On Jun 17, 1:25*pm, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Jun 17, 9:52*am, willshak wrote:





jamesgangnc wrote the following:

On Jun 17, 12:19 pm, Higgs Boson wrote:

Here's a link to several pix of a nasty situation in my (only)
bathroom.



I am scared to death that there is a leak somewhere in the wall which
is showing up at the base.

Background: *Some years ago the latch on the shower went bad, and
water leaked out in this area. *So I replaced the latch. *Shower is
used by another person, so I just now checked to make sure it closed
tight, and it does, and OP is aware of this. I got in the shower,
turned on the water, but did not see any leakage through shower door..

Any idea what could be causing this, and what I need to do?

TIA

HB

That's not really enough to go on. *Wallboard near the outside of
showers often gets water soaked. *Remove the wallboard. *Look at the
lumber behind it for signs of water staining. *Leave the wallboard off
for a while so you can check the inside of the wall after the shower
is used.

That appears to be a lath and plaster wall with the 'brown coat' showing.
As for the cause, I would suspect a leak in the plumbing behind the
wall, perhaps above the valve, which may only leak when the valve is
turned on.

Correct. *It is a lathe and plaster wall. *So I can't "remove the wallboard" as some suggested.

Your reading bears out my worst fears.

Do I have to get a construction person to open up the wall?

Also: *This shower backs up to another shower in the tub, which is
partly visible in one of the pix.

How to tell which shower is leaking inside the wall?

Why is it showing up only at the base? *Note there is some bare
plaster above the area, where I never got around to re-papering. So
why isn't that water-stained too?

Is this going to be an expensive job?

What will happen if I don't do anything? *(I'm afraid I know, but need
your input)

(I really needed this! *Up to my *** in other expenses!)

HB- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

"Do I have to get a construction person to open up the wall?"

Opening the wall is easy...it's closing it back up that becomes the
issue. ;-)

If done properly (e.g. cutting the wallboard so that the cuts are
centered on the studs) then it's a simple matter to cut a patch from
some new wallboard, attached it to the studs, tape, mud, paint. QED

Are you sure that there isn't an access panel in a closet someplace so
you can get to the plumbing? Did they really seal both showers up?

"What will happen if I don't do anything? (I'm afraid I know, but
need your input) "

You already know:

Possible mold issues
Possible rotten wood
Possible collapse of ceiling below

Maybe even this:

http://tinyurl.com/MyLeak