We purchased a house in Va. That is new but has been sitting empty for 2 yrs... the upstairs bathroom shower stalls have a nice tile floor (small tiles) and larger tiles on the side. The master shower has a slight leak that we found after the third shower of the morning. There was a slight drip from the frame of the downstairs closet that let us know there was a problem. It stopped once the shower was shut off. I pulled the grating off and there is a plastic round fitting (~ 4 " dia.) that appears to be grouted into place as I could not lift it out and did not try to force it since did not want to damage the tile floor. I can see down to the PVC drain pipe and P-trap but there is a space between the plastic fitting and the PVC pipe that may be the source of the leak. I'm thinking I may be able to apply silicone to the joint space all the way around and fix the problem without having to remove the round plastic drain fitting. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I thought about trying to slide a cylinder piece down in there and glue it in place but did not know if that would be the best fix for this problem.

Thanks,

Shower leaks can be in the drain, in the wall/floor joints or at the mixing valve. We really need to track down the source before we try to create a dam which could trap water. If shutting off the water stopped the leak this would indicate a supply problem but I don't think it really is. Can you open the escutcheon plate behind the mixing valve? Another thing to just get us started is to get several buckets of water from another source, dump one bucket into the pan every minute for 4 minutes, did the leak return?

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Originally Posted by ballengerb1

Shower leaks can be in the drain, in the wall/floor joints or at the mixing valve. We really need to track down the source before we try to create a dam which could trap water. If shutting off the water stopped the leak this would indicate a supply problem but I don't think it really is. Can you open the escutcheon plate behind the mixing valve? Another thing to just get us started is to get several buckets of water from another source, dump one bucket into the pan every minute for 4 minutes, did the leak return??

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I was concerned it might be the supply piping so I ran the tub which is located right next to the shower stall, then the sinks and the other bathrooms shower and sinks and no leak. The entire shower stall is tiled and there is no access panel to get at the piping. This house is brand new but I should probably install an access panel in the guest room closet so I can access that piping. I'm pretty sure it is the drain but may need a "real plumber" to come in and look at it if I can't fix the leak myself. The problem is that this house is an investment property that is 3.5 hrs drive south from where I live.

I may have misled with my statement around the supply being shut off. It was only leaking when water was actively flowing down the drain and it didn't leak much... maybe 3-4 oz water in 20 minutes timeframe.

Thanks for the explanation Bill. The supply piping would be my last thought but the connection to the mixing valve , or the valve itself, is a higher probability. The drain is also a likely place to start. We need to isolate the drain issue from the supply issue. Dumping buckets of water from another sounce would help determine if the leak happens even if the valves are closed. Another approach would be to use a 5 gallon bucket , turn on the shower but catuch the water in the bucket held near the shower head. Both tests will send you in the right direction, we just don't know where that is right now. I would do these tests first before calling the plumber. They are great at fixing tand installing but it's a waste of money to pay a licensed plumber to play detective, he'sgoing to charge you ar least $70 just to drive out to the home and then time/materials.

Thank you for your help. I will try the 5 gal bucket test next time we get down there, likely in 2 weeks. I agree with your thought on saving some $$ as well... thanks again.