Sealing up Shower Waste Drain to Prevent Leaks and Damp
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Jameslld123
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Joined: Tue Mar 08, 2016 10:57 am

Sealing up Shower Waste Drain to Prevent Leaks and Damp

by Jameslld123 » Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:22 am

Hello all,

I wonder if anyone can advise me on the following ?

I've recently had a flood issue in the flat and the bathroom is currently stripped ready for re-tiling. Prior to this flood there was a damp wall next to the shower cubicle and I had always suspected that the grout was loose or there was a leaking pipe in the wall feeding the shower (vertical).

The bathroom has been dried out and has sat dry for a few weeks now however over the weekend and given that I could now eliminate the vertical pipe as the cause as this is now exposed and no evident leak I thought I would run some water from the bath hose (which definitely has no leak as pipes are also exposed and have been using this to shower for a few weeks) into the shower tray for an hour or so to see whether any damp reoccurs which would then point at the tray/waste piping.

This is exactly what happened and the exposed (untiled) wall is now damp again at the bottom. I did a quick test with a water bottle close up and could see some water going in the side of the drain all the way round so this definitely needs to be re-sealed.... however I'm now concerned that maybe there is a leak in the waste pipes below ??? looking down the pipe from the drain grill (when taken off) I can see water and remains at a certain level.. does the fact that this is steady and not drying out mean that I can eliminate the potential of a leaking pipe ? Are there any other tests I would be able to do ?

This is a ground floor flat by the way and no access from underneath the floor..

Many thanks in advance for any advice !

James

Fred c
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Joined: Sat Mar 05, 2016 9:00 am

Re: Sealing up Shower Waste Drain to Prevent Leaks and Damp

by Fred c » Wed Mar 09, 2016 9:26 am

Hi James the water you see when looking down through the grate is the water trap to stop odours, it does not tell that you have a leak or not. Fix the seal and let wall dry out.You can speed this up with a dehumidifier if needed, then run some water and hopefully all will be well.

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