Shower leaking (pics)

[CMM83]

Hi,
The wall adjacent to my upstairs shower is showing water damage. As you can see from the pics there is some black mold in the corner of the shower as well near where the damaged walls are. I think I'm going to call a "pro" in, but I was interested in some opinions of what might be going on. My first thought was that the silicone sealant around the edges of the shower has degraded letting some water through to the corners that are damaged. I made a (lame) attempt to put some more sealant into that corner, but it did not seem to make a difference. The downstairs under where the shower is does not show any water damage on the the ceiling or walls.

I would love to have anyone's thoughts before I call in the plumber.

Thanks!
Chris

 

[havasu]

You have a one piece shower pan, and it appears the water damage is from the old caulking in the gap all along the edge of the pan and the walls, and also where water is settling in the corner. You need to scrape all the old silicone completely first, and let it dry up a day or two. A hair dryer also works wonders.

When you are ready to re-apply, run two parallel lines of blue painters tape about 3/8" apart, with one tape on the top the pan and the other on the wall. Then apply a nice white bead of silicone caulking, and smooth it out using your finger and some spit (I know, but it is a good lubricant). Once it is smoothed out, pull your blue tape and you end up with a real nice bead of waterproof caulking.

That leaves the wet wall. You could try to dry it out for a week or so and give it a coat of Kilz primer and then top coat with your bathroom paint.

I mention this in alot of detail because it is now time for me to do the same thing in my bathroom. As a matter of fact, when I first saw the picture you posted, I needed to double check to see if my wife had posted it as a big hint for me!

It is a bear to do, but once it is finished, you should enjoy it for years to come.

 

[CMM83]

Thanks for the info! I'll give it a try and post back with the results.

Chris

 

[westflo]

It is for sure that is water damage. It looks like the molds are starting to grow. You should call a water damage company to fix it immediately because molds let out toxic that is really harmful to your health. Then fix the source of water damage.

 

[tempritespokane]

Leaky caulk should not be ignored! I have seen tiled bathrooms where the two or three rows of tiles were loosened by water which crept up under the tiles from the bottom!

 

[Ann]

Oh my gosh! I am so glad you posted this picture and received a reply. We have had the same problem for quite some time, tried the silicone solution like you did, with no relief. We will now try the caulking. It has been such a mystery, but your picture depicts exactly the same issue we have. Thanks to you for posting and to havasu for a potential solution! Gotta love the Internet!

 

[b4cz28]

When your cualk has mold/dark stains....its bad and need to be replaced at once.

 

[Mr_David]

Take the frame of the door Off.
Water can get into the joint where the bottom rail and wall rails meet.
Water splashing on door glass can leak out through this joint.
Then scrap out all the old caulking around the seam between the wall and the pan.
I don't like using silicone. I prefer using a water base tub and tile mildew resistant caulking.
Apply it and wipe it off with a sponge, forcing it into the joint.
Silicone is very difficult to use unless you have experience with it.
With silicone, You can't just wipe off your mistakes with a wet sponge.
Then re-install the door frame. Usually the instruction I've seen in regards to door frame installation, you only caulk the outside seam of the bottom rail.
and both side of the wall rails. Water that gets under bottom rail can drain back into pan or tub