Dave1965
New Member
Hello,
Hoping I can get some advice before calling my contractor again. My wife and I had a new custom shower installed as part of a bathroom renovation. The old bathroom was totally gutted and rebuilt.
It's been about two months since completion (June 2018) and we noticed that water is collecting in the shower membrane (Fig 1 and Fig 2). The pics show the back of the wall of the shower closest to the drain that includes the mixer and shower head. The Contractor says this is normal and that this is exactly "what the membrane is for" but it seems to us that water should drain out of the membrane at some point versus just sitting stagnant in there and eventually evaporating. If you look at the second pic you can see it is not clean tap water coming from a pipe leak but definitely from the drain. We assume that the soap and dirt will remain after the water evaporates and that it will build up and eventually cause mold or nasty odors.
Fig 1
Fig 2
We also have excessive water pooling on the shower floor in the area between the drain and back/side walls (Fig 3-red outline area). About a quarter inch of water sits there for days unless we dry it with a towel. Our Contractor told us that this pooling is normal and that it's impossible to have 100% of the water drain. We understand that some water will pool, but this much seems excessive.
Fig 3
He also said that part of the problem is that our house is old and therefore not level. While we understand that our house isn't level, it seems odd that this would affect the floor since it was gutted and rebuilt by him. After he told us that, I used a level in the front and back of the floor and noticed that the floor is actually pretty flat (Fig 4 and Fig 5). I then realized that this might be part of the problem since I'm pretty sure the floor should be pitched at least a bit toward the drain and not actually flat.
Fig 4
Fig 5
Some additional info: The Contractor had to use three different tile guys because his primary tiler was not available. Unfortunately the first one (who built the shower base and tiled the floor walls) really messed up. He used too much mortar when he first laid the floor and the tiles never set. Eventually they collapsed (Fig 6 and Fig 7). The second guy chiseled away all of the first set of tiles and redid the entire floor. If you look at the wall in Fig 5 above you can patches of old grout along the wall about an inch from the floor. That was the height of the floor that the first guy laid. We certainly would have asked that the “old” grout lines be cleaned properly before paying the final invoice but we didn't notice it until too late. (My wife and I don't have the best vision).
Fig 6
Fig 7
A third tiler had to be called in when the shower started leaking into our downstairs in-law apartment. That was apparently caused by the fact that the first tile guy used two pieces of tile to build the shower door base versus one solid piece. We were told that he also used the wrong grout AND never sealed the shower door track so water was leaking under the shower base rail and seeping into cracks in the grout. The final tile contractor used a grout caulk on the base tiles and then sealed the base of the bottom door rail with silicone. That stopped the leak but we now have water in the pan.
Any advice would be great so that I know what to tell my Contractor when I call him…again.
Thank you!
Dave
Hoping I can get some advice before calling my contractor again. My wife and I had a new custom shower installed as part of a bathroom renovation. The old bathroom was totally gutted and rebuilt.
It's been about two months since completion (June 2018) and we noticed that water is collecting in the shower membrane (Fig 1 and Fig 2). The pics show the back of the wall of the shower closest to the drain that includes the mixer and shower head. The Contractor says this is normal and that this is exactly "what the membrane is for" but it seems to us that water should drain out of the membrane at some point versus just sitting stagnant in there and eventually evaporating. If you look at the second pic you can see it is not clean tap water coming from a pipe leak but definitely from the drain. We assume that the soap and dirt will remain after the water evaporates and that it will build up and eventually cause mold or nasty odors.
Fig 1
Fig 2
We also have excessive water pooling on the shower floor in the area between the drain and back/side walls (Fig 3-red outline area). About a quarter inch of water sits there for days unless we dry it with a towel. Our Contractor told us that this pooling is normal and that it's impossible to have 100% of the water drain. We understand that some water will pool, but this much seems excessive.
Fig 3
He also said that part of the problem is that our house is old and therefore not level. While we understand that our house isn't level, it seems odd that this would affect the floor since it was gutted and rebuilt by him. After he told us that, I used a level in the front and back of the floor and noticed that the floor is actually pretty flat (Fig 4 and Fig 5). I then realized that this might be part of the problem since I'm pretty sure the floor should be pitched at least a bit toward the drain and not actually flat.
Fig 4
Fig 5
Some additional info: The Contractor had to use three different tile guys because his primary tiler was not available. Unfortunately the first one (who built the shower base and tiled the floor walls) really messed up. He used too much mortar when he first laid the floor and the tiles never set. Eventually they collapsed (Fig 6 and Fig 7). The second guy chiseled away all of the first set of tiles and redid the entire floor. If you look at the wall in Fig 5 above you can patches of old grout along the wall about an inch from the floor. That was the height of the floor that the first guy laid. We certainly would have asked that the “old” grout lines be cleaned properly before paying the final invoice but we didn't notice it until too late. (My wife and I don't have the best vision).
Fig 6
Fig 7
A third tiler had to be called in when the shower started leaking into our downstairs in-law apartment. That was apparently caused by the fact that the first tile guy used two pieces of tile to build the shower door base versus one solid piece. We were told that he also used the wrong grout AND never sealed the shower door track so water was leaking under the shower base rail and seeping into cracks in the grout. The final tile contractor used a grout caulk on the base tiles and then sealed the base of the bottom door rail with silicone. That stopped the leak but we now have water in the pan.
Any advice would be great so that I know what to tell my Contractor when I call him…again.
Thank you!
Dave
