Drywall wet next to the shower tub

[Yang]

we just moved into this newly built house 6 weeks ago. So we are very surprised to see the water damage next to the shower tub.

Any suggestion where to start the troubleshooting? Thanks.

 

[Nebojsa]

Since it is a new built i assume you have warranty from the builder.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Chucky_ott]

Any chance this area gets wet from water originating at the shower/tub?

It's seems fairly high off the floor and away from the tub to get water damage so soon. Is that wall the plumbing wall for the tub?

If it doesn't get wet from surface water, moisture could be getting in from behind. Assessing that might require looking inside the wall cavity.

 

[Jeff H Young]

if its from the wet side (where the valve, spout and head are) those 3 are likely sources also water can enter from the head spraying against the valve trim and enter wall run down the inside of wall follow the top of tub to the exact spot where water is aparaent, common stuff. get the builder out do all the checking and talking you want but bottom line is call builder Imediatly not tommorow any delay to inform becomes homeowner neglegence in my opinion unless you are paying for everything yourself even still get moving imediatly! And share the info like to hear results

 

[Yang]

Yes, it is on the wet side. You can tell the water damage is about one inch wide and one foot high centered around tub height. the other side of the wall is dry. This is in the finished basement. The long side of tub wall is the external wall below grade. it has been raining hard recently, but it is hard for me to believe this is rain damage as it should start from the bottom and impact both sides of the wall. I might be wrong.

 

[Jeff H Young]

Good observation on the rain if the tub isnt used it should dry up unless its rain. get builder involved imediatly mold dosent take long

 

[Yang]

The shower has been used once every day for the past 6 weeks. So now we have no idea

 

[Yang]

plumber came, and opened the other side of the wall, could not see any sign of water. Backside of the damaged drywall is dry too. He couldn't figured out what happened. So the only thing he did was to recaulk everything, shower value cover, shower door..
not sure if that is the culprit.

 

[Jeff H Young]

I dont like caulking i like knowing it mighta been the rain how often does that rain repeat ? undersame conditions same wind etc. Also I assumed the moisture meter detected water i dont know what the picture showes or when it was taken but evedently its bone dry now ?

 

[John Gayewski]

I bet it's water running through/behind the tile. Most tile guys do a crappy job.

 

[Chucky_ott]

I bet it's water running through/behind the tile. Most tile guys do a crappy job.

Especially if it's cement board behind the tile without a waterproofing membrane in between. Cement board is rather porous.

 

[Jeff H Young]

2 good points ! the obvious point is water came from somewhere, as a plumber while id love to pinpoint the problem the only true interest I have is my work . My guess is plumber came and saw no leak on his part caulked the escutcheon at shower head , the trim plate at the valve, and the spout . and whatever the problem is , is little to no concern on his part, Id doccument with builder i know its kinda minor but next big storm might be a year away and they might deny warranty emaill preferably or in conjunction with other notification hand written or texts