Shower floor pans develop leaks several ways. Sometimes the only way to fix the problem is to tear out the old shower pan and install a new shower pan and liner. But there are at least two other ways you can sometimes fix a leaky tile shower.
There is a method to fix shower leaks by injecting epoxy through the floor of the shower. The injected epoxy forms a waterproof layer under the tile shower floor. I understand that injecting epoxy evenly under the shower floor could stop a leak. But I worry that you don't know where the epoxy actually is going. If epoxy runs toward the shower drain under the floor, the pan won't drain properly and you may not know it. Any structural problems caused by leaks aren't fixed either.
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Maybe the epoxy injection method has a place but any savings over actually rebuilding the shower pan may disappear over time. It's just postponing a real repair.
Another approach, short of rebuilding a shower pan, is doing spot repairs. When I recently had a shower leak, I called our local tile guru. He suggested looking for grout problems and then sealing any grout breaks with silicone. I eventually had the shower pan rebuilt, but that may have been unnecessary. Read on to find out why!
Grout in shower floor pans is not waterproof, unless an epoxy grout, like Spectralock is used. Water leaks through the grout to the shower pan liner beneath and then flows down the liner to the shower drain. That's the design. Over a long period of time, the water seeping through the grout causes grout deterioration. The grout can crumble, crack and fail.
One step you really should take is to seal your shower floor grout to help repel water. This will prolong the life of the grout. This normal maintenance is often overlooked.
If you have cracked grout causing a leak, you should evaluate the damage. If you have a crawl space under the shower pan, it's easy to see what happened. Is there mold or rot? How much? Minor problems will look better if you stop that leak and let everything dry. Maybe you need some expert advice before you decide what to do. If the subfloor is still solid underneath, you may not need a complete replacement.
Many times the grout failures are in corners of the shower and the water is leaking over the existing shower pan liner so the pan hasn't actually failed. The water is running outside the shower pan liner. If the shower pan is still good, fixing the leak may be all you need to do.
Here's how to proceed. First, let the shower dry completely. Then regrout or seal the cracks with silicon caulk.
If you choose to regrout, get a tile grout saw and remove the damaged grout as much as possible. Then work in new grout with a rubber grout trowel. Go over all the grout especially in the corners and the floor to make sure it's all sound. Clean the tile and seal after it's dry and you're ready to try your shower pan liner repair.
If you just seal with silicone, make very sure the area is dry and work in plenty of silicone. That's after you've used your grout saw and removed damaged grout. The challenge in sealing a leak with caulk is getting the caulk down in the grout grooves. It's hard to do especially with narrow grooves!
Carefully watch for shower leaks after your repair and you should soon know whether your repair worked.
Shower Floor Pans Repair Made Fast And Easy
Want to know more about shower pans and shower pan installation? Understanding how shower pans work can save you a bunch of money even if you're just making a shower repair! You might pay for a shower pan replacement when you only need a repair!
Visit InstallingCeramicTile.Net! and get the guidance you need to repair your shower floor pan.
Al Bullington enjoys ceramic tile and showers in the hot and humid rural South.
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