# bathtub leaks, drips down to floor below



## TinyTim (Mar 22, 2009)

For the past few years, whenever I take a shower in my shower, there's a puddle outside the tub on the floor. Sometimes, water will start dripping from the ceiling directly below the tub. I'm just wondering what is causing this. I've noticed that the tiles all around my shower knobs appear to be loose, and don't have any sealant between the tiles. Could the water be coming from there? I've taken some photos to help show the problem.

Basically, I'm just wondering if all this water is coming from in between those tiles, or if one of the pipes is leaking behind the wall. I don't know much about home repair, but I could probably add sealant between the tiles and see if that fixes it. If it's a pipe that's bad, I'd probably have to hire someone to come fix it. Thanks in advance for any advice


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## glennjanie (Mar 22, 2009)

Welcome TinyTim:
The unsealed joints could certainly cause the leak. I say, "let's fix what we can and, if that doesn't work, then we call the professionals".
Glenn


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## TinyTim (Mar 23, 2009)

Thank you sir, I went out and got some sealant and the caulk gun thing. I've never done anything like this before, so I'll head to google tomorrow and figure it out. Apparently I have to clean clean clean the tiles and then rub them with rubbing alcohol and clean some more before adding the sealant, or else it won't stick. I'll report back in later


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## majakdragon (Mar 23, 2009)

You are correct about the cleaning. I hate to add more problems, but if you have had water dripping for two years, the chances of mold growth are high. I would cut out the dripping section in the ceiling and take a look at what the ceiling is hiding. You can remove the showerhead and slide a piece of hose over it and turn on the water (letting the water in the hose go into the tub). This would let you know if the tile is the problem, or if it is a leaking pipe (drain or supply pipe)


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## TinyTim (Mar 23, 2009)

Oh that would be horrible. Well I just sealed everything up, and it was surprisingly more easy and fun than I was expecting it to be. After I finished, I went around to the other bathrooms looking for things that could be sealed. Anyways, it's all sealed up and I'll let it sit until tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll take a shower like normal and see what happens


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## Redwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Those wall tiles have a wavy look tothem that says they are mounted on sheetrock and it is shot.

I may be wrong but from my house it sure looks like it...


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