Shower leaking??

[Ashley Wood]

I have been experiencing issues with a leak in the bathtub faucet or something. I purchased a new faucet and shower head and there is still a leak. It only leaks when the shower is being used. Any clues?? What do I need to buy??

 

[Reach4]

Where is the leak? You said "in the bathtub faucet or something". Is that just water dribbling out of the end of tub spout?

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Ashley Wood]

Where is the leak? You said "in the bathtub faucet or something". Is that just water dribbling out of the end of tub spout?

There is water coming down behind the wall. So we cant really see exactly where. Its not pouring but does dribble. It was enough to where we had to fix the floor a few months backs. I pulled the sheet rock off last night. It allowed access to the hose running from faucet to shower but still wasnt able to see anything.

 

[Reach4]

Where do you see the dribble? Only on the floor, or some place higher too?

When do you see the dribble? As soon as the shower starts, or a half hour later?

Try putting a bucket/container on the floor under the shower pipe. See if that catches water. A string tied to the shower ell in your picture may help guide water coming down the shower pipe into the bucket.

 

[Ashley Wood]

It takes it a few minutes to start and its leaking on the other side of the wall so im not sure exact place. I see water dribbling in the floor.

 

[Jadnashua]

If you have an actual hose behind the wall, you have a problem! At least if it is a typical shower hose...those are not designed to be hidden inside of a wall.

The shower arm typically gets screwed into a drop-ear el. That can split, the shower arm can crack, or, someone may not have used pipe dope or tape on the threads when installing it. That type of connection (assuming it is a tapered pipe thread, most are) does NOT seal without one or the other. Note, if the connection has a washer in it (like a garden hose) AND the fitting is designed for it, that washer could be worn and leak, or be too loose. If you use tape on a fitting designed with a gasket, you can create a leak, rather than stop it - pipe dope and/or tape are only designed for tapered pipe fittings.

There are other possibilities, but without more info, it's hard to say.

 

[Ashley Wood]

Thank you! My husband has been the one working on it. Figured that I would see what I could do.

 

[Sluggo]

Ashley-
I helped my neighbor fix this same problem 2 months ago: a water leak behind the sheetrock, but only when the shower was going. It turns out the wall penetration (the hole in the sheetrock) where the pipe for the tub spout comes through the wall wasn't properly caulked, nor was there caulk or any kind of seal behind the escutcheon plate. Whenever someone showered, the spray ran down the wall, got behind the escutcheon plate and hit the piping, which allowed water to trickle along the pipe and through the sheetrock. To fix this, I unscrewed the tub spout, and took off the escutcheon plate. Then I filled the hole in the sheetrock where the pipe came through the wall with silicone. I next put a fat bead of silicone on the wall right where the edge of the escutcheon plate would be, smushed the escutcheon plate in place, and wiped off the excess silicone around the edge of the plate, leaving only a small bead. (I didn't put silicone around the bottom edge of the escutcheon plate so that there would be drainage for any water that might somehow get in at the top.) Then I re-mounted the spout and the fix was done. This problem is one of the leading causes of leaks like you describe. Below is a link to a video about this problem. Please post back if this fixes it for you.