Find and stop a leak from bathroom tub/shower?
Question:i have a leak coming somewhere from my shower/tub upstairs going into room below it.How would i find this leak? and correct it?
Answers:
This isn't easy if you have no experience, but there are things you can try.
One place leaks often occur is where the shower neck attaches to the water pipe in the wall. Pull the escutcheon (the round plate around the top of the neck) down, then unscrew the neck from the pipe. Make sure the valves are off tight! Look inside with a flashlight. If there are signs of water leaks, there's your problem. Get a new neck, put fresh teflon tape on it, and screw it back in tight.
The other possibilities are tougher. Leaks can occur where the hot and cold water valves attach to the wall, where the faucet comes out, or (quite often) around the drain. Unless you really know what you're doing, these jobs need a plumber. If the problem is the drain, you might need to cut into the ceiling below to get access.
There are books at your hardware store that will give you step-by-step instructions with pictures.
Good luck.
call a plumber
TG's answer is very good. I suggest you follow his advice.
The problem with leaks is water will always follow the path of least resistance; meaning where the water finally emerges isn't always a good indicator of where the leak is located. Drains are installed with a one to two percent slope. Water running down the outside of the pipe will usually remain on the pipe until it hits an obstacle such as a collar (used to connect two sections of pipe) or some other fitting.
It is a relatively simple job for an experience plumber. Get yourself a couple of quotes; ask for references. Dismiss the highest and lowest.
Unless you have a license, this job is best left to a professional.
You can locate the leak or find out whats leaking by doing a few simple tests. The leak may be from the drain, the water pipes or even from around the tub caulking. We renovated our bathroom and found a leak and located it around the tub caulking, heres what you do. You need two people, one to turn on the water and one to monitor for leaks. To see if the pipes are leaking from the shower, put the plug in the tub and turn on the shower if your monitor sees leaks thats where it is. Next test the taps for the tub, turn off the shower and leave the plug in, turn on the taps and see if the water is coming from there by monitoring for leaks. To see if the water is coming from around the tub caulking, pour water around the tub caulking, you can use a bucket for this or the shower head (if removeable), again leave the plug in the drain and have your monitor looks for leaks. To test the drain pull the plug in the tub and drain the water from the other tests and monitor for leaks. Another good indication to finding leaks in when does it leak. When using the tub or all the time? If it leaks only when using the it's either the tub caulking or the drain. Repair once you find out where it is. The difficulty and cost will be determined once the leak is located. It may be very costly or fairly simple.
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