Help! Possible Shower leak - Carpet on the other room gets wet

Hello Everyone

I recently purchased an IP and we did the P&B including moisture test in the showers (all good).

Once the tenants moved in, they reported that when they take a shower, the carpet on the other side of the shower gets wet.

The house is years double brick with good quality tiling, I was not in the city so the REA presented the option that its likely the grouting and I got the shower area of the ensuite re-grouted.

The tenants have indicated that the carpet is still getting wet only when they take the shower.

What can it be ?? The REA now says it could be the drain, has anyone came across this before ?
Any thoughts on the expected repair cost . The re-grouting cost me $1100 already

 

Is the wall on the other side of the shower behind the tap / mixer?

 

Yes. There is, however it only shows up when the taps are open i.e.e shower being used.

 

Put a tub in the shower. Turn it on and catch all the water from the shower. If the carpet behind still gets wet, probably means its coming from the pipes behind?

 

Thats not a bad idea . I will float this to the REA.

 

Depending on the layout of the room I have had showers that spay water at a weird angle and it was coming out the side of the door then running along the bathroom floor to the carpet area.

 

The shower is away from the door of the bedroom , there is a hallway in between, only has a common wall with the bedroom where the taps are.

 

Can be the case, as tenants also say that one of the tap is leaking. However, still perplexed as to why it only happens when they use the shower.

 

Shower taps might be leaking. They might need new o rings. Or an old washer leaking. Or as already mentioned, the pipe is leaking.

But if pipe was leaking, the carpet would be constantly wet.

 

Probably a leak in the pipes between the tap and the shower head.

As @wylie said, probably much cheaper if you cut in from a plaster wall in the room behind the shower piping rather than disturb tiles.

Plumber will advise.

 

Hi I spoke to the person who did the grouting, he reckons that a plumber would need to fix up a leaky tap.

Thanks alot. I am asking the REA to get one there quickly.

 

It cant be the pipes. If it was that it would be continuously leaking and you would know about that quick smart.

Its most likely the shower needs a reseal. Its a relatively cheap job and will make sure its fully waterproof and tight again.

EPOXY Grout PRO | $645.00 Full Leaking Shower Reseal Epoxy Regrouting Bathroom Rejuvenation

Something like the above. Complete shower reseal around $650. You can get it done cheaper if you shop around for around $500.

 

Hi I am a plumber with plenty of experience with shower leak investigations.
First test remove tap handles and cover plates, turn on the water and see if the fibre body washers between the spindle and shower breaching piece is leaking. Sometimes it helps to remove the shower head and cap it off with a brass cap then turn the water on.
Second test is remove the shower head and screw on a pressure gauge, turn on the water to pressurise the pipes between the taps and shower head. Turn off both shower taps and observe if there is a pressure drop. If the pressure drops then you have a leak in the breaching piece, usually on the tee heading up to the shower head. Open up the wall and repair.
Sometimes you need to run hot water only through the breaching piece then pressure test. The heat will cause the copper or brass pipe to expand and open up any tiny pin holes.
Thirdly with the cover plates off seal up between the tap bodies and the tiles with silicon sealant so no water can get behind the tiles.
The third test is cap off the floor waste in the shower and fill the base of the shower with water to about 50mm deep. I often do this with a garden hose so that the shower breaching piece is not involved.
All the best. Shane

 

Handy tips.^^^^^^

 

If the carpet is only getting wet when they're having a shower, it is most likely the shower head fitting or the seal around the bottom corners.

You can isolate the issue by dumping a few buckets of water in the shower section, or by catching the water from the shower head into a bucket.

The taps sound like they're sealing correctly, if they weren't, you would have wet carpet all the time.

 

You need to make sure you silicon around where the tap spindles protrude from the wall.. Shane mentioned it below:
Thirdly with the cover plates off seal up between the tap bodies and the tiles with silicon sealant so no water can get behind the tiles.