No hot water pressure in shower

[Shawn Opoien]

Good afternoon, I am visiting my auntie here in kalihi. She owns a apartment on the first floor. The apartments were built years ago....it's a slab foundation and cement blocks... I took a shower the first day I got here and realized she only had Luke warm water, I didn't really think anything of it at the time. The next day I noticed her floor in a specific spots stayed much warmer then the rest of the slab floor throughout the apartment. This spot runs a straight line from under her bathroom sink through the wall into guest bedroom and outside to the communal water Heater under the stairwell. All faucets to include the bathroom sink have hot water and good pressure, with the exception of the shower. I pulled the shower access panel and turned off the cold water valve going to shower. When I turned on the hot water very little hot water came out of the shower faucet. I am thinking maybe the faucet might be bad, but the warm floor also has me worried as in my experience the foundation should remain same temperature throughout the home i hope there'snot a leak. But I've had no experience in these older apartment buildings and the relationship of the hot water pipes and the surface of the floor. Any thoughts or starting points would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Jadnashua]

It sounds like you have a hot water leak in the slab. Those can be expensive to resolve. SOmetimes, the easiest (not saying it will be easy) is to abandon that line and run a new line above the slab, maybe going up and through the ceiling. If you have a water meter, look to see if it is running when you're not using any water. It might not be a big leak, so you may need to wait a while to see changes.

I'd shut the WH off, let things sit say overnight, and see if the slab is now the same all over.

If you're auntie is renting, not sure what the situation is about who is responsible for repairs and who is paying for the water and heater. If the landlord is paying, he will probably want to repair it, as it's costing him money. If she is, you may have a fight on your hands as to who is responsible, and how and when it may be fixed.