I recently noticed water damage in my kitchen walls, I made a whole in the ceiling through a cabinet space and located the leak. It's leaking at the joint elbow under the tub. However there is limited space and hard to reach, how do I fix the problem without removing the tub? I don't feel there's enough room to reach the pipe. Is there anything I can apply before calling a plumber?

If this were my call I'd try the easy repair first, Dry the joint off completely. Now pour primer in and around the joint. Now take PVC cement and caulk and cover the joint. Let it cure over night and drain water out of the tub. Leak all gone? Let me know, Tom

If by the "joint elbow under the tub" you mean the tub shoe elbow (see image) then that is a strainer fitting and you can loosen the strainer from above, apply some plumber's putty to the strainer and retighten the joint using a pair of pliers or two screwdrivers crisscrossed across each other... ;)

Mark

Thanks the diagram helps a lot. I don't believe it's the tub shoe, it's the joint after that connects to what appears to be the overflow tube according to the diagram. There are white water marks on the pipe and when I turned on the water I was able to observe the leak.

What if you cut an access panel behind the tub... is that possible? If so, you may be able to reach in with a pair of pliers and tighten the nut to that fitting (or use some plumber's epoxy putty to seal the joint/leak).