How to repair damaged waterproof membrane?

[joyceL]

Hi my plumber remove few part of my bathroom tile to find water leak but can’t find any water leak. He pull out the tile and damage the waterproofing membrane. Please advice how do I repair the waterproofing membrane and put up the tile. Thanks 

 

[EricL]

Hello @joyceL 

Let me tag @Vis-á-vis to make them aware that you've posted photo updates. Looking at your earlier posts, If it is not a plumbing leak, I suspect that the leak could possibly be coming from your roof and is travelling down your bathroom wall. I'm afraid no repair or patch is recommended until you find the source of the leak. Repairing it now will only aggravate the situation and you will get the same kind of damage again.

My only recommendation is to commit to a full repair. I suggest engaging a professional plumber that has experience in tracking leaks. Once you find the source of the leak it can be plugged up. Water entering your wall is the cause of the problem. Once the area is secure from water damage, then you can start thinking about sealing and tiling the wall.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your bathroom wall repaired.

Eric

[Vis-á-vis]

Hello @joyceL, 

It is always difficult to give someone advice or a diagnosis without hands and eyes on inspection. I do a lot of remedial waterproofing construction and try not to give advice without an inspection. That said a few things do stick out with your shower.

The construction is very unusual here in Australia, for example, foam panel walls are not something you see very often. Where are you located?

Some things you should consider;

- You definitely have water under your shower floor tile. There is fairly significant efflorescence in your grout joins.

- The waterproofing on the shower wall falls short of the hook for the shower rose (would not meet the Australian standard)

- Outside of the shower where you have removed a skirting tile there is no waterproofing, the Australian standard states that you should come at least 150mm up the wall.

- It seems you have a step up to the shower. This could be a pre-formed base or a screed inside a water-stop. It does not appear that your wall waterproofing runs continuously across the wall to floor junction and on to the shower floor

All-in-all you are probably best to consider taking the entire shower out and starting again but not without a professional opinion after an eyes on inspection. 

[joyceL]

@Vis-á-vis 

I am local in New Zealand. The house is build with panel wall. What you saying it is the water get into the floor from the grout when shower not leaking from the pipe? The water sit under the floor tile then cause the door out of alignment thats why the shower door not close probably? 
it is very hard to trust professional here. I had deal with to builder , tiler, plumber all give me something different then I following the insurance inspect advice to pull out the tile cut out the wall and can’t find anything. I getting into this mess now I have no idea how to solve it . I seem I need to redo the whole bath room 🤦🏻‍♀️. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @joyceL,

It's a bit of a pickle you're in now. It's doesn't really even sound like you've been able to verify if there was an issue with the wall in the first place. For all we know, it could have been a hinge on the glass panel door which was loose and caused the door to bind.

You really need to speak with someone that specialises in waterproofing and work out exactly what needs to be done. 

Mitchell

[Vis-á-vis]

Joyce,

We do use foam panels for walls here in Oz but only for external walls that will be clad or rendered. There are other types of panel designed for showers such as Kerdiboard.

I'm not saying that water under your tile is the cause of the door not closing although it could be. If you look at the join between two of your floor tiles there is a clear case of efflorescence - water is under your tile and as it evaporates through the surface it leaves salt-like deposits on the surface. Grout is porous and small amounts of water underneath are fine and that is why you have a waterproof membrane that will take the water to your leak control flange without further damage.

As I mentioned previously, without a physical inspection it is very difficult to say what your problem is.

Common issues with shower construction would be;

- Grout instead of silicone being used at wall-to-floor and wall-to-wall junctions

- Leak control flanges incorrectly installed or not installed at all

- Waterproof membranes incorrectly installed

- Incorrect falls in a screed

- Pre-made shower bases installed incorrectly

- Penetrations not sealed

- Poor caulking

And then many other potential issues.

And then you have maintenance issues. Often people think that grout is permanent and only needs looking at the next time you tile. Grout shrinks and also forms small or larger cracks as the building moves. This is not necessarily poor workmanship by the tiler. Grout and silicone need regular maintenance.

I think you need to keep searching until you find someone you trust, perhaps word of mouth, ask people you know.

As a minimum you really should look at removing that shower and replastering, waterproofing and tiling. For a three-sided shower, if you are keeping fixtures, your quote of $12k seems an awful lot. I would think $5-6k should cover you.

[joyceL]

thank you all the information @MitchellMc @Vis-á-vis 

Before I really believe I can do it myself now I am not so sure. You guys are right. But it is hard to find someone to help fix my problem. The tiler just do tile then I need a builder or handyman to fix the wall and the shower door. I don’t know who I can trust they all seem guessing. One of the builder quote 15-16k. 
This door photo I used for found someone to come to fix it then he said not the door problem. I do ask 5 to 6 professional come to look they all think have leak but after all the mess there can’t find water damage not even water mark. I really don’t understand. May be I remove the floor tile take a look ? Most tiler not available. That’s another problem 

 

[EricL]

Hi @joyceL

To remove any doubt of a leak. Engage the services of a registered plumber and ask them to do a pressure test of your plumbing system. Only by using a pressure test can they tell if a leak is occurring in your house. If the pressure test comes out positive. The leak will need to be tracked down. 

Does the leak only occur when the shower is on? The only source of water in your shower are the shower pipes, the showerhead and the shower mixer. If you eliminate the obvious sources of water the only other source will be from outside your shower. Are there any other pipes passing through this wall that is not connected to the shower? Are there any obvious signs of water damage on the wall? Track the path of the damage and see where it leads to.

Since part of the tiles has already been removed, I suggest doing your own test. Turn the shower on and observe if water starts to flow behind the tiles. If water is present then you know that the leak is somewhere in that wall. The tiles will need to be removed in order to fix the plumbing leak.

However, a negative result from the pressure test means that the water is coming from some place else. I recommend looking at your ceiling panels and seeing if you have any watermarks present. Perhaps your roof is directing the water into that area.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[joyceL]

Hi EricL, I don’t think there have leak because there no water mark anywhere. All start because the door not close probably. As you can see the photo the door bottom and the top out of alignment. As I trust the professional plumber , builder and the insurance inspector they are all wrong. They just like Oops it is strange may be your house poor workmanship then leave me to tidy

up the mess. Now what I want is to tidy up the mess have a bathroom to use. I am thankful I am not just have one bathroom to use. But I will take up the suggestion from @Vis-á-vis look at the shower floor. Thanks very much to you all . I do learn a lot from it. It is great Bunnings have this community chat. Talk about the problem do easy some stress.