Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Tile Shower Leak
Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.View Full Version : Tile Shower Leak
pondwofish
07-28-08, 10:52 AM
I have a tiled shower, both walls and floor are tiled. Where the wall and floor meet there is a grout line. The shower has leaked in the past and I have simply applied caulking at the areas that have leaked, the caulking went over the grout. It is once again leaking so I have decided to do the job right this time. I have removed the grout where the floor and walls meet. My question is should I simply regrout or should I use caulking? And if I use caulking how can I be sure I have a good seal where the caulking and the grout lines meet?
Ric
Ric
HotinOKC
07-28-08, 03:32 PM
Reapply a good silicone caulking. You should not see any voids in the grout.
If your shower was constructed properly, the water from this area should enter the mud pan, then the pan liner which leads to the shower drain weep holes.
Do you know how your shower floor and walls was constructed?
If your shower was constructed properly, the water from this area should enter the mud pan, then the pan liner which leads to the shower drain weep holes.
Do you know how your shower floor and walls was constructed?
HeresJohnny
07-28-08, 04:48 PM
If your shower pan is leaking, grout and caulk is not going to stop it. The waterproofing for the pan is underneath the tile and mud bed. If it's leaking, you'll need to bust up the floor, remove a row or two of wall tile and find out what's going on. Sorry for the bad news.:wall:
pondwofish
07-29-08, 10:13 AM
It is a custom shower. The contractor installed a blue liner and then poured "mud" over the liner. That is all I know about the construction. I can only guess that the liner is not doing what it is supposed to do or it was not installed properly. It was installed about 10 years ago. It has leaked once before and I simply caulked over the grout where the walls and floor meet.
Thanks for the feedback.
ric
Thanks for the feedback.
ric
HeresJohnny
07-29-08, 12:31 PM
It is a custom shower. The contractor installed a blue liner and then poured "mud" over the liner.
The "blue liner" you describe is indeed what makes your shower pan waterproof. It covers the pre-slope (hopefully you have one) and goes about 8" or so up the walls as well as covers the curb. Tile and grout are not waterproof. The shower is designed so that when water gets through the grout lines and into the mud bed, it reaches the pan liner and is diverted to weepholes in the drain. This happens every time the shower is used. This is how it should work in everyday use. If you have a leak, then the shower pan has somehow been compromised or possibly it was not installed correctly. Regrouting and caulking may slow down water reaching the pan liner, however it will not stop the leak.:)
The "blue liner" you describe is indeed what makes your shower pan waterproof. It covers the pre-slope (hopefully you have one) and goes about 8" or so up the walls as well as covers the curb. Tile and grout are not waterproof. The shower is designed so that when water gets through the grout lines and into the mud bed, it reaches the pan liner and is diverted to weepholes in the drain. This happens every time the shower is used. This is how it should work in everyday use. If you have a leak, then the shower pan has somehow been compromised or possibly it was not installed correctly. Regrouting and caulking may slow down water reaching the pan liner, however it will not stop the leak.:)