Shower - leaking water through wall tile?

[jadnashua]

Grout sealer is to help keep the grout clean - to repell stains and water. It won't keep it from getting wet, but limits moisture absorbtion. Regardless of how you do it, it will never be waterproof (unless you use maybe an epoxy grout). It is the properly installed vapor barrier that blocks any moisture from accumulating and keeping the wood studs from getting and staying damp. Keeping the grout's integrity intact, by fixing any cracks is important to keep liquid water from getting behind the tile. The recommendation is to also only caulk the changes of plane rather than grout to allow for expansion and contraction of things.

[geniescience]

first time reading this thread.

seems to me, if you have a PUDDLE, you have a plumbing problem. That is a lot of water in a short span of time. Not possible to get that much water thru a wall leak.

Possible: your shower head is leaking from behind the wall, where it meets the pipe. When your diverter sends water up that line is when it leaks, and only then, and then you get enough to have a puddle on the floor below. Also possible: the diverter is leaking where it connects to the line going up to the shower head.

Possible: the p-trap and drain are leaking. Since a full tub empties out fast, while a shower lasts longer, this might be possible. If you plug the drain for your next ten showers, do you have a dry floor?

Look at the pipe going up to the shower.

My thoughts.

David

[plumber1]

David, are you speaking from experience? Chase these leaks down for thirty plus years and you will find out that there is also a very real "people problem".

[geniescience]

you have experience.

Wish i understood what you might be hinting at. People. Ultimately, they will find their leak, and maybe their description of the problem was good enough to help locate it.

I just see now that there are two big subthreads in this thread. I better get used to checking all this first before speaking up. Maybe something was said in the other half over there, and i haven't read it yet. Sorry!