Do i have to lift shower tray to check waste pipe?

martin57

Hi,

I have a upstaris shower which has been causing me water leakage problems for a while now, I have posted about it before. Fed up trying to sort it out myself as I am not good at diy so probably will have to call in a plumber.

Just wondering as regards the square shower tray itself (not plastic) if I wanted to check the connection under the waste plug in shower tray I take it the shower tray has to be removed to do that am I right in thinking that?

thanks a million for any advice.

martin57

keystone

If you haven't got access any other way then quite likely. But as the obvious diagnosis of your problem is that you have structural movement you'll have to lift it anyway to fix that.

Cheers

martin57

Thanks very much for reply. its funny really when my partner and daughter take shower no leaks but when I do it leaks sometimes.

To test around top corners of shower tray where it meets the tiles I spray the water there to test for leaks but my partener says I shouldn't do that, I take it thats an acceptable enough leak test to do.

If fitting a new enclosure getting everything redone I wonder is there a plastic panel that ca be fitted where tiles are to make it even more waterproof?

martin57

madmish00

We had some leaking from our shower in the house we have just moved to. It only leaked when my boyfriend had a shower (must be you men!). Even though all seemed intact I have re-grouted the tiles and run a new line of sealant around the shower tray and have not seen any leaks since. It is amazing how small a gap is needed for water to leak through - especially if you have a power shower.

I'd say it's worth a try before you start ripping things out!

MustTryHarder

Sounds like you are heavier than your partner

I think it is the sealant where the tray meets the tiles. Although it flexes it seems to flex a little too far with you in there and creates gaps.

My husband and I put a new shower in at our old house, then I used a colour shampoo and it stained the sealant where it was lifting so we could actually see where the problem was, that we didn't know we had.

We had used a B&Q sealant. I used sealant stripper and removed it, cleaned it with white spirit? (refer to the back of the sealant stripper, I used Unibond) then I re-applied unibond sealant, the stuff that dries in 2 hours.

No problems thereafter. Worth a try before you take out shower tray. Use a sealant stripper tool, wear gloves as it is really sticky on skin. When reapplying sealant, have a small bowl with water and washing up liquid, dip your finger in that to smooth the sealant. That way it won't stick to your finger.

martin57

Thanks for replies. Do you think though that I am being a little silly as to spray plenty of water into corner of tray so as to test it for leaks? my partner certainly thinks so.:)

martin57

SailorSam

Not silly at all, that's the best way to find a leak.

googler

If you can see evidence of leaking from below (water staining etc.) then surely the easiest way to check the waste pipe is to remove a section of plasterboard (?) from below and replace that, rather than remove shower cubicle, tray and all the remedial work that will go with it......

martin57

Thanks again for everyones good advice. Can I ask another question please? If eventually I decide to get the whole shower redone will it be very difficult to remove the shower enclosure from tiled walls and tray from tiled floor? The square 2 sliding door enclosure is attachecd to tiled walls with silicon and likewise the tray to the floor. I have googled and it says on one site about using a crowbar but I hope it could be removed without such drastic measures as the tiles were expensive and I don't have a lot of of tiles as backup.

thanks again
martin57