Wetroom Shower Leaking

[Happyunited]

Hello,

Hopefully, I've posted this in the right place, feel free to move it if not.

I've recently had a walk-in shower installed in a new bathroom as part of a building extension. It's been installed about 8 weeks now but only this week have I managed to fit the shower screen, there was a delay in the delivery. Up until this week, I've been placing a towel on the floor and having quick showers to minimise the splash to the door/landing.

I've fitted the screen and all sealed and to my annoyance, it's still leaking It seems to be leaking under the tile and wetting the backing boards, the pictures help show it better. At present, there are no leaks below.

There was a new lowered floor made, supported with battons between the joists for extra support. The shower tray (Nassboards) was fitted to this floor using flex adhesive. The rest of the room was covered with 10mm backing boards. The shower area was tanked using Impey watergaurd. I choose this expensive product because of the reviews, hoping I wouldn't have situations like this. I was so precise fitting this making sure all the corners, tape, joints were right. Everything was finished off with tiles.

I've contacted Impey (lifetime warranty) but they just said looking from the pictures it's not their problem.

Can anyone offer any help and advice to what would be causing this? Impey suggested the waste outlet is leaving but I'm not sure if that would do whats happening. The tiles and grout are pretty permeable, right? everything is sealed with silicone. The last thing I want to do is rip everything up. I could access the waste outlet from below by cutting into the ceiling and replacing with access hatch etc.

Thanks for your help.

 

[terryplumb]

Can't see the quality of the siliconing / if it's watertight ,but that would be my first place to examine closely. Around the tray and up the verticals.

 

[Happyunited]

Can't see the quality of the siliconing / if it's watertight ,but that would be my first place to examine closely. Around the tray and up the verticals.

thanks for your reply.

ive had another look today and the silicone seems perfectly fine. I did go over it again just to be sure.

what I did do today is plug the waste outlet under the grate and make a dam at the edge of the screen and fill the tray up with water. Now the cloth I stuffed in the waste outlet probably wasn’t the tightest seal but the water did stay and I couldn’t see any leak. I left it for a few hours.

once I removed the cloth and let the water go the leak started to appear. I can’t imagine how the waste pipe is leaking to cause it to spread across to the landing. But if I’m sure it’s the waste then the only option is to open the floor beneath and repair/replace the trap.

 

[terryplumb]

Sounds like the thing to do , I'm afraid

 

[Happyunited]

But looking at the images I just posted it would seem obvious if any leak regarding the waste pipe sound be staining/flooding the ceiling below, not spreading outwards under the backing boards.
It just doesn’t make sense.

 

[terryplumb]

Hard to tell from pics ,but if nothing is showing on ceiling below then water must be getting beneath tiles surely ?

 

[Happyunited]

Hard to tell from pics ,but if nothing is showing on ceiling below then water must be getting beneath we tiles surely ?

Nothing below but it’s not long plastered and recently painted. I guess any insulation would soak up any drip for now, we are talking 5/6 weeks here.

If what I did today shows that the water is being retained in the tray area then the water guard is doing it’s job and it’s to do with the waste outlet but that still doesn’t make sense.

I knew I should have just put a standard shower tray in ....

 

[terryplumb]

Did you not have the leak before the screen was fitted ? How long was the shower in use before fitting the screen ?

 

[Happyunited]

Did you not have the leak before the screen was fitted ? How long was the shower in use before fitting the screen ?

I did have the leak before the screen but I was just using a towel on the tiles and water was still splashing out so I just assumed it was because of no screen. Screen now fitted and still leaking. Whilst having a shower the non shower side of the screen and tiles are bone dry.

shower was in use for about 6 weeks.

 

[terryplumb]

What makes the seal between the floor tiles and the "Grid" ? The only way that I can see that water can appear outside the shower area ,and on the same floor level ,assuming the silicone around floor /wall is all good, is under the tiles and spreading outward. So somewhere around the grid / waste to tiles. I can't see how leaking waste pipework ,at a lower level than the floor ,can result in water showing at a higher floor level. That makes no sense.

 

[Happyunited]

What makes the seal between the floor tiles and the "Grid" ? The only way that I can see that water can appear outside the shower area ,and on the same floor level ,assuming the silicone around floor /wall is all good, is under the tiles and spreading outward. So somewhere around the grid / waste to tiles. I can't see how leaking waste pipework ,at a lower level than the floor ,can result in water showing at a higher floor level. That makes no sense.

agreed. But today I plugged the waste outlet and filled the shower area and left it for a couple of hours, the floor/walls was basically acting as a bath and nothing but a slight bit leaked but I’m putting this down to the rag in the hole leaking. Then I released the rag and lots more water appeared.

I don’t really know what to do, I could cry. The extension is behind as it is, have an 7 week old baby who came early and desperately trying to get things finished and then this the last thing I need. If there was a fix I could work to then I’d do it but bar ripping everything up and starting again I really don’t know where to go from here.

thanks for your replies so far.

 

[terryplumb]

Where the white trap body ( below floor level) meets the underside of shower base there should be a rubber seal fitted ,is there ? To be frank I am clutching at straws ,as if it leaked there gravity would inevitably take it downward ,not across ,but it's a remote possibility.

 

[JaimieH]

I've fitted a few Impey wet rooms using the waterguard membrane and from your pictures it looks like you've used all the tanking products correctly. Assuming there has been no damage when tiling I doubt very much that the tanking will be at fault. I'd be much more inclined to think that your waste is leaking somehow and water is tracking along the joists or underboarding. I'd remove the ceiling below to investigate. It could be that your waste is not sealing correctly to the underside of the tray. Also the joint between your tiles and the edge of the frame around the drain should be silicone, not grout. It might be silicone but I can't quite see from the pictures.

 

[Sussex old boy]

Take up the flooring in hallway/entrance to wet room and investigate from there.

 

[Happyunited]

I've fitted a few Impey wet rooms using the waterguard membrane and from your pictures it looks like you've used all the tanking products correctly. Assuming there has been no damage when tiling I doubt very much that the tanking will be at fault. I'd be much more inclined to think that your waste is leaking somehow and water is tracking along the joists or underboarding. I'd remove the ceiling below to investigate. It could be that your waste is not sealing correctly to the underside of the tray. Also the joint between your tiles and the edge of the frame around the drain should be silicone, not grout. It might be silicone but I can't quite see from the pictures.

Thanks for your reply. Yes, I watched the Impey installation videos a hundred times and followed all installation instructions doing the belt n brace technique. I'm almost 100% sure the tanking is spot on.#

The plumber on the job has been shoddy at best (employed by the builder), lots of leaks in boss connections to stack thankfully before plaster went on, I don't trust him. He is the one who fitted the trap to the shower tray then I fixed the tray to the floor and he finished the connections back to the stack below. I'm not a tradesperson but I 100% take my time and make sure everything I do is correct. The waste connection is the only part of this job I didn't do.

The joint between tiles and floor and corners is all silicone.