Ask Me Help Desk - New shower drain leaks

Hello, looking for some expert plumbing advice...
My new showewr drain leaks around the exterior of the drain between the grout and the drain itself. I have torn out the tiles around the drain and now need to seal the drain to the floor and seal it up to the tiles to prevent the leakage. (does that make sense?) I read in a forum about something called an "Epoxy Ring", is this something I need to use and, where can I find this "ring" or, can someone further explain how to properly seal the drain to the grout/tiles to keep from leaking. I've already had to tear into my first floor family room ceiling... not much fun.

Thank you in advance for your king help,
Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthewindmj

Hello, looking for some expert plumbing advice...
My new showewr drain leaks around the exterior of the drain between the grout and the drain itself. I have torn out the tiles around the drain and now need to seal the drain to the floor and seal it up to the tiles to prevent the leakage. (does that make sense?) I read in a forum about something called an "Epoxy Ring", is this something I need to use and, where can I find this "ring" or, can someone further explain how to properly seal the drain to the grout/tiles to keep from leaking. I've already had to tear into my first floor family room ceiling...not much fun.

Thank you in advance for your king help,
Mike

Hi Mike,
I need a little more information. What kind of material is the pipes and drain? Does this shower have a base, a shower pan and a flange that the drain screws into? Tile all the way up the walls? Who installed the drain? How was it installed? If there was a shower flange installed on the pan there are "weep holes" in the flange to allow any moisture that seeps down to drain back into the system. In short you haven't supplied enough information for me to give you a answer. Can you post pictures? Regards, Tom

Tom,
I built the shower myself. The shower floor is 2X2 tile with cement board underneath and 12X12 tile walls. The plumbing is PVC with a proper trap etc. I am attempting to figure out how to seal the drain to the tile to prevent leakage in between. The drain flange screws into the trap with the top of the drain slightly below the tile surface.
I heard about an epoxy ring to seal this area, is that something that makes sense to you?
Hope this helps. Thank you!
Mike
by the way... I tried sending a picture but my file was too large and I'm unsure of how to compress it in this format. I will attempt it again or... perhaps is there another email address I can send a photo to?
I did try again and the browser states my file is too large. Applogies, I'm not a huge techie to figure out how to compress my pic to get it sent to you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by inthewindmj

Tom,
I built the shower myself. The shower floor is 2X2 tile with cement board underneath and 12X12 tile walls. The plumbing is PVC with a proper trap etc. I am attempting to figure out how to seal the drain to the tile to prevent leakage in between. The drain flange screws into the trap with the top of the drain slightly below the tile surface.
I heard about an epoxy ring to seal this area, is that something that makes sense to you?
Hope this helps. Thank you!
Mike
btw...I tried sending a picture but my file was too large and I'm unsure of how to compress it in this format. I will attempt it again or...perhaps is there another email address I can send a photo to?
I did try again and the browser states my file is too large. Applogies, I'm not a huge techie to figure out how to compress my pic to get it sent to you.

You did pan this out didn't you? Tell me that's not all you have under the mud and tile is cement board. My Addy is [email protected] Head it PLUMBING so It won't get over looked. To seal the drain load the lip up with Silicone Caulk and reset. Clean any that sqeezes out away. Regards, Tom