Help me track down a leak

[wedge69]

Hi,

I had the bath panel off the bath, and I noticed that after having a shower, I was getting a damp patch appearing on the wall behind the bath (it's not tiled there because it's out of sight).

I removed the sealant and I could see that the grout behind was soaking and coming away, which led me to beleive that it hadn't been sealed properly. So I waited for it to dry out, and resealed it (bought decent sealant, filled the bath with water, left for 24 hours, etc).

Everything seemed fine. No more damp.

However, my wife had a shower tonight and it has come back. I can only think it is because she has the shower head lower down than I do, and so must be spraying a different bit.

Because it doesn't appear when I shower, I don't think it's internal parts leaking. All the grout looks sound with no holes and no cracks.

The only thing I can think of is that it's something to do with the shower screen.

Can anyone suggest a way of me tracking this down? I am all out of ideas. I can't see anywhere else to seal! Or is a small damp patch that drys within the hour not worth worrying about?

 

[seco services]

any damp patch is worth worrying about it will cause mold.

is it getting behind the shower screen where it secures to the wall and running down behind bath ?

 

[holty]

did you seal the corner of the wall as well.

 

[wedge69]

I kind of thought of that the first time I saw it. I had a go at sealing the inside of the shower screen (I now realise you are not supposed to do that so the water has some way of getting back out or something?), so it's sealed there now.

The only thing I can think of is that the water is somehow still getting in that bit, and the bath hasn't been sealed properly to the wall at the bit where the shower screen is attached.

?

 

[holty]

better way of telling is directing the water with shower head at points were they could leak. a direct spray will show up sooner than when your having a shower.

 

[wedge69]

Yeah, I've tried doing that, but not with much success. I'll keep it up to see if I can spot anything. It's that nasty knack that water has of finding strange routes to places.....

 

[holty]

hows the condition of the grout, could need regrouting.

 

[bengasman]

Or the tiler used cheap crap that is not waterproof for grouting

 

[dextrous]

I removed the sealant and I could see that the grout behind was soaking and coming away, which led me to beleive that it hadn't been sealed properly. So I waited for it to dry out, and resealed it (bought decent sealant, filled the bath with water, left for 24 hours, etc).


The only thing I can think of is that it's something to do with the shower screen.

Did you remove the screen and the wallplate for it when you re-sealed? Could be water getting into this wallplate's groove and down behind the bath at this point and tracking along.

 

[wedge69]

Or the tiler used cheap crap that is not waterproof for grouting

Think the grout is ok - we provided it - Granfix Hygienic Maxigrout - claims to be suitbale for use in regularly wet areas and fully submerged areas. I've had a look at the joints, and there are no obvious cracks

Did you remove the screen and the wallplate for it when you re-sealed? Could be water getting into this wallplate's groove and down behind the bath at this point and tracking along.

I sealed the bit where the shower screen joins the wall on the inside - is this not the best idea?

 

[wedge69]

Right, I really am all out of ideas now.

I resealed, and everything seemed fine. No leaks. Until the day I went to put the bath panel back on and it happened again!

So about once every six weeks, I get a small damp patch behind the bath that dries in a couple of hours that I have no clue how to get rid of.

Am I just stuck with this? There doesn't seem anything practical left to try. I can't be the only one this happens too? Surely it is common for most peoples to leak every once in a while.

Sorry, it's just doing my head in and I have no idea what to do now!

 

[bengasman]

It may be common that things leak and/or get damp, it surely isn't as it is supposed to be, and eventually it will cause problems at some point.
It is simple to make something that doesn't leak, finding out where the damp comes from is a different story if you don't know how things were flung together.

 

[wedge69]

I agree, if it's done right in the first place nothing should leak, but when you haven't done it, then as you say, it's hard to know what to do!

It's been a year since we had the bathroom fitted. I didn't notice the leak for six months, and I've been trying to fix it for the past six.

If I were to get someone in, I don't know what they would do, other than rip the whole thing out and start again!

 

[bengasman]

Seems a bit drastic. If nobody on the forum came up with a solution, the chances that a chap from the yellow pages can solve it easily are pretty slim.

 

[wedge69]

Oh no, don't get me wrong. I appreciate all the help everyone has given on here, this is an invaluable place for advice.

I guess I will just have to leave it for now, maybe take the bath panel off in six months and see if my wall has fallen apart

To top it all off, my car wouldn't start this morning!