Dhoerl
New Member
I had a new home built that was finished in 2001, with a large 2-person shower (5' x 6', tiled). The shower pan was a rubber mat and laid directly on the plywood subfloor, with one 3" glued seam. Tapered mortar was laid over it, then the tile (I now know this was not the best way to do this). The shower walls are cement board. After 4 years of no problems, I sold the house to a couple to whom I have maintained a good relationship.
Now, after 5 years of use, the shower has developed a serious leak (its over the kitchen) - water dripping out after a short shower. There is no water damage anywhere near the drain.
Tests have showed that filling the pan with a few inches of water results in leakage (knocked some holes in drywall to better observe subfloor.) There is no obvious change to any of the seams from when I lived in the house (the seams had grout in them, not caulk, and at one point were in need of repointing, which I did just before the house was sold).
If I can help then find the area that leaks, its at least possible that pan could be repaired - it may not be likely but its possible. If the leak could be tracked to one seam (ie one joint between wall and floor) most of those areas are accessable from the outside, and its possible the dam block could be removed and the pan patched (assuming some idiot put a nail through the Durarock, etc).
What I was thinking of doing is running beads of Lexel caulk (it can be installed on wet surfaces!) on various seams, then testing for leakage. However, my (maybe silly concern) is that its going to be hard to remove the caulk once the leaking seam is found. Does this sound like a good strategy?
Any other ideas?
David
Now, after 5 years of use, the shower has developed a serious leak (its over the kitchen) - water dripping out after a short shower. There is no water damage anywhere near the drain.
Tests have showed that filling the pan with a few inches of water results in leakage (knocked some holes in drywall to better observe subfloor.) There is no obvious change to any of the seams from when I lived in the house (the seams had grout in them, not caulk, and at one point were in need of repointing, which I did just before the house was sold).
If I can help then find the area that leaks, its at least possible that pan could be repaired - it may not be likely but its possible. If the leak could be tracked to one seam (ie one joint between wall and floor) most of those areas are accessable from the outside, and its possible the dam block could be removed and the pan patched (assuming some idiot put a nail through the Durarock, etc).
What I was thinking of doing is running beads of Lexel caulk (it can be installed on wet surfaces!) on various seams, then testing for leakage. However, my (maybe silly concern) is that its going to be hard to remove the caulk once the leaking seam is found. Does this sound like a good strategy?
Any other ideas?
David