Help with Shower Drain leak problems

[Bob T]

My shower drain in a custom ceramic shower had been leaking and I opened up the ceiling below it and need some advice on how to repair it only seems to leak after a lot of water has been run and I can also cause it by stopping up the drain and allowing some water to pool in the bottom. It appears that the water is seeping around the outside of the drain as opposed to the drain leaking . I have photos here of both the top and bottom view

I get it to leak the water comes from the plywood around the drain assembly which has me wondering if its seeping through the grout. I'm wondering if I could apply a waterproofing agent on the tiles and grout to fix this . I really don't want to rip up the time if possible Thanks in advance Bob

[Big_Jake]

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When I get it to leak the water comes from the plywood around the drain

Generally any "stop gap" attempt at fixing this will not work. Water getting through the grout is expected. There should be some type of pan liner underneath it all that guides this water into the drain. From the photos it doesn't look like a good install.

Sorry for the bad news.

JK

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, The real problem seems to be, the floor is not solid(rigid) enought. No matter what you do to plug the leak, it'll come back unless the floor is reinforced. Bigger job!

[Tony Hwang]

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>When I get it to leak the water comes from the plywood around the drain

Hi, In my last house, upstairs shower in the MB had a tile surround shower. The bottom had a pan and poured cement base. No leak in 20 years I lived there. This house has multi-head shower upstairs. It also has fiberglass pan and poured cement base. Even I can jump up and down in the shower. No sign of any leak in more than 10 years. All custom built houses per my spec. If floor flexes, leak will spring.

[ransley]

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>>When I get it to leak the water comes from the plywood around the drain

A very small unseen crack in tile grout can cause that, I would regrout and caulk.

[Bob T]

Thanks for the suggestions I find it hard to believe its a design issue. I bought this house from the builder who built it for himself when he and his wife divorced . This place has every toy including Natural gas generator, built in home theater, even has a remote control for the irrigation system.

3 92% efficient GAS furnaces with AC I'll try regrout>> Big_Jake wrote:

[Frank]

I also suspect leaky pan. Happened to me after less than a year when house was new. Pans often get punctured during construction and it can take months for leak to show up. In my case tiles and pan were replaced under house warranty. Later I had to redo entire shower as chintzy builder had put wall tiles on plain drywall.

[John Grabowski]

Nobody wants to rip up their shower stall, but unfortunately that is the correct path to fixing the problem. As the others have suggested you need a good solid base and a pan underneath. You can caulk and grout the hell out of it, but I doubt if it will do much. I would save the time and money and start planning a new shower stall. Maybe you can get away with just redoing the bottom and a few tiles up. Call a plumber and ask his opinion. I suppose it is possible that the plastic drain may have cracked, but what would have cause that besides a flexible floor. The black mold away from the drain tells me the water is coming from the floor.

[jim]

First get rid of plywood and go concrete as it is much more solid and less prone to seepige if done right. Have installed 50 plus and yet to have one leak. Also put a liner as this manditory for a stall. Extend it 12 inches to 18 inches minuim up the walls then use a good tiler who can do it right cost but should be right.