Leaking Shower

mattym

We noticed a damp patch on the kitchen ceiling a while back so i cut a section out to investigate. When the shower is on after a few minutes we get a drip down into the kitchen. I have resealed the shower tray and door without any joy. I am confidant that the silicone seal is sound so the next fix i am going to try is to get a grout sealer to ensure no moisture is getting through the joints although i can't see any cracks in the grout. Any other ideas?

Matt

SteelyDanJalapeno

Just moved into a new house and had the same, I did find a hole where silicon should be, so I repaired that.

But also the ensuite had a wooden floor and I think water was dripping through that when we got in and out of the shower, we've since put down lino

Effects

Leak in the trap?

mattym

Effects wrote: »

Leak in the trap?

Sorry, forgot to mention that from the hole i cut out in the kitchen ceiling i can see the trap and all looks good. Thanks.

awec

Could be a leak in the pipe connections.

I assume you ran your hand all over the trap and the pipe work coming out of it to see if you could feel any water?

Sleeper12

SteelyDanJalapeno wrote:

Just moved into a new house and had the same, I did find a hole where silicon should be, so I repaired that.

If the shower tray, door and tiles are installed correctly then there shouldn't ever be any need for silicone inside the shower cubicle. Silicone will only hide installation mistakes for a period of time.

mattym

awec wrote: »

Could be a leak in the pipe connections.

I assume you ran your hand all over the trap and the pipe work coming out of it to see if you could feel any water?

Yes i did, i was hoping i'd find moisture but its bone dry. I left the hose running just into the shower tray for an age and there was no leak but when it is used it leaks. That is what got me thinking it could be splashes onto the tiles and grout causing the leak. I have never heard of having to seal tiling but i don't know what grout was used.

listermint

Any leaks on the shower feeds ?

DublinDilbert

When there is weight in the shower tray a gap might open up. I've also had a leak at one of the grout lines. Is there a bead of silicone extending up the walls in the corner?

mattym

listermint wrote: »

Any leaks on the shower feeds ?

I checked the water feed to the shower and no issues there.

mattym

DublinDilbert wrote: »

When there is weight in the shower tray a gap might open up. I've also had a leak at one of the grout lines. Is there a bead of silicone extending up the walls in the corner?

I removed the silicone between the shower tray and first row of tiles and redid it. While i was doing that i ran a bead of clear silicone up the corner but am now doubting all the other grouting.

awec

How much of a leak are you talking about here?

If it's making the ceiling look damp after each use of the shower, then it's not a tiny drip, so I wouldn't suspect it to be caused by a gap in sealant unless the gap was somewhere that water is constantly hitting.

It is far more likely a plumbing issue IMO.

fred funk }{

More than likely its water getting behind the tiles where the grout has gone. Most showers are incorrectly done and there isn't water proof boards behind the tiles. Short term you could regrout but long term all the tiles need to come off and replace the plasterboard with water proof backer board, tank the joins and retile.

listermint

awec wrote: »

How much of a leak are you talking about here?

If it's making the ceiling look damp after each use of the shower, then it's not a tiny drip, so I wouldn't suspect it to be caused by a gap in sealant unless the gap was somewhere that water is constantly hitting.

It is far more likely a plumbing issue IMO.

This.

Mulbert

I had this problem from time to time and finally figured out that water was getting in under the bath where the floor isn't tiled and coming onto ceiling below.

Took side panels off bath inspected, replaced. Sealed all around bath/floor joints no problem since.

Normally had wet ceiling below after one off the children had a bath/shower.

mattym

Thanks everyone for their input, finally got to the bottom of the problem. The gap between the bottom row of tiles and the shower tray is about 7 or 8 millimetres which i had filled with white silicone. When i looked closer it seems that while the silicone was hardening it settled and left the smallest gap between the top of it and the bottom of the tile. I ran another bead yesterday and all is good today thankfully. Thanks again for all your comments.
Matt.

chooseusername

When sealing a shower tray where the wall is tiled down to the tray,
I've put weight on the shower tray, (3 or 4 25kg bags of sand)
and left them 24hrs until silicone is cured.