Hello:

We had our shower stall upstairs redone. The Contractor ripped apart the old one and built a brand new stall with tiles. The first time it leaked probably when it was used the first few times, then we could not recreate the leak - this was in Nov.2004. In Dec 04, we went on a month long vacation and returned a few days ago. When we used the shower stall on our return, it leaked below (close to a cup of water through the light fixture) on the first day. We have used stall after that for two days and there has been no visible leak whatsoever. Three of us use the shower in the mornings to have our shower and we live in New England. I think the only way to recreate the issue for the contrator may be not to use that shower for couple of weeks and then try it again.. I hate have him break apart the shower and redo the whole thing again... Is there any reason why this may happen or what would be the potential cause of the problem? Any assistance would be appreciated..

Thanks in advance

Brenda

What kind of shower stall?? Did he build a shower pan or put in a pre-made one? If it is an all tile shower (floor is tile as well) then he probably built a shower pan. If you want to see if it will leak plug the drain with something that will not get stuck in the drain by accident and then fill the stall with water a bit. Also be careful of water leaking by a light fixture with electrical wires. If possible you could remove the fixture and try to see where the water is coming from if possible. Take a picture when it leaks to show the guy who built it. Good luck

Hi Brenda,
Let's nail it down and localize your problem. To check the drainage, tonight before bedtime remove the strainer and close off the drain with a stopper or a wet towel stuffed down the opening. Fill the base with 1/2" of water. Next morning check for moisture and leakage. If you don't have any then you have a tile leak caused by faulty grout where the stream hits the tile wall. Let me know what you find and we'll go from there. Tom

Hello :

I am not sure if he built one or install a store bought shower pan... I saw them first put a liner and Cement over it to level the floor...

As far the leak is concerned, it dripped just on the first day of usage, we have been using it for the past 6 days and apart from the first day it has not dripped any water downstairs...

The shower stall is above our living room and there is light fixture below... the water dripped from between the ceiling and the light fixture.

My reasoning says something expanded and closed the leak... May be I should stop using the shower stalll for a week and let it all dry up and then try again to see if it will leak again...

I will try to test the stall by closing the drain hole and then let you know what happens - I assume you want me check downstairs for moisture and leakage...

Thanks for replying, it is much appreciated

Brenda