Water damage is one the most expensive and one of the most daunting problems to address as a homeowner. A large part of the high expense is the labor costs associated with identifying and fixing the problem.
According to Homeadvisor.com, the average cost per hour to have a plumber come out to your home is between $45 and $200 per hour! So, if you have water leaking issues in your home, that can really add up. The more you can do to identify and prevent problems on your own can result in a huge costs savings.
One of the most common places water damage can come from is the shower. We’ve all dealt with a leaky or running faucet at some point in our lives and that can be easy to identify. However, when a shower begins to leak from the bottom (from the tub or the shower pan) it can be much harder to identify and can end up going unaddressed for much longer.
The most common reason a shower is leaking from the bottom is because of a crack in the shower pan or tub. This will cause water to leak through the base to the floor below and will cause pooling water on the ground near the shower.
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To determine if a cracked pan or tub is the cause of your shower leak, very carefully visually inspect you shower floor and tub walls for any small cracks. If you are unable to find anything, try plugging up the drain so no water can escape and run the shower for about 30 seconds to fill the bottom of the shower with water. This should allow you to see the location of your leak and determine if there is a crack anywhere.
If there is a crack in your shower pan or tub, water resistant, silicone caulking can be a temporary fix but ultimately, you will want to replace the tub or shower pan as a permanent solution.
If it appears that you do not have a cracked shower pan or tub, there are numerous other possible reason as to why your shower might be leaking onto the floor. The best way to go about identifying the cause of the leak and fixing the problem is a process of elimination of all possible leak locations. See below for the other possible areas that your shower might be leaking from and let’s get it fixed!
Leaking Shower Door
A leaking shower door is also a very common cause for escaping water, especially in an older shower. This is a problem that comes from the shower door not providing a strong enough seal to keep the water from escaping.
Often, the problem is the seal where the door and the wall meet. Either this seal has worn and is not water tight anymore or the door is just not fitting in position correctly anymore. A great solution is to strip the existing seal and install a fresh one. Here is an awesome one I found on amazon for about $5.
If you have a sliding door shower, the problem might also be with the door tracks. The tracks are essentially designed as a water proof runway for the door to slide back and forth.
While the water is on, these door tracks actually collect excess water run-off from the door and drain it back into the shower through small holes called “weeping holes.” These holes will often get clogged with debris or other build up and not allow the excess water to drain back into the shower. Check to make sure that these holes are unobstructed.
Lastly, check to make sure that there are no visible holes or cracks in the caulking that connects the shower door frame to walls (and the tub if you have one). Old caulking can often be the culprit behind small amounts of water escaping near the door. If necessary, scrape away old caulking and apply a fresh bead of water resistant, silicone caulking.
Leaking Shower Drain
Another cause of water leaking out of the bottom of the shower could be a leaking shower drain. When a shower drain is leaking, the area immediately around the drain is usually cracked and is allowing water to leak through the base of the shower before it properly drains down the drain pipe.
Here’s what it looks like.
Notice how water is escaping through the hole that is cut for the drain but is not flowing through to the drain. This is often caused over time by the fiberglass shower base flexing and creating a gap between the fiberglass and the drain itself.
Now, here’s how to find out if this is the problem..
1. Make sure your shower is completely dry. i.e. don’t use it for at least 24 hours.
2. Remove the metal drain guard. (Sometimes this is secured with an adhesive so you might have to use a razor to slice through the adhesive.)
3. Fill a glass of water from some other source than the shower.
4. Pour the water around the drain gently but make sure to not pour it into the drain.
If the water levels go down but don’t go down the drain, you know that somehow it is escaping around your drain. This might mean a crack in the piping around the drain or a gap between the fiberglass shower base and the drain piping.
Here is a super helpful video showing you how to do this.
If you determine that the drain is the cause of your shower leak, you have a couple options.
Reseal The Drain Piping Area
If you can pinpoint the exact location of where the water was escaping, then you can apply a new coat of silicone sealant directly around the problem area to prevent future leaks. Here is an awesome sealant from Amazon for less than $10.
Keep in mind, this is more of a temporary fix and could still be prone to future leaks as piping that has already cracked could be weak in other places too.
Replace The Drain Piping
For a more permanent fix, replacing the whole drain pipe will be the best bet to eliminate future leaks. I’ll admit, this is definitely the more expensive option, but think about it as an investment. Fixing the problem the right way can potentially save you thousands in the future. Water damage is often one of the most expensive fixes for home owners, after all.
Final Thoughts
We have discussed some of the most common problems as to why your shower might be leaking from other places than the shower head, but this is by no means an all encompassing guide.
There are tons of reasons a shower can leak and as mentioned earlier, the best way to identify the source of the problem is a process of elimination.
The tactics in this article should give you some good first steps to take before having to pick up the phone to call a plumber. However, remember if you feel like you’re in over your head on any DIY project, there is no shame in calling the professionals.
For more helpful tips and tricks on money saving repairs and cool DIY projects, make sure to check out our complete list of articles.
Happy DIY’ing!