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I recently (within the last month) bought a house and have experienced every plumbing problem imaginable. The guy who sold the house had flipped it: that is, he never lived in it. When my inspector went through the house he noted several issues that I thought had been resolved, but once I moved in and started actually living there, all sorts of new problems developed.
Basically, the work his plumber did was so shoddy that every single new fixture had to be re-tightened, re-caulked, or snaked.
All that is done, and now I'm dealing with one final problem. There's a shower upstairs - metal frame with glass doors, and I've noticed a leak coming out one corner near the bottom that I can't seem to fix. The guy who installed the shower caulked all the way around the inside, which I'd read (and my plumber confirmed) is incorrect. So along the bottom of the shower on the inside I cut the caulk and then re-caulked along the bottom of the outside.
I'll try to post some pictures later, but the spot where it's still leaking is very tight, to the point that I can't get the tip of a caulk gun in there to properly caulk. So I'm having to use a putty knife (or my finger) to try to smooth in the caulk. I think I've got it in there, but who knows.
My questions (before you can see pictures, that is) are 1) should I caulk up the metal frame/wall on the outside as well (it's currently caulked up the metal frame on the inside) and 2) how hard is it to re-install the glass if I decide to take it out to try to get a better angle for caulking?
It sounds like your shower PAN may be leaking. If that's the case, it needs to be replaced, which means tearing the old one out and putting in a new one. Not an easy fix and definitely not one that can be fixed with caulk. All the caulk will do (for a little while, not for long) is divert the leaking water around to other places, where it is going to cause significant damage over time - if you have a shower pan leak, and that's what it sounds like to me.
It sounds like your shower PAN may be leaking. If that's the case, it needs to be replaced, which means tearing the old one out and putting in a new one. Not an easy fix and definitely not one that can be fixed with caulk. All the caulk will do (for a little while, not for long) is divert the leaking water around to other places, where it is going to cause significant damage over time - if you have a shower pan leak, and that's what it sounds like to me.
The pan is brand-new (installed during the flip). It had better not be the pan!
You always "stop" water from its source- so, common sense says you caulk the INSIDE of the frame! There is absolutely no reason NOT TOO!
I'm not going into some long drawn out discertation based on what can't be seen- but there are two questions that may solve this- is this a fiberglass shower unit? And the shower door was added?
You always "stop" water from its source- so, common sense says you caulk the INSIDE of the frame! There is absolutely no reason NOT TOO!
I'm not going into some long drawn out discertation based on what can't be seen- but there are two questions that may solve this- is this a fiberglass shower unit? And the shower door was added?
And the instructions (and my plumber and numerous other information sources) say to caulk the outside, not the inside, of one of these shower units. Apparently there are tracks on the inside that train the water back down into the drain.
Lol, considering the crap work I've seen so far it wouldn't surprise me if they installed something old. It has been one nightmare after another with the plumbing in this place.
You always "stop" water from its source- so, common sense says you caulk the INSIDE of the frame! There is absolutely no reason NOT TOO!
I'm not going into some long drawn out discertation based on what can't be seen- but there are two questions that may solve this- is this a fiberglass shower unit? And the shower door was added?
I was wondering about that too. I also have a leak in the bottom corner of my shower stall. It is maddening trying to find the source. I taken to pouring water in certain areas and I finally narrowed the area. I thought the problem was the metal anchor that connects the glass wall to the half wall. I caulked it, still leaks. I went back and caulked the hell out of it, still leaks. I poured water on the bench below the anchor, leaks. I see there is a small area where the grout has a very fine crack. I am going to wait a couple of days then caulk that.
I have been tempted to just say screw it caulk the leak from the outside. But then the drywall, wood, etc would stay wet and rot away.
Our shower (installed 1997) recently sprung a leak and we dried the inside and caulked, then the next day when we knew it was dry we caulk the outside. No leaks since.
And the instructions (and my plumber and numerous other information sources) say to caulk the outside, not the inside, of one of these shower units. Apparently there are tracks on the inside that train the water back down into the drain.
I've got one of these units. The problem is the abs plastic. The caulk doesn't like to stick to it. Caulk the inside seam. it may stop it enough.
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