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