Looks like my shower pan is now leaking and causing moisture to seep into the drywall on either side. Ive heard this is a common problem and the shower is onlyabout 7 years old, so it might have been shoddy construction.

Who do I call for this? I originally called a plumber and he said he couldnt do anything.

Are there specific people that do "shower repair"? All I see is "renovation experts" which to me seems like they're just gonna tell me instead of spending several hundred dollars fixing the pan that I just need an entirely new shower.

Does homeowners insurance cover this or am I coming out of pocket?

I think I just need to replace the pan and then repair the drywall.

Any recommendations for NE Austin, Hutto, Pf area?

I see Roto Rooter does it, but id rather go with a local guy.

Assuming this is a tiled shower, Sounds like you need a shower tile guy not a plumber. A shower tile guy is different from a tile guy, as knowing how to properly construct and seal a shower pan is different than being a good tile guy. This does t sound like a plumbing job at all. Roto rooter may do it, but doesn't sound like their wheelhouse. May be tough finding someone competent that is available and will take on that kind of job. I unfortunately don't have a rec for you, sorry….

ABC handyman may come out and look at what ya got…may help, maybe not, but Bobby Jenkins (owner) is a good Ag, and if his squad can't help, he'll know who can….
Best of luck

Call your insurance company, might be covered.

What Hanrahan said. I have seen this happen as well. We tear it up and repair the whole shower. There are newer, one piece shower pans (www.infinitydrain.com) that will ensure a better install.

ETA: You may need to hire someone to demo, someone to build the shower wall surround (wood framing), someone to tile, and a plumber to install and connect the drain. Maybe a small project GC will do it all for you. Sorry for the bad news, however, water leaks are very bad if not taken care of quickly.

Well, the plot thickens. I hired someone to do a "drain pan leak test", which basically means he picked up the drain, put a stopper in there, and then put both a drain block in place, some dye, and told me to watch the water level.

There was a small amount of evap that happened over several days, but basically...not much....so my shower pan probably isnt leaking.

Is it possible that the shower is just sealed poorly? I did my research a few weeks ago and figured this might be the case so I clawed the caulk out around the bottom of the shower pan and redid it myself. According to the guy I hired to do the test, the seal was not great, in his estimation...

So...do i just hire a guy to reseal the entire shower and hope for the best?

I dont see how its possible to completely **** up using a caulk gun to redo that piece of it, but clearly Im not the best one to figure this situation out.

Where's the water damage. I assume it's at the base.

Could your issue be with improperly waterproofed walls?

There are a number of YouTube videos of guys trouble shooting for a leaking shower. Could be the pan, the drain flange, the curb, or the lack of a surround (usually 4-6" up the wall). Did you say this is a second floor or ground floor shower?

In our neighborhood we had a rash of builds where whatever subcontractor was used nailed through the waterproof membranes during installation too close to the ground, so water was leaking through.

Ground floor. Master bathroom.

if it isn't your pan, it could be poor or no waterproofing behind the tile (yes I have heard of crappy builders tiling showers over sheet rock or just a couple feel of durarock on the bottom couple feet. It could also be your plumbing itself, may be worth pulling the trim over the valve and seeing what you can see or perhaps opening the wall on the other side if accessible and just sheetrock that is easily repaired. could be a leaking valve or pex/pipe. hard to tell without getting a look inside the wall you know it isn't the pan. does water damage only show when its been used or all the time. if all the time would likely be your plumbing leaking somewhere...

Just guessing, but it sounded like your plumbing is still holding (from that float test). You also mentioned that there only minimal water evaporated. So I'm thinking it is water from the wall that could be seeping through or a leak at the valves?

If this were presented to me for a scope item on a remodel, I would demo down to the studs and slab - then rebuild. I know that is very costly, but mold is way worse.

PabloSerna said:

---

Just guessing, but it sounded like your plumbing is still holding (from that float test). You also mentioned that there only minimal water evaporated. So I'm thinking it is water from the wall that could be seeping through or a leak at the valves?

If this were presented to me for a scope item on a remodel, I would demo down to the studs and slab - then rebuild. I know that is very costly, but mold is way worse.

---

Yeah basically, its not leaking through the drain. Not sure what the next steps are. I bet if i call a shower guy he's gonna tell me we need to rebuild the shower, as thats easier than trying to figure out how to reseal it all up.

Thermal imaging? Maybe these "leak detection" experts have a way of checking. Good luck!

Thanks

Update. After my last plumber charged me for a shower pan leak test, discovered it wasn't leaking, and then nust ghosting me I finally had someone else out today and after doing another leak test, he pulled the side panel off of the bathtub and the leak was at the hot water spigot underneath the faucet if the bathtub, opposite of all 3 walla that showed water damage.Fixed it. Lots of moisture under there ...so I guess I need to call a remediation company to see if there's anything that needs to be addressed.

Def going to dry it out and chlorox solution it before putting the panel on and recalling.

Super pissed that the first two guys essentially told me the leak probably wasn't coming from the faucets off the bat.

Anyway, case closed.

I had a leaky toilet ring that ended up in the closet of the room behind it...water travels. in my case the toilet had been so well caulked, the water found a means to go under the tile and into the wall, and then follow the 2x4 framing to the closet and settle there. Never saw any damage in the water closet itself