We bought a flipped property about a year and a half ago, and, as I had feared, issues are starting to crop up.

The first one we just had taken care of yesterday - there was no pressure regulator installed, and so we had 95 psi coming into the house. Unfortunately, I think Problem One may have resulted in Problem Two.

We have a fully tiled (with travertine) custom shower in our upstairs master bath. I don't know whether it was hot mopped. And I have always wondered about its integrity, given that before we moved in, we had to have someone redo the tile in the floor of the shower as there was no slope toward the drain (resulting in standing water after only a few minutes of the shower running).

Yesterday I noticed bubbling and cracking on the ceiling in our laundry room, which is, of course, right below the shower. To be fair, I noticed this bubbling and cracking awhile ago, but it didn't click in my head until yesterday that moisture from the shower could be causing it.

The placement of the bubbled/cracked area is not necessarily below the shower drain; it actually appears to be above and to the right of it - somewhere between the shower and the sink, but closer to the shower side.

There is no discoloration. In fact, I would probably assume it was a problem with the plaster or paint itself were it not for the fact that the shower is right above it.

My suspicion is that our shower is leaking; I have a plumber coming out in the next few days to take a look, but forewarned is forearmed, and therefore I have a couple of questions. I am not handy in the least, and my questions will probably demonstrate my ignorance on this subject:

1. Will the plumber be able to determine if there is a leak without actually going into the shower floor? Can he tell simply by removing the cracked paint in the laundry room?

2. Assuming the shower is leaking, will the shower definitely have to be ripped out? Can some leaks be repaired from below?

3. If the shower is leaking, who on earth do I call to repair it? The plumber for the plumbing issues, and a contractor for damage to the ceiling downstairs/shower upstairs resulting from the repair?

In case it's relevant, there do not seem to be signs in or around the shower itself that it's leaking, so what I'm wondering is if our high psi possibly busted a seal in the pipe below the shower drain.

Any information you might have on this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The high PSI has no effect on the drains. However... poor workmanship which is common for a flipped house does effect drains. There are many places water could be leaking and each has it's own unique solution. First thing to do is cut an access hole in the ceiling where your bubbling is and find out where the leak is and go from there. If you're lucky it will be the drain pipe that's leaking. If the shower pan is leaking that is a nasty fix normally requiring the rebuilding of the bottom of the shower.

I encountered a very similar situation when I bought my house. I cut open the ceiling in the lower level bathroom (damaged by water) to expose the upper level plumbing. Following a process of elimination, I first replaced the toilet floor gasket (with beeswax ring), then the tub drain gasket, then the tub overflow gasket. Finally I discovered the water was coming through the wall at the control valve. There was no gasket around the chrome backing plate which surrounds the valve handle. I used plumbers putty to seal around the valve and the edge of the backing plate. The leaks stopped. I repaired the ceiling in the lower bathroom and have had no problems. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

I flip property and know many others who do too. I'd have to admit I've seen many short cuts taken by guys on a tight budget. That being said you must remove the damaged ceiling that will give you a chance to see the leak. If it's a drain leak can can fix from below, mixing valves can be fixed via the escutcheon plate so little chance that the shower walls will have to come down. A faulty shower pan would be the most difficult to fix so keep your fingers crossed.