leak from ground floor shower not visible until too late

[badhairday]

7 years ago we found out that a leak from the ground floor shower had seeped under the floorboards to drenched the wooden beams? (battons?) etc not only of the shower room but the adjoining bedroom. It was a lot of work taking up the flooring of both the rooms.... reinstalling plastic sheeting, the wooden beams, plasterboard and flooring.

Now, the exact same thing is happening again.

My questions are:

1) Where, on the shower, could this leak be coming from?

2) What should I do to ensure that next time there is a leak, the leak is immediately visible instead of seeping downwards and outwards at ground level and causing havoc ...

3) Any ideas on how to ensure that the area under the shower tray is more easily accessible next time there is a leak and that I don't have to remove the tray completely.

I have attached photos of the current damage...we have yet to remove the flooring to fully assess the problem. And a photo of what the flooring is like underneath so that the problem might be more clear.

 

[longdogs]

There are lots of things that can cause a leaky shower which are due to how well it was installed.

Shower cubicles sealed on the inside can cause leaks along with failed mastic around the tray, failed mastic around the trap, failed washer under the trap, cubicle not sealed inside the wall profile at the bottom, ill-fitting cubicle, dodgy tiling or grouting, movement of tray, water supplies to shower valve leaking.

For better access, the tiles around the outside of the shower base could be changed for white plastic which can be taken off to view under the tray and waste pipes.

Personally, I would first remove these tiles and get a torch under there whilst spraying the inside of the cubicle. See if you can detect any leakage.