Ask Me Help Desk - 2nd Story Shower Leak

I have a leak froma a second story shower (I think). I originally thought it was the drain, but after cutting kitchen area floor underneath the water seems to be coming from what I think is a vent.

http://www.agtec.net/plumbing

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be happening.
Thanks
Amado

Quote:

Originally Posted by amado_aguilar

I have a leak froma a second story shower (I think). I orginally thought it was the drain, but after cutting kitchen area floor underneath the water seems to be coming from what I think is a vent.

http://www.agtec.net/plumbing

Does anyone have any ideas on what could be happening.
thanks
Amado

Good morning Amodo,

Vents do not carry water, drains do. While the pictures are clear they don't tell me much and the leak isn't marked. What does the pipe, on the right hand side , coming out of the branch of the tee pick up? Is that the shower or kitchen drain line? Where exactly is the leak? Coming from a joint or dripping down from above? Are you quite sure the leak is from the pipes and not from tile grout that has shrunk where the stream hits the tile wall? How about the drain itself? Could a faulty seal be at fault? Click back with more details and be a little more specific. Regards, Tom

The 1st one is rain from the roof. Has it been raining there? The 2nd and more likely is water coming past the handles and trim or inside the wall where the shower arm is connected. The easiest way to see all of this depends on the individual shower. Can you open the wall behind where the valve is? Once you can see in there or if you just want to conduct troubleshooting, run the water with no assistance and monitor how the water leaks, and then run the water while someone places there hand over the shower head so that it runs all over the wall while watching. Does this experiment increase the leak? If so then you either have to install a new shower arm or caulk where the trim meets the wall depending on what you find. I have also seen where it is a packing problem (on a 2 or 3 handle shower valve). To get a better look at a 3 handle shower valve go to this site. http://www.plumbinglessons.com/sup/showervalve.htm
Hope this helps.
Darrel

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedball1

Good morning Amodo,

Vents do not carry water, drains do. While the pictures are clear they don't tell me much and the leak isn't marked. What does the pipe, on the right hand side , coming out of the branch of the tee pick up? Is that the shower or kitchen drain line? Where exactly is the leak? Coming from a joint or dripping down from above? Are you quite sure the leak is from the pipes and not from tile grout that has shrunk where the stream hits the tile wall? How about the drain itself? Could a faulty seal be at fault? Click back with more details and be a little more specific. Regards, Tom

Speedball1

Thanks for the reply. Let me explain a better. The leak seems to be coming from the hole the vent pipe is going through. When shower is run hitting the tile walls, water starts to form on wood around vent hole. So I think its coming from above. It will eventually start to drip. The pipe on right hand side does pickup the shower drain.
Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by darrel1953

The 1st one is rain from the roof. Has it been raining there? The 2nd and more likely is water coming past the handles and trim or inside the wall where the shower arm is connected. The easiest way to see all of this depends on the individual shower. Can you open the wall behind where the valve is? Once you can see in there or if you just want to conduct troubleshooting, run the water with no assistance and monitor how the water leaks, and then run the water while someone places there hand over the shower head so that it runs all over the wall while watching. Does this experiment increase the leak? If so then you either have to install a new shower arm or caulk where the trim meets the wall depending on what you find. I have also seen where it is a packing problem (on a 2 or 3 handle shower valve). To get a better look at a 3 handle shower valve go to this site. http://www.plumbinglessons.com/sup/showervalve.htm
Hope this helps.
Darrel

Darrel

Thanks for your response. No rain and it only drips when shower is running so I think number one is out. I've thought about the shower handles but they are about 1.5 feet to the right of vent pipe. I would expect the water to start dripping and staining wood above that area. I may tear tile out and look at the connections.

Thanks
Amado

Quote:

Originally Posted by amado_aguilar

Speedball1

Thanks for the reply. Let me explain a better. The leak seems to be coming from the hole the vent pipe is going thru. When shower is run hitting the tile walls, water starts to form on wood around vent hole. So I think its coming from above. It will eventually start to drip. The pipe on right hand side does pickup the shower drain.
Thanks

Thanks for the information Amado,

I have found that most shower leaks are caused by the stream hitting the tile wall where the grout has shrunk, letting the water run down behind the shower pan onto the floor. You may check out the drainage system by pouring a bucket or two of water down the drain, (do not turn the shower on) and checking to see if water drips through the floor opening. If the drains OK then recaulk the tile grout with clear silicon caulk where the stream hits. Good luck and let me know how you make out. Tom