can't seem to fix leaks


  #1  
Old 01-31-03, 10:08 PM
kris snyder
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can't seem to fix leaks

we live in a two-story home. our upstairs plumbing has leaked for quite awhile. just a few days ago, we bought a whole new shower assembly and installed it-thinking the old assembly was worn out. we were hoping that would take care of our leaks. no. it still drips from several places even with the use of joint compound and caulk. is there some product out there that will help? we even called in my brother to have a look-he built his home from scratch and he knows his stuff but the darn thing STILL leaks
 
  #2  
Old 01-31-03, 11:46 PM
magister
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I may not be the one to help you, because I'm still learning the ins & outs, but I do know that clarification would be helpful and in advance of the more knowledgable, I figured I'd ask for the additional info in an attempt to save both yourself and the resident geniuses time;

What exactly is leaking, or where is it leaking? IOW: Is water dripping from the showerhead, or through the ceiling onto the first floor, or perhaps it's leaking someplace else? And, what precisely did you replace? Once again, the showerhead, the shower stall, the supply pipes, or something else? If it's leaking through the ceiling and if you replaced the base; Did you take a look at the drain system while you had it exposed?

Not trying to be mean, but unless we know what form the leak is taking; Anyone trying to help will be just spitting into the wind.
 
  #3  
Old 02-01-03, 06:09 PM
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I don't fall into the category of resident genius so I will just have a go at an educated guess... You had an unidentified leak from the upstairs TILED shower... So you replaced the tub valve figuring it was the most likely source of the leak... Then to your dismay, you still have the leak, so you go upstairs and caulk every single hole, crevass, crack and opening you can find,... and you still have a leak... Now if you have a tile shower (which we are not sure of yet), then what you may not realize is that TILE does not hold water... so what you very likely have is a shower PAN leak... Unfortunately, that means tearing out the bottom of the tile shower and the first couple of wall tiles all the way around so that the pan can be replaced... Now if it is a tub and shower combination, then all the previous still applies, however the most common cause of a leak would be the washer behind the overflow opening... It can be replaced from the front, but it is better to do it from the back where you can be sure to clean up the surfaces as well as possible...
 
  #4  
Old 02-01-03, 06:27 PM
L
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Not one of the "resident geniuses" either, but magister is right. (Did we train him well, or what!!) We really need you to be a bit more specific in your description of just what is leaking. At this point, I would ASSUME that it is probably something on the water supply side, based on what you have said, rather than anything on the drain side, but even that much is just a guess.
 
 

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