Leaking showerlay

[AliGage]

I still think its a leaky trap

 

[evilmango]

I think there is an issue with the tanking here

I checked all the tanking before the tiles went down - Schluter Kerdi matting applied to all walls with Kerdi Coll, then joints taped to showerlay with Kerdi tape, then reinforcemens glued in the corners. The only exception is the righthand wall where the tiler ran out of Kerdi matting so used a sheet of Homelux wall.

With all that said, whilst testing it I've been very careful not to get water beyond the centre of the floor so I don't think it's even getting close to the tanked parts.

 

[AliGage]

How long had that sealant been left to go off befire running the water.
The bubblie type look to the silicone in picture two suggest to me the silicone has got wet before its cured, long before

 

[evilmango]

Ok hold up... I've just found a piece of ply which looks like plumber has cut out today with a multimaster or similar. Looks like the builder did not cut out a recess for the horizontal pipe earlier. Whilst he hasn't visibly damaged the underside of the board I'm going to guess this probably wasn't good for the drain fitting?

 

[One Day]

There's that word - "builder".

Investigation over.
Case closed!

 

[AliGage]

Ok hold up... I've just found a piece of ply which looks like plumber has cut out today with a multimaster or similar. Looks like the builder did not cut out a recess for the horizontal pipe earlier. Whilst he hasn't visibly damaged the underside of the board I'm going to guess this probably wasn't good for the drain fitting?

Could of held the trap at an angle causing water to pass the seal :-D

 

[evilmango]

Could of held the trap at an angle causing water to pass the seal :-D

I wonder if the plumber's multimaster attack somehow delaminated the plastic upper from the metal lower and water is ingressing between the layers? I definitely didn't see any water leaking from the rubber seal.

And I guess the question now is what can the contractor do to fix this... tear the whole thing up and start again?

 

[evilmango]

In fact if you look at one of the earlier photos you can see the blade mark where he's hit the bottom of the drain plate.

 

[Chalker]

I bet he fitted the trap after the tray was installed. Then realised he needed a slot where the swivel fitting on the trap is. Maybe then while cuting out the slot with a multi tool he accidentally cut through the tray? Very easily done.
To repair you will only need to remove the tile above the slot and repair.

 

[evilmango]

Thanks for all the comments last night.

I did a quick experiment this morning. Temporarily blocked the exit from the trap and ran the shower directly into the plastic with just the right flow so that it filled the plastic but didn't spill over. Result was that there is no leak at all from around the trap, leaving me thinking that the cutting unseated the drain in the board.

So I guess the question now remains how can it be repaired properly. Can tiles be removed and tanking matting glued around the drain?

 

[Qwerty]

Have you tried cleaning off all the silicone & putting back together then trying a water test?

 

[evilmango]

Quick update on this. I eventually reseated the drain and tightened it up properly and the leak stopped. So looks like the showerlay was fine but the plumber wasn't.

Cheers for all the responses and suggestions.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

You should post the same thread on the 'plumbers forum' and see if they can solve it!
At least you've got the right result .

 

[evilmango]

Yup. Except that I now have a two foot bulge in the wall behind the shower mixer where the same plumber as screwed up the connections and it's obviously been leaking like mad. Whole wall will need ripping down. I need to find better builders...

 

[evilmango]

On the other hand +1 for kerdi waterproof membrane. The tiles look like they're about to explode off the wall but it hasn't let through a single drop of water.

 

[Qwerty]

Doesn't sound good! Any pics!?

 

[evilmango]

Doesn't sound good! Any pics!?

Not the best photos to show it, but here's a couple

 

[Qwerty]

Wow!

 

[AliGage]

Wow!

+1

 

[White Room]

Jeeeeeeeez:yikes:

 

[mache]

I guess your one consolation at the moment is that you can't fault the adhesive used... can't believe those tiles are still holding

 

[AliGage]

Be interesting to see what the substrate is..........

 

[Dan]

Just bumping some of the older popular (sometimes not so popular) threads. Probably wont be current discussion these days but I just need to do it. So just ignore the thread if it's not current for you.