Posted by Hill on December 17, 1997 at 18:06:11:
In Reply to: Leaking Shower posted by Mike Chambers on December 17, 1997 at 14:35:45:
I would not be so fast as to start opening walls/ceilings. 99% of the time is is a caulking problem - either around the surround, on the floor or tub's edge, soap dish or diverter spount. It's possible that it is the packing nut around the stem - you can take the eschusions off and fix it from the front. If it is leaking in the wall (which I doubt) it will be either at the shower elbow in the wall or where the shower riser attaches to the body - both you can see from the outside once the beauty trim is taken off. Hill
: I have a bathroom on the second floor which is directly
: located over the first floor bathroom. While I was in the first floor bathroom this morning, I heard a drip sound coming from overhead. I also noticed that the ceiling was wet which covered an area about the size of a quarter.
: I believe there is a leak in the pipe that supplies the
: water to the upstairs shower. I ran water into the bath tub and let it drain. No drip. I run the shower and I hear a drip. Crap.
: Now, I need to figure out the best way to get to that pipe to check out what is wrong. There are no access paths to the shower pipe. From what I can tell I only have a few options:
: 1. Make an opening to the pipe from the inside of the bathroom. This would involve removing the tiles and making an opening in the wall.
: 2. Make in opening in the wall on the outside of the bathroom. It looks like a previous owner may have done this as the wall is not smooth in that area (there is wallpaper covering it).
: 3. Make an opening in the ceiling on the first floor bathroom.
: I am definately not an expert in home repair, but I like option 2. It would allow an opening to be made to where I could get a decent look at the plumbing in that area. Plus option 2 would require new wallpaper (something my wife wants me to do anyways).
: I am concerned that option 1 wouldn't provide as great a view at the plumbing internals. And I have no idea how option 3 would work.
: I plan to ask my friend (I am lucky that he likes to do plumbing) to come over and get his advice. We are probably going to get started this coming weekend.
: I would appreciate any advice or suggestions that you can offer.
: Thanks in advance,
: Mike Chambers