Hi there,

I have a problem with a leaking shower in the basement. It's a pre-fab, around 10 years old. I just moved in a month ago. At first I thought it may have been a joint leak. I've recaulked all of the joints with an unhealthy attention to detail. It's still leaking, a lot. Enough to seep into the next room.

The prefab is on straight concrete, I'm suspecting the drain goes straight into the concrete floor with a short drain pipe. Could it be a seal issue in the drain? How would I go about fixing it? Will I have to damage the existing shower, or remove the base in order to get to the source of the problem?

Hey Ryan...

Have you removed the trim plate from the shower valve/shower arm to eliminate the shower valve as a contributing factor? If not, remove trim plate and then run the shower to see if anything is leaking behind the wall.

If not the shower valve then I would test the drain by plugging it off with a sock in a plastic bag (tie string around this with a weight on it) and filling the pan to about an inch less than the threshold. If this leaks then you can be sure the issue is at the strainer assembly. Here, remove the strainer cover and see what you have under the cover. This may or may not be an easy fix... depends.

If you step into the shower and you feel movement and hear creeky sounds then the drainis most certainlky the issue and will need to be repaired/replaced. But hard to say for right now...

Check the details I mentioned above...

Let us know more...

MARK

Thank you for the quick response Mark.

If I look down the drain, after removing the drain cover, I see a large, black rubber seal, it looks slightly offset right underneath the floor of the shower. The seal must be broken or misaligned. Can you think of an easy way to put that thing back into place? And possibly seal any gaps I have between the shower body and the drain?

Hi Ryan...

Try to use a pair of needlenose pliers and see if you can remove the black rubber seal. May also need a pair of screwdrivers... The pipe should enter the seal and come up just above the seal..?

This rubber is pretty universal seal and can be picked up and replaced at most plumbing supply houses.

Any chance you can post a picture of the drain seal?

Let me know.