Shower leaking into wall?

[Higgs Boson]

Here's a link to several pix of a nasty situation in my (only) bathroom.

[IMG]

I am scared to death that there is a leak somewhere in the wall which is showing up at the base.

Background: Some years ago the latch on the shower went bad, and water leaked out in this area. So I replaced the latch. Shower is used by another person, so I just now checked to make sure it closed tight, and it does, and OP is aware of this. I got in the shower, turned on the water, but did not see any leakage through shower door.

Any idea what could be causing this, and what I need to do?

TIA

HB

[jamesgangnc]

That's not really enough to go on. Wallboard near the outside of showers often gets water soaked. Remove the wallboard. Look at the lumber behind it for signs of water staining. Leave the wallboard off for a while so you can check the inside of the wall after the shower is used.

[RogerT]

I think that is a very good idea -- first, just remove the wallboard and leave it open and see what is going on behind the wallboard. Replacing the wallboard will be easy.

I couldn't really tell from the picture where the shower is, but I guess others could. The OP's message says the link is to several pictures but I only see one picture.

[willshak]

That appears to be a lath and plaster wall with the 'brown coat' showing. As for the cause, I would suspect a leak in the plumbing behind the wall, perhaps above the valve, which may only leak when the valve is turned on.

[DerbyDad03]

I can't see the pictures (tinypic is blocked at work).

Is it a tile shower or a fiberglass unit?

I've seen grout go bad and allow water to leak behind the wall in between the tiles. The grout *looks* OK on the surface, but the water can go right through it. DAMHIKT

And of course, any spot where the caulking has deteriorated will also allow water to leak through, often unseen by the user until everything behind the wall gets saturated and the water begins to find its way to a visible location.

[Higgs Boson]

I had trouble downloading them all at once. I guess that can't be done. Here is one more:

[IMG] HB

[Higgs Boson]

d" as some suggested.

Your reading bears out my worst fears.

Do I have to get a construction person to open up the wall?

Also: This shower backs up to another shower in the tub, which is partly visible in one of the pix.

How to tell which shower is leaking inside the wall?

Why is it showing up only at the base? Note there is some bare plaster above the area, where I never got around to re-papering. So why isn't that water-stained too?

Is this going to be an expensive job?

What will happen if I don't do anything? (I'm afraid I know, but need your input)

(I really needed this! Up to my *** in other expenses!)

HB

[Higgs Boson]

Tile shower.

Shower is in good shape generally, but I'll get a ladder and check grout more closely.

See my just previous reply for more detail on the shower, the other shower backing up to it, and more background.

What may be significant here (as mentioned in my first post) is that there was minor "leakage " years ago, due -- I assumed -- to door latch not closing properly, which I repaired. Now this major leakage is appearing in the same spot. Why now?

HB

[Higgs Boson]

Here is a better view:

[IMG] HB

[DerbyDad03]

llboard" as some suggested.

re: "Do I have to get a construction person to open up the wall?"

Opening the wall is easy...it's closing it back up that becomes the issue. ;-)

If done properly (e.g. cutting the wallboard so that the cuts are centered on the studs) then it's a simple matter to cut a patch from some new wallboard, attached it to the studs, tape, mud, paint. QED

Are you sure that there isn't an access panel in a closet someplace so you can get to the plumbing? Did they really seal both showers up?

re: "What will happen if I don't do anything? (I'm afraid I know, but need your input) "

You already know:

Possible mold issues Possible rotten wood Possible collapse of ceiling below

Maybe even this:

[JayR]

It does look like it could be lath and plaster, but the green parts that show on the first picture make me wonder if it isn't greenboard underneath and then maybe a later patch job over the greenboard (from earlier leak damage).

Either way, the key is to carefully open up that part of the wall and see what is going on underneath. You could start by carefully taking off the piece of wood trim at the bottom by prying it off. Then start to carefully take off the bottom part of the wall and work your way up. You won't know how big of a problem you have until you can see where the water is coming from.

[RogerT]

[IMG] HB

++++++++++++++

Well, gee, that is a MUCH better view! I had no idea where the shower and tub were from the first views.

The water damage on the wall may just be water that gets on the wall from people using the tub -- especially if the tub has a shower.

What is under the floor where the tub and shower are located (the floor below)? Is there any ceiling damage on the floor below under where the tub and shower are located?

[willshak]

as some suggested.

Opening up the wall is the easy part. You can open up the wall yourself, but you may need a plumber to fix the leak and possibly a contractor to replace the wall, unless the plumber does that too. You'll have to check with the plumber to see if he does all three stages. The replacement wall will probably not be lath and plaster, but green board, a wet area sheetrock..

Does the water leak out from under the the wall onto the floor tile in that area? If so, you may try running one shower and look for water there. Then do the same with the other shower. It probably does not matter since the plumbing for both is in the same wall cavity.

It may be running down the inside of the wall, or down the pipe until it gets to the floor and then puddles and wicks up, or the source of the leak may be down in that area.

You'll have to get some estimates from local contractors. The cost may depend upon the local economy.

The water probably has been doing some damage to the floor under around the showers for as long as that leak was occurring. Can you get below that floor to check for damage? Another room, basement, crawl space?

[Nuzzy]

Blame Obama, & you need to vote Republican.

[Higgs Boson]

wallboard" as some suggested.

Hey, thanks for heads-up about cuts centered on studs!

They must have. There's nothing visible but the pipe coming out of the wall. For my info, what SHOULD they have done?

(This was decades ago, so I wouldn't even have known to ask! I encountered an analogous situation years ago with electricity in my office. The ***holes had sealed up the access! The REAL electricians I hired years later for upgrade pointed that out and left the access exposed. )

OMG!!!!

HB

[Higgs Boson]

Hmmm...will check that out. I kinda doubt it; I'm the one that uses the shower in the tub, and I always close the curtain; I would be aware of splashing outside. Thing is -- damage is in the same location as earlier, much less severe, damage which I attributed to user improperly closing shower door latch. Maybe I was wrong then, but there was a long period when no further damage occurred until just recent alarm.

There's nothing underneath but the crawl space. This is a one-story California -- do they still call them bungalows?

(I haven't been down to visit the black widows for years -- since I drilled holes in the hardwood and ran lines from the hi-fi on E. wall to the speakers on W. wall.)

HB

[RogerT]

Just a suggestion....,

When you upload a picture to

, instead of copying and pasting the link that is created that says, "IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards", copy and paste the link that it creates that says, "URL for E-Mail & IM".

That will produce a clean URL link that does not have "[IMG]" attached to the front and back of the link.

So, in your case, instead of the link you post looking like this:

[IMG] ,

it would look like this:

.

[DerbyDad03]

e wallboard" as some suggested.

I don't know if it's a matter of "should" but oft times they will install an access panel so that you can easily remove a section of wall and get to the pipes.

I didn't do it when I re-did my basement bathroom, knowing that if I ever needed to get behind to the pipes, I'd add one then. (I needed to get the job done ASAP)

After many years the Pressure Reducer Vavlw went bad, so I cut open the ceiling, replaced the valve and built an access panel for next time.

If the shower valve ever goes bad, I'll do the same thing.

Something like these can be made or bought:

[Higgs Boson]

wallboard" as some suggested.

Correct. That is what's there now. My mistake originally saying lathe & plaster. That was before remodel w/greenboard.

Also: =A0This shower backs up to another shower in the tub, which is

Absolutely not!

Correct.

Doesn't puddle or wick up, AFAIK. Most likely, from my amateur perspective, is that it runs down pipe, as you suggest, and emerges near the base.

What will happen if I don't do anything? =A0(I'm afraid I know, but need

NO visible damage to vinyl floor tile adjacent to shower. Maybe I should pry up/cut out a few squares to see if damage to floor. Is this worth the damage/hassle?

Can you get below that floor to check for damage? Another room, basement, crawl space?

Crawl space. Bare dirt. Spiders. Claustrophobia. Ewww...

HB

[Higgs Boson]

That will get it fixed!!! You're on. Can I throw in new side door, back yard patioconstruction & landscaping, paint house indoors & out, refinish front door, repaint front porch, rip up concrete in front of garage and replace with permeable concrete squares; in fact rip out concrete driveway paths leading to garage apron and replace whole thing with landscaping, replace edge tiles on garage roof, replace both side gates and driveway gate... let's see...what am I missing...

Lawdy, if I'd known it was that easy, I would have sold my soul right around Nixon's zeit.

HB