Leaky Shower Upstairs-- Shower Pan or Tile-Grout?
My upstairs shower is leaking through the ceiling. It only leaks when I take a shower. The shower has tiled walls, tiled bench, and fiber glass bottom. My house is 13-years old. Here's what I have done so far to isolate the source of the leak.
1. I had a plumber come out who determined that the source of the leak is NOT the plumbing. He performed the following tests:
a) Cut two squares through ceiling to evaluate the leak. He observed that there was no water barrier between the fiberglass bottom and the plywood. And the plywood was rotted, which he removed. He also observed that there was a small hole in the floor, outside of the shower, (exterior), not inside the shower. This is where the water is dripping out.
b) He put paper towels outside of the shower door, ran the shower. No water on the floor, paper was dry. (Therefore shower door not the source of the leak.
c) He removed shower head, and capped it. Turned on the shower for several minutes. No leak.
d) He used a different source of water through a garden house, and ran it into the shower for several minutes. No leak.
e) For good measure, he applied plumber's putty to shower head, drain, and around the shower knob fixture, which turns on/off water.
Shower still leaking.
2. I had a shower guy come out. He found two possible sources of the leak. He removed the shower door frame, re-caulked all the metal surrounding the glass of the shower. He also caulked the periphery of the shower pan.
Shower still leaking.
3. Next, I fill I plugged the shower drain and filled with water, and let stand overnight. No leaking.
4. Next, I put plastic around all of the tiled areas (2-walls and bench). I sealed with masking tape around the top, bottom, and sides. I took 3 showers and NO leaking! I assumed that the source of the leak was the grout/tile.
5. I contacted tile-grout guy, who said that tile and grout are not meant to be a complete water barrier. He was confident that the source of my leak is the shower pan--that it needed to be hot-mopped. While this guy has not seen my shower, I find his assessment notable, because, this means that he would not get my business $$.
I'm not sure of the next step to take and don't want to waste more money! Please advise--thank you!
Evelyn
