Shower problems! Damp? Leak?

seabass90

Hi all.

I've just bought my first home, a 10 year old Baratts mid terrace house.

I saw two houses on the street and both appeared to have old brownish stains on the living room ceiling, beneath the en suite.

Prior to moving in, the seller told me she had re grouted the en suite for me. I went to see the house about 4/5 weeks ago and it did look newly grouted and nice. However I can now see that lots of black mold type stuff has appeared at the bottom of the shower, and the room smells like damp in general. They also seem to have painted the tiles in the shower as they feel rough not smooth and I'm wondering whether they were trying to cover something!?

The rest of the house seems absolutely fine. I'm hoping this is a case of a badly fitted shower by the builders and that there's just a leak somewhere.

Any ideas of what's wrong, who could fix it and how much id be looking at! Thanks

phill99

House builders often use acrylic shower trays as they are cheaper than the more substantial stone resin trays. Being acrylic they are prone to movement and typically will pull away from around the tiles/mastic line allowing water to penetrate (probably why the neighbours have staining on the ceiling below). Acrylic trays are also prone to splitting, especially around the waste, again allowing penetration.


Alternatively, if it is a stone resin tray, there could be mastic or grout failure.

You will need to get a professional in to undertake some investigati0on work if there is a damp smell.

Hoploz

Can you get under the shower tray? There's often a plinth underneath which can be removed for maintaining the waste pipe work. It might be stuck to the tray with mastic which you can replace once you've got to the bottom of the problem. If so take it off and see whether there are signs of wetness underneath the pipes or round the edges.

It seems a bit odd that it has gone from brand new condition to black mould in such a short space of time though. You need to keep good ventilation, leave the shower door open if possible, and make sure the extractor fan is always used and left to run on after you leave the room until the steam is completely cleared. Also make sure you clean properly with bathroom cleaner regularly.

GloriaDSharma

Check under the pipe work for signs of moisture. I agree, it seems pretty odd that black mould suddenly appeared. I suggest hiring a professional to check it out.