winter months.

What should we look for when attempting to address this problem? What might be wrong with the shower?

Thank you in advance for your help. We used this site when we had a leak earlier this fall and the responses we received were very helpful.

[jadnashua]

Sounds like you have a defective, non-existant, or damaged shower pan. This should keep water in regardless of whether the caulking was intact or not. When you say water on the floor, is this outside of the shower on the floor there? or standing water in the shower itself?

[jimbo]

If you are getting a lot of water out aroune the curtain, then it is important to caulk the outer base of the shower, because if water leaks in under, it will find it's way downstairs.

Otherwise, you have a drain issue, or a leak in the valving or shower head components. Flashlight time to investigate.

[mfassing]

In response to jadnashua:

The water is outside of the shower. There has never been any standing water left over in the shower pan.

In response to jimbo:

"Otherwise, you have a drain issue, or a leak in the valving or shower head components. Flashlight time to investigate."

A leak in the shower head would cause a leak on the floor? What exactly should I be looking for? I'm a little confused...
Thank you for your help!!

[jadnashua]

You could have a leak inside of the wall from the plumbing supply. It could also be a hole in the liner in the floor, or a poor connection between the liner and the drain, or a crack in the grout above the liner that lets water go behind and come out.

How long after showering does the water appear? Immediately, within a few minutes, an hour, the next day?

How long does it take to stop coming out?

A couple of things you can try: use something to try to seal the drain - get a pail of water and pour it on the floor (don't use the shower to fill the pail). See if water shows up.

See if you can buy a cap that will fit where the showerhead goes. Take it out, put the cap on, turn the water on and see if you get any water anywhere.