plumbing leak!!!! arh!!!

jsteezy1290

im not a licensed contracter but do have basic knowledge and am a diy person.. to the problem... i have a two bathrooms one downstairs and the other directly above it.. my wife took a bath upstairs and after awhile i noticed a wet mark directly above the downstairs bath on the ceiling.. looks like its below the upstairs bathtub drain.. how do i see whats leaking? do i have to rip out the upstairs tub? or can i go threw the ceiling where the wet spot is .. fml lol

ben's plumbing

is there an access panel behind tub ????

TheEplumber

Two ways to see it.
open the wall at the end of the tub or from below.
The leak maybe from the overflow gasket which can be repaired without opening the wall. Ask her how full she filled the tub. Did it fill to the seldom used overflow?

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Alan

Check on the overflow suggestion first as it's the easiest.

After that you need to identify if it's coming from the tub spout, or if it's a problem with the tub drain or the tub itself.

Did you notice the drip while she was running the tub, or was it after she was in it for a long time?


The easiest way to inspect all of the plumbing is to make a small access hole through the wall behind the valve and drain area.

Is this a soaker tub or a tub/shower?

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jsteezy1290

this is a older spa tub with jets in it.. she said she didnt fill it up that much .. the tub is deeper then most.. also it doest have a regular drain handle it only has a plug that you put in to keep the water in.. also the drywall was not dripping it was only wet. there is a closet behind the spout and shower head but no acess panel. its hard to tell but the spot seemed liked it was coming from the actual drain but its hard to tell since its underneath the other one

jsteezy1290

also the tub drain is not underneath the spout. its towards the middle side of the tub

Evstarr

In that case, I would have to say that unless there is a can light below you can remove to see the area that it's time to pop a hole in the ceiling. This will eventually have to happen anyway if that spot keeps getting wet.

goosebarry

As he said, your eventually going to have to put a hole in the ceiling to fix the water spot. So open it up now. BTW most tub leaks show up under the drain because in order to fit the drain there is a hole cut into the subfloor. Any leak above eventually reaches the hole.

Once open, turn on the water in the tub. From below look,feel and listen around for any water. There could be a leak in the pipe from the fixture to the spout. This happened with our shower the leak was spraying water on the outer surface of the shower enclosure and it flowed down the side and evetually was dripping off the bottom of the trap.

Place a bucket under the hole and fill the tub. Check if there is water in the bucket, wait 15 minutes and check again. Start looking and feeling for the leak.

Another trick is to get duck tape and tape around the bath tub drain, but don't cover the drain holes. This will create a temporary seal around the drain. Fill the tub and wait 15 minutes. If that stopped the leak, then you need to replace the seal around the drain.

goosebarry

P.S. feel lucky you already have the spa tub. We had a similar leak, once I started knocking holes in the walls, the wife decided now is the time to remodel the bathrooms. $8000 later and the shower doesn't leak

jsteezy1290

isnt there subflooring above my ceiling? i really dont want to cut into all that if i dont have to .. i was wondering if i cut a acess panel in the closet to have a look at the faucet and shower pipes to see if there leaking? also the leak must be little because the spot was dry this morning.

Alan

Exactly. You're not going to want to cut into your subflooring.



But being that it is a jetted tub, there should already be an access somewhere for the pump. That would be the easiest thing to look at if there's an access already.

Jetted tubs are susceptible to cracked fittings at jets, failed pump seals, as well as the other issues I mentioned in my previous post above.

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jsteezy1290

where would the acess door be? i cant find it ..

Alan

What kind of tub surround do you have?


Does the tub have a fiberglass apron? Is it tiled?

The pump is normally on the end of the tub where your back rests.


Depending on how old it is, they may not have required one, or someone just plain skipped the step.

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jsteezy1290

it is tiled around on the wall and behind its tiled.. should i take the drain out with a drain extractor and re seal it with something?

Alan

That won't hurt anything except the old saying : "If it's not broke don't fix it"

That may or may not be the issue, you're still going to have to determine where the water is coming from. Obviously it's not still leaking when the tub is not in use, so your supply lines are fine.


Without being able to see underneath the tub somehow, you're going to have a rough time finding it out. If a closet wall will provide an access hole, i say cut away so you can see what is going on in there without having to rip out tile for no reason.

Access panels typically come in 8x8 or 12x12, or if you're handy enough, you can make your own out of the piece of sheetrock you remove and some window and door molding.

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jsteezy1290

what would you say is leaking.. you dont think its the drain? pretty sure my tub is fiberglass so when i put the drain back in i was told not to use plumbers putty on fiberglass ? what should i put instead