Would they do that? Leaking Tub.

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PlumbGate

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I was having a ceiling dripping water while the shower above it was running. It is a single tub/shower unit - 60" I think and plastic/fiberglass. I looked but did not see any smoking guns for the leak and thought perhaps the pipes were leaking somewhere. I was prepared to start ripping the tub out. It only leaked with showers though and not baths. So before I did the ripout, I re-sealed between the tub and the ceramic tile surround. Leak has stopped. So my question is, aren't tubs supposed to have a 1" or so lip going around them that the tile covers when the tile is laid for preventing just this type of leak? If so, is it possible the original installed for whatever reason removed that lip? The tub is around 18 years old and a Kohler. Thoughts? I think the only real way for me to tell for sure is to remove the bottom layer of tile and look at it.
 
check your tile/grout I work for a large university.....some of the older dorms arm tiled and sometimes the grout wars away and that's the leak what yo did was a good starting point a good test which I think you did was to use the tub spout only and see what happens other times the strainer assembly can loosen so only when you shower it shows up
because of he weight on the drain check the simple stuff first...tile/grout/caulking
 
FYI: I found the leak and fixed it. I am curious about the tub lip because even had I not re-caulked everything, I understood that the lip should stop water pouring over the edge of the tub behind the tile wall.
 
FYI: I found the leak and fixed it. I am curious about the tub lip because even had I not re-caulked everything, I understood that the lip should stop water pouring over the edge of the tub behind the tile wall.
if the tile or grout,caulking is compromised it will soak through and leak down the durock...this happens at work in the older buildings when there are tile or grout issues...the leak shows up in the hall....the back side of the tub....
 
if the tile or grout,caulking is compromised it will soak through and leak down the durock...this happens at work in the older buildings when there are tile or grout issues...the leak shows up in the hall....the back side of the tub....

I wonder if something else is going on. This isn't a small amount of water like it was wicking through the drywall when the leak happens, it is a decent amount of leakage. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to remove the lower tile row and inspect it.
 
i would check the overflow gasket
and the water seal between the valve/spout and wall

But if re-sealing between the tub and the tile stopped the leak, wouldn't that be where the leak was coming from? In fact, I only re-sealed the left side of the tub away from the drain and not the back or the drain side.
 
I wonder if something else is going on. This isn't a small amount of water like it was wicking through the drywall when the leak happens, it is a decent amount of leakage. I guess the only way to know for sure would be to remove the lower tile row and inspect it.

You posted you wonder if something else is going on
After you posted you had found and fixed the leak
this caused me to believe you had found more leaks

If your problem is solved, then disregard my post.
 
I had a similar problem with a jacuzzi tub that we had installed when we did a addition 20 years ago. The plumber installed a tub that was meant to sit in a deck, rather than against 3 walls. I am wondering if you might have the same type of tub.

The plumber was horrible, and I fired him before I realized the problem. My tile installer had to add a layer of Durarock before tiling, to get the wall to cover the bevel of the tub, and then installed an inside corner tile molding between the wall and tub. This was a "rig-job" at best. I fought with this tub for 20 years, since whenever the caulk between the tile and tub developed a slight crack, water would leak into my downstairs ceiling. I was removing and replacing the caulk every year, and it drove me nuts.
 
I had a similar problem with a jacuzzi tub that we had installed when we did a addition 20 years ago. The plumber installed a tub that was meant to sit in a deck, rather than against 3 walls. I am wondering if you might have the same type of tub.

The plumber was horrible, and I fired him before I realized the problem. My tile installer had to add a layer of Durarock before tiling, to get the wall to cover the bevel of the tub, and then installed an inside corner tile molding between the wall and tub. This was a "rig-job" at best. I fought with this tub for 20 years, since whenever the caulk between the tile and tub developed a slight crack, water would leak into my downstairs ceiling. I was removing and replacing the caulk every year, and it drove me nuts.

This could be I think I would need to remove a tile to know for sure though. What a PITA! Thanks!
 

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