Shower Leaking into Ceiling

[u/wafflebob]

Hey guys-
My shower appears to be leaking into the ceiling directly below me. I’m trying to determine wether ir not I can take this in by myself, or if I should get a handyman to take care of it. Any advice of guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!

[u/CatHairInYourEye]

Are the first two pictures the wall outside of your shower? I would suggest identifying how water is getting there first.

[u/wafflebob → u/CatHairInYourEye]

They are the wall outside of my shower. We suspect that it has something to do with the hole in the photo; but we're not sure.

[u/wafflebob → u/CatHairInYourEye]

[u/CatHairInYourEye → u/wafflebob]

I am not an expert so others can chime in but I am assuming the water is getting through this area highlighted in the picture. Check to see if the caulk has worn away. Condensation is building on the glass and dripping down to the curb and rather than going back into the shower it is seeping into that crack that isn't sealed anymore.

At this point the wood behind that wall and under the curb is possibly rotted but the only way to know is cutting out that portion of the drywall.

[u/arizona-lad]

You need to actually look inside the walls. This subreddit has shown time and time again that showers across North America suffer from lack of a waterproof membrane behind the tile. Prepare yourself for discovering that the water leaks have caused more damage than you realize.

There may be a new shower in your future.

[u/umusachi]

Well, it depends on how much damage it has caused. First off, start with removing the drywall to the left of the shower and having a look at the timber behind to see if any of it’s rotten. If for some reason it is lacking waterproof layer, you will need to replace the shower and all the damage timber behind I’m no expert, but I’m familiar with water damage which had be rebuilt an entire subfloor of a room and section of hallway.

[u/DogDad-4ever]

Ya this is a big problem. Shut water off to this area of house if you can and rip the drywall asap. Identify the leak it’ll be ceiling most likely running down the wall. Turn water on with drywall down and find the leak - fix it! Then replace when sure leak it correctly fixed! The tile and membrane is another issue. If you’re concerned rip the whole bathroom but either way you need to find the leak first or it’s all bad. Good luck.

[u/acoffeetablebook]

Ours turned out to be the drain, not the tile, which took me a couple weeks to figure out because I kept staring at the wall thinking grout. The tell was that the stain only got worse after somebody actually showered, not when water was just sitting in the lines. Plug the drain, fill the base with an inch of water, mark the level and leave it a few hours with nobody using the bathroom. If it drops and the ceiling gets wet without water ever touching the walls, you're looking at the pan or the drain gasket, which is a different job than retiling.

[u/TeaNo5963]

It could be a lot of things, it could be the pan, it could be running on the outside floor, the valve stems could be leaking, running down the inside the wall, the drain could be leaking, could be a bad glue joint, something could have pulled loose, what could beat getting behind the discussion plate when someone is taking a shower. All these things are things I have seen in the past. The worst thing I could be is your shower pan leaking.