Shower leak: I covered the drain and poured water into the shower floor and no leak appeared. Question, could the water be leaking from the floor through the grout? The saddle on the shower door retains a lot of water and when I open it water spills onto the floor. What should I do??

could the water be leaking from the floor through the grout? The saddle on the shower door retains a lot of water and when I open it water spills onto the floor. What should I do?? Tile grout will shrink with age allowing water from the shower stream to leak behind the shower pan onto the ceiling. The dip in the threshold should be looked at by a tile guy and repaired. I've pointed out two possible areas where you could be leaking from but yoiu're going to need someone on the site to tell you more. Good luck, Tom

Having done enough showers, I am going to "pipe" in here. First, I am assuming your shower as a complete tiled floor and threshold?

How old do you think this tiled shower is? If the door on your shower is older, check that the gasket on the door at the bottom is in place and does not need replacing.

You say the shower leaks, but even though you have covered the drain with water - it's not leaking now? When you turn on the shower for a while with the drain covered, does it leak then?

What Tom says it true, but if a liner was placed under the tile during installation, and your installation is not that old, checking some other options first is important.

Cyber,

checking some other options first is important. Great advice, but the drain has already been checked and I gave the asker two other places to look. Since it doesn't act like a pressure leak now would be a dandy time to let him know some of those "other options" you were talking about, Regards, Tom

It's me again. I have determined that the leak is outside of the shower. It appears that water accumulates on the saddle of the shower door and when the door opens the water spills onto the floor of the bathroom. Somehow this water is seeping down to the basement. Question: should I clear the grout and seal with a silicone sealant?

Where is Blkjack when we really need him ? :=D

I can't quite envision how a step or saddle could be retaining much water but if it did I would not only re-grout, I would pull up the tile and re-tile, sloping it toward the interior. At least make it flat and level so that you don't retain water.