Water leaking ceiling from upstairs bathroom

[Kenny202]

Had water dripping from the ceiling for a week. Wasn't sure if it was a broken water pipe or a leak in the

shower area. I do seem to have narrowed it down to the shower tiles and have siliconed around the edges.

 

What I was wondering........it appears to be a concrete slab upstairs with I assume wood battens under and the ceiling attached to

the wood. Even if the water was breaching the tiles from loss of grout etc...how would it get through the cement? It's in the middle

of the room directly under the shower so not running down an outer wall etc

 

[JHolmesJr]

Put a bucket under it while you figure it out. 

 

I got nothing. 

[Anythingleft?]

Concrete is porous so once it becomes saturated the water will start to show through the slab.
Try not using the shower for a week to allow the slab to dry out, if doesn't then its a pipe leak. If it dries out okay then regrout the tiles and silcone where you want, personally I find the grout all areas better than silicone as the stuff seems to gather mould rapidly however clean I keep it

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[eyecatcher]

Its very likely that the leak is from a waste from the shower as this is often the only thing that penetrates a concrete floor. So cn you check your waste pipework for starters.?

 

If you think its coming from the wall tiles then this is why I refuse to let Thai tilers tiles the wall and then the floor afterwards.

 

The Thai way, water simply run down the wall and simply finds its way into the grout around the edges and thereafter runs under the tile mortar, and finds its way into the original concrete hole made for the waste.

 

Of course if the concrete floor isnt cock on level, then the eventual dripping point could be 1m away from the source, thats why its difficult to source.

 

So; when tiling always, always, always tile the floor first then run the wall tiles on top. It makes a neater job also, no crappy cut tile edge, no need for silicone.

My first sacking was tilers 6 years ago, they were gone before lunchtime because they wanted to do the easy bit first, the walls.

 

This is a really poor suggestion to remedy a leaking edge but to hid that grout line and make something of a job , perhaps try using those small quadrant tiles that used to be put behind kitchen worktops to do the same. it was an 80s thing. they work but rather a lot of exposed grout to keep free from mildew.

 

You could also use a chrome corner bead, just trim off the fixing edge. I think that trumps the above.

 

[upside]

On Friday, November 25, 2016 at 1:34 AM, eyecatcher said:

Its very likely that the leak is from a waste from the shower as this is often the only thing that penetrates a concrete floor. So cn you check your waste pipework for starters.?

 

If you think its coming from the wall tiles then this is why I refuse to let Thai tilers tiles the wall and then the floor afterwards.

 

The Thai way, water simply run down the wall and simply finds its way into the grout around the edges and thereafter runs under the tile mortar, and finds its way into the original concrete hole made for the waste.

 

Of course if the concrete floor isnt cock on level, then the eventual dripping point could be 1m away from the source, thats why its difficult to source.

 

So; when tiling always, always, always tile the floor first then run the wall tiles on top. It makes a neater job also, no crappy cut tile edge, no need for silicone.

My first sacking was tilers 6 years ago, they were gone before lunchtime because they wanted to do the easy bit first, the walls.

 

This is a really poor suggestion to remedy a leaking edge but to hid that grout line and make something of a job , perhaps try using those small quadrant tiles that used to be put behind kitchen worktops to do the same. it was an 80s thing. they work but rather a lot of exposed grout to keep free from mildew.

 

You could also use a chrome corner bead, just trim off the fixing edge. I think that trumps the above.

 

So; when tiling always, always, always tile the floor first then run the wall tiles on top. It makes a neater job also, no crappy cut tile edge, no need for silicone.

 

Sorry but there's always a need for mould proof silicone in shower areas and wet areas. 

 

Check your home country,  they'll be doing it there as well and it makes no difference if you tile the walls first or the floor,  ask any tiler.

 

What makes the difference is tanking the wet area first which probably didn't get done in the original post, and not using pre mixed grout which will never dry in showers. 

[eyecatcher]

^^^

Well for starters did you actually look at a the edges of a floor here and how untidy they look because the tiler has cut one tile 5mm short, the next 3mm short, the next about right. what a mess really.

 

Now run your floor tiles to the wall...you can be the same few mm short but when you wall tile directly onto that floor you have a nice clean edge and water fall from the tile onto the floor and not into the grout which is not even fully bonded to that wall tile.

 

And no sorry but in my 30 odd years on building projects my mastic men have never sealed a wall/floor tile in a shower BUT yes they would seal it if there was an acryllic shower tray involved. 

 

[Anthony5]

25 minutes ago, eyecatcher said:

^^^

Well for starters did you actually look at a the edges of a floor here and how untidy they look because the tiler has cut one tile 5mm short, the next 3mm short, the next about right. what a mess really.

 

Now run your floor tiles to the wall...you can be the same few mm short but when you wall tile directly onto that floor you have a nice clean edge and water fall from the tile onto the floor and not into the grout which is not even fully bonded to that wall tile.

 

And no sorry but in my 30 odd years on building projects my mastic men have never sealed a wall/floor tile in a shower BUT yes they would seal it if there was an acryllic shower tray involved. 

 

 

 

Laying the floor tileles before doing the wall tiles wil make it easier for a 3rd grade tiler to finish the job neater, but a decent tiler can do a neat job the other way around, and definitely it doesn't improve anything regarding water leakage.

 

You will have noticed that there is much more grout involved in a shower cubicle than just around the edges.

[tutsiwarrior]

make sure the upstairs bathroom is draining properly...I had this problem (leaking into my beloved downstairs kitchen) and then found that someone had left the water running upstairs and the drain got blocked with debris (a plastic toy that perfectly covered the drain opening) and there was an inch of water on the bathroom floor which then found the path of least resistance and covered my downstairs kitchen floor...

 

I sorted it all out and then menacingly advised the various small children in the house: 'if you leave yer toys in the hong naam again and if grandpa tutsi's kitchen then becomes flooded again, grandpa tutsi shall then become very annoyed with you...'

 

tutsi is an ogre...

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by tutsiwarrior

[Artisi]

On ‎24‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 10:04 PM, eyecatcher said:

Its very likely that the leak is from a waste from the shower as this is often the only thing that penetrates a concrete floor. So cn you check your waste pipework for starters.?

 

If you think its coming from the wall tiles then this is why I refuse to let Thai tilers tiles the wall and then the floor afterwards.

 

The Thai way, water simply run down the wall and simply finds its way into the grout around the edges and thereafter runs under the tile mortar, and finds its way into the original concrete hole made for the waste.

 

Of course if the concrete floor isnt cock on level, then the eventual dripping point could be 1m away from the source, thats why its difficult to source.

 

So; when tiling always, always, always tile the floor first then run the wall tiles on top. It makes a neater job also, no crappy cut tile edge, no need for silicone.

My first sacking was tilers 6 years ago, they were gone before lunchtime because they wanted to do the easy bit first, the walls.

 

This is a really poor suggestion to remedy a leaking edge but to hid that grout line and make something of a job , perhaps try using those small quadrant tiles that used to be put behind kitchen worktops to do the same. it was an 80s thing. they work but rather a lot of exposed grout to keep free from mildew.

 

You could also use a chrome corner bead, just trim off the fixing edge. I think that trumps the above.

 

All well and good but the best and only method that works is to completely water-proof the walls and floor in the shower recess using chopped fiberglass mat and water-proofing compound - not forgetting to ensure the glass and compound overlap and enters well into the waste pipe thru' the floor -all done and cured  before laying the tiles.. 

Edited November 27, 2016 by Artisi

[upside]

On Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 0:03 AM, eyecatcher said:

^^^

Well for starters did you actually look at a the edges of a floor here and how untidy they look because the tiler has cut one tile 5mm short, the next 3mm short, the next about right. what a mess really.

 

Now run your floor tiles to the wall...you can be the same few mm short but when you wall tile directly onto that floor you have a nice clean edge and water fall from the tile onto the floor and not into the grout which is not even fully bonded to that wall tile.

 

And no sorry but in my 30 odd years on building projects my mastic men have never sealed a wall/floor tile in a shower BUT yes they would seal it if there was an acryllic shower tray involved. 

 

 

Why would your mastik men be sealing bathrooms? Isn't that the tilers job if it's tiled? They must build different in your home country. 

[eyecatcher]

12 hours ago, upside said:

 

Why would your mastik men be sealing bathrooms? Isn't that the tilers job if it's tiled? They must build different in your home country. 

yes, tilers are never let loose with a mastic gun, they are useless so in the uk  you place a separate contract with mastics company to do kitchen worktop sealing, shower trays,bath edges, basins and external face of windows and door frames.

 

You will rarely come across a concrete floor like we have here, if you do it would have 50-75mm of screed on top; any leaks are due to inadequate sealing around around the drain outlet.

As a rule there would be no other silicone in the shower area as it simply  cannot fight mildew, fungus after a month.

 

 

[upside]

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016 at 9:52 PM, eyecatcher said:

yes, tilers are never let loose with a mastic gun, they are useless so in the uk  you place a separate contract with mastics company to do kitchen worktop sealing, shower trays,bath edges, basins and external face of windows and door frames.

 

You will rarely come across a concrete floor like we have here, if you do it would have 50-75mm of screed on top; any leaks are due to inadequate sealing around around the drain outlet.

As a rule there would be no other silicone in the shower area as it simply  cannot fight mildew, fungus after a month.

 

 

 

There's wet area silicone available. Anti mould whatever in it. 

[eyecatcher]

^^^

well yes they claim to be anti fungal but in practice a bit like skin whitening creams they will put up a fight for 6 months max then the black spots appear; the pink mildew appears even quicker.

still better than nothing I suppose as long as you are prepared to rake out and re do it every year.

[WayneMcConnell]

Oh this an unavoidable issue. It becomes very complicated to handle these situation, I am saying this because I had gone through this. Its a headache, And finally got relief after taking help from a professional person and then problem came to an end.

[Kenny202]

I tried to silicone around the edges but no difference, still leaking. I instead got a guy in and moved the hot water unit to shower room number 2. We use it now. No more leaking

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