Short answer
The most common signs of a leaking shower are damp or peeling paint on nearby walls, swollen skirting boards, loose tiles, cracked grout and mould that keeps coming back. Many leaks start at failed silicone joints and can be fixed by re-caulking. If the waterproofing membrane under the tiles has failed, the shower needs to be stripped and waterproofed again.
Early warning signs
- Damp, bubbling or flaking paint on the other side of the shower wall.
- Swollen, stained or soft skirting boards, door frames or vanity kickboards.
- Cracked, missing or discoloured grout, especially in corners and at the floor-wall junction.
- Silicone that is peeling, split or black with mould.
- Tiles that sound hollow when tapped, or feel loose.
- A musty smell that lingers after the room has dried.
The usual causes
- Failed silicone at internal corners, around the shower base and around taps and screens.
- Cracked grout letting water behind the tiles.
- A waterproofing membrane that was missing, too thin or badly detailed at the joints or drain.
- Shower floors without enough fall, so water pools against the walls.
- Leaking pipes or tap bodies inside the wall, which need a plumber rather than a tiler.
What to do
Act early. Water that gets behind tiles keeps spreading into framing, plaster and neighbouring rooms, and the repair gets bigger the longer it runs.
Start with an inspection of the joints, grout, drain and surrounding walls. If the problem is limited to silicone and grout, removing and replacing them is a quick, inexpensive fix. If moisture readings show the membrane has failed, the fix is to remove the tiles, re-waterproof to AS 3740 and re-tile.
Need this done properly?
ASA Tiling is based in Dandenong and works across Melbourne within 100 km. Call for a site visit and written quote.