Shower Pan Question

[Jayepeazy]

I had a handyman redo my walk-in shower a few months back, and I just recently noticed nearby water damage to the hallway floor (on the other side of the shower wall). I cut back the drywall a bit and found some mold. Originally I wasn't sure if he just did a poor job of caulking between the wall and floor, or if there was an actually leak in the shower pan.

My question is pretty simple -- after cutting back the drywall, I found 2 spots in the plastic liner for the shower pan that are cut (see photos). Is this what caused the problem, and do I need to have the shower floor torn out and redone? or, is this normal and it was only leaking due to a poor caulking job?

Trying to assess my problem! Thanks so much.

 

[Jadnashua]

A shower pan MUST be waterproof prior to the installation of any tile, grout, caulking...the tile is a decorative, wear surface, not waterproofing.

While a cut in the liner can be sealed from the inside, I do not think you'll have any luck sealing it from outside...it requires a patch, sort of like a tire, to work. No idea why it was cut. If it was patched on the inside, they did not do a proper job.

From a workmanship viewpoint, it is highly recommended to have blocking between the studs to help support the liner. Seeing how nice and tight it is, makes me think that they used a bunch of nails to hold it in place, defeating the whole purpose of the liner.

Did you see the shower during construction? Is the liner flat on the floor, or is there a sloped surface beneath it? By code, the LINER must be sloped - it cannot be flat on the floor. Another common mistake is to use cement board over the top of the curb, and screw or nail it in place! Code says - no holes in the liner below 2" above the top of the curb, and that includes the inside and top of the curb surface.

I do not think you'll be able to fix this unless a tear-out of the pan, and at least a couple of rows of wall tile are done.

 

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[Erico]

I had a handyman redo my walk-in shower a few months back, and I just recently noticed nearby water damage to the hallway floor (on the other side of the shower wall). I cut back the drywall a bit and found some mold. Originally I wasn't sure if he just did a poor job of caulking between the wall and floor, or if there was an actually leak in the shower pan.

My question is pretty simple -- after cutting back the drywall, I found 2 spots in the plastic liner for the shower pan that are cut (see photos). Is this what caused the problem, and do I need to have the shower floor torn out and redone? or, is this normal and it was only leaking due to a poor caulking job?

Trying to assess my problem! Thanks so much.

Wow. That looks like it was cut with a sawzall. But why?

Think of your shower pan as a swimming pool covered in mortar and tile. It should be completely waterproof before the tile and mortar goes in. It should be leak/flood tested prior to installation of backer board, mortar bed, and tile. Extra care should be taken to ensure no damage to the liner takes place during install. I leak test a second time after backboard goes up to ensure no pin holes - or big giant fricken slashes - are made in liner while hanging backerboard.

You should NEVER rely on caulk or tile to keep your pan from leaking.

The oldest trick in the book is for the contractor to further bamboozle the customer by adding a buch of caulk in hopes it holds till the warranty expires.

I wouldn't do anything untill you let the installer look at it. So he can't claim you did the damage.

From the sound of it and looks of it, you won't have anyone to make a warranty claim or go after. Is this, hopefully, a real business? Or some clown with a pick up truck?

If he is standing behind the job, it's a complete tear out. No ifs ands or butts about it.

If you are stuck holding the bag, I suppose you could try and patch those gashes with pieces of liner and the X-15 glue made for the liner. But that would probably entail very carefully removing parts of the sole plate and part of the stud(s?) so you can get a good area to glue to.

Is worth a try? I suppose the only drawback is potentially more water damage if there are other faults in the liner or you can't seal what is known.

. I would try if I was stuck holding the bag. The wall is already damaged and opened. Is there finished space below?