Water damage on wall near showers in both bathrooms

[mandmdiet]

I have some water damage just outside the showers on both bathrooms that were installed by our builder before we moved in. Both showers us the same enclosures. The water damage is just outside the shower enclosure in the exact same spot on both showers AND because the enclosures are identical on both sides, we have two spots per shower that has water damage on it.

My question here is, I'm not sure what I should do. Both enclosures are made up of a 3-piece unit. I've taken pictures of the places where the water damage is and also where the three piece enclosure's seams are. I'm wondering, though if it's something as simple as water running along the cavity where the tub meets the enclosure, or if it's likely water is getting behind the enclosure? There is caulking all along the enclosure and there is a hole right where the water damage is forming.

Image one and two show the place where two of the three-piece enclosures meet and image three shows the water damage. You can also see that the caulking as somewhat failed there, but it doesn't seem to me that water is coming from behind, but rather it might be running along that seam.

Thank you for your help.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Those units come with instructions on where to apply caulk.

Not knowing what brand you have exactly, I can only tell you where the ones I’ve installed say apply caulk.

The type I’ve installed ONLY calls for caulking the last 6” or so of this horizontal seam. And of course you can caulk the vertical seal outside the enclosure.

If you apply caulk in the wrong places or fail to apply caulk in the correct space, water will follow the seam and soak into the drywall just like the pic shows.



So I’m telling you there’s a good chance the directions were not followed.

 

[mandmdiet]

@Twowaxhack OK, I see, so I need to find the unit model and read the instructions, but your best guess at this point is that caulking was supposed to be applied in the places you marked in red? The last few inches of the horizontal seam and optionally on the vertical seam where it meets the drywall? What about my picture #1, you can clearly see a bit of the drywall between the two pieces of the enclosure, that's got to be wrong too, right?

 

[Twowaxhack]

@Twowaxhack OK, I see, so I need to find the unit model and read the instructions, but your best guess at this point is that caulking was supposed to be applied in the places you marked in red? The last few inches of the horizontal seam and optionally on the vertical seam where it meets the drywall? What about my picture #1, you can clearly see a bit of the drywall between the two pieces of the enclosure, that's got to be wrong too, right?

All the seams should fit tight and overlap each other from behind.

 

[mandmdiet]

@Twowaxhack I figured that's the only thing that makes sense. I wish I knew this 6 years ago so I could require that they fix it themselves. I'm guessing at this point the best thing to do would be to get the instructions for this model, and reinstall it correctly by pulling it off the wall first. Worst-case I buy a completely different enclosure and start from scratch.

 

[RickFlorida]

As I've written the past, I actually prefer the acrylic tub/shower kits to real tile because we get so much mildew from humid Florida and the fact that I take up to 3 showers a day. (Very active...running, paddleboarding in the ocean, fishing for tarpon while standing in the water or in said paddleboard....jumping in the pool after working in yard)....

Long story shorter, I never had a problem with water damage because like Twowaxhack said, you have to use plenty of silicone but before that, I also use the very wide plastic corner bead that is made for installs like this. But the final key is this........you really want to use 2 coats of quality primer and then I do 2 or 3 more coats of final paint/color. I see that it's only damaged at the seam though so this is interesting and wonder if it was improperly fit or there was damage to the acrylic. The acrylic kits are brittle and they usually have cracks and breaks in different places so I bet it was damaged but the person still installed it.

One of the good things about me being too broke to pay professionals (I'm a teacher), is that I can take all the time I want to do the job right.

 

[Thinkentt]

Wow, what a valuable resource for anyone tinkering with plumbing or facing tricky leaks! Plumbing mishaps can turn into floods faster than you can say 'burst pipe,' so having a community like this to troubleshoot with is golden.