A tenant in Takanini reported that every time someone showered, water crept out across the bathroom floor and past the doorway. Not a puddle in the shower — water finding its way out of it.
Leaks like this are among the hardest jobs we do, and this one is a good example of how we approach them.
Why it’s hard
The bathroom was fully tiled, floor and walls, with the shower, the wall and the doorway all running into each other. Once everything is tiled, the leak is behind a sealed surface. Water doesn’t stay where it starts either — it runs along framing or under the tile bed and appears somewhere else entirely.
So the honest answer at the start of a job like this is: we can tell you where we suspect it is, but nobody can be certain until something comes apart.
Opening the cheapest thing first
Given the layout, the shower was the obvious suspect. But “the shower” covers several possible failures, and they cost very different amounts to fix.
We started at the mixer. That’s the least destructive place to open up, and if the leak had been there, the repair would have been limited to the liner behind the mixer — a small job with a small amount of making good afterwards.
That’s deliberate. We treat our customers’ money as if it were our own, so we work from the cheapest realistic cause to the most expensive, rather than pulling the whole bathroom apart on day one to be sure.
The mixer was fine.
What it actually was
Next we lifted the shower tray. The tray had been installed incorrectly, and water was escaping there in volume every time the shower ran. That’s why it was tracking out past the door — it wasn’t coming over the top of anything, it was going out underneath.
We dried everything out properly before rebuilding — putting a tray back down on wet framing just hides the problem — then re-installed it correctly so the water goes where it’s meant to go.
If your bathroom floor gets wet outside the shower
A few things worth noting before you call anyone:
- Does it only happen when the shower runs, or also when a bath or basin drains? That narrows it a lot.
- Is the water clean, or dirty? Clean water usually means supply or shower, dirty means waste.
- Is any silicone or grout visibly cracked at the tray junction?
- How long has it been happening? Water under a tiled floor does slow damage to framing, so the longer it runs, the bigger the repair.
Expect a good plumber to tell you honestly that there’s some investigation involved, and to explain the order they’ll look in and why. Anyone who guarantees the cause before opening anything is guessing.
We cover Takanini and south Auckland. Give us a call if water is turning up where it shouldn’t be.
Common questions
Why can’t you tell me the cause before opening anything?
Because the leak is behind a sealed surface, and water travels — it runs along framing or under the tile bed and appears somewhere else. We can tell you what we suspect and the order we’ll check in, but anyone who guarantees the cause before opening anything is guessing.
How do you keep the cost down on a leak like this?
By starting with the cheapest realistic cause and the least destructive access. Here that meant opening at the mixer first, because if the leak had been there the repair would have been limited to that. Only when it wasn’t did we lift the tray.
What are the common causes of water escaping a shower?
A failed or badly installed tray, a waste that isn’t sealed properly, a leaking mixer behind the wall, failed waterproofing under the tiles, or simply water getting past a poorly sealed screen. They look identical from the outside.
Does the tiling have to come off?
Not always. It depends where the failure is — some repairs are reachable through the mixer or the tray, others mean opening the floor or wall. We work from least to most destructive so you’re only paying for what’s necessary.
How urgent is a shower leak?
Don’t leave it. Water under a tiled floor sits against framing and does slow damage that costs far more than the original repair. If you can, use another shower until it’s sorted.