Hello,

I have a issue, water seems to be leaking out of the siding of our house. It seems to come and go and is a very slow leak, and I am not sure how serious this problem is or could be. At first I thought it could have been caused by using the hose to water the backyard, but it may be from when we run the shower now and then. Please let me know if you have any insights on this issue. There is no air conditioning installed on this house.

Here is a link to a few pictures I took of the leak.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/b55kt9slh...byFPnu0qa?dl=0



Thank you for your time.
Joe

 

Welcome to the forums.

You don't have A/C so that is ruled out.

What is above that location.... bathroom, kitchen ?
If it's sporadic and matches the shower usage.... then it could be from the shower head line.

 

I believe you're right to be concerned. It looks like vinyl siding. If so, take off a piece or two to see if there's water behind it. If so, you can take another piece off until you get to the start.

What's above the leak on the outside? Perhaps a window?

 

Any access behind the wall behind the shower valve?
Far more often a shower leak would be leaking under the house not on the outside unless you had a major event like a frozen pipe bursting.
Looked under the house for water damage or dripping?
Look at the bigger picture, look for stopped up gutters, shingles with no over hang and other issues in that area causing water to get in behind the fachia, running down the soffit and behind the wall.

 

Give us the age of the house and the type of piping used. If the leak is not continuous, then I suspect a leaking drain pipe. A water line under pressure leak would leak continuously.

 

The house was built in 1990. The siding is cedar, so it may be pretty difficult to remove to see behind it.

I'm thinking it's possible that it's the drain from the shower. If it is this problem, how involved would the fix be? Would they have to cut the wall in the area of the leak and pull out the drain? Or is there way of pulling out the drain from the shower? Or would they have to cut everywhere the drain lies? The house has 3 levels, and the shower is on the third, and the leak is on the bottom.

In addition to the 3rd floor shower that may be leaking, there are another two showers, one on the bottom floor, and another one on the third floor, do you know if the drains are connected? Or would it be possible to use another shower for time being? (I can test this)

Above the leak about two feet to the right on the second floor there is the window/kitchen sink. However the leak is below the bottom floor. Here is a picture:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mfr13pc56c...90908.jpg?dl=0


Would you recommend calling a bigger company? Like roto rooter or home depot or lowes? Or do you guys have any recommendations for a smaller company.

Also when I don't use it, it doesn't leak, can I hold onto this for a little while (3 weeks) if I don't use it due to the cost of replacement.

Thank you again. I'm thankful for any of your advice & information.

 

You are telling us that the bathroom/shower is above the point where the leak is.
The leak ONLY occurs when you use the shower...... not the bathtub ?

Is this correct ?

 

Your best bet is to narrow down which fixture is causing the problem. If you can narrow it down to one shower/bath/toilet, it makes figuring out how to fix it much easier. Then a determination of whether it's the supply piping, or the drain piping. It may take a few days and a few tests to confirm, but it's easier to that than start making holes.

In a nutshell, you (or a plumber) will need to get to the offending drain or supply pipe and fix it. It's usually easier to cut a hole in the drywall either the opposite wall or ceiling of the room below. It's much easier to repair drywall than tile, unless the bathroom is in need of a remodel anyway.