[mop]

Water is leaking into the wall and subfloor around my shower. I'm fairly ignorant of how showers are built but I don't think this is by design.

I set about performing a leak test today to see if it would help isolate the problem. I hadn't expected much, as this leak has been quite slow in manifesting. 15 minutes after starting the test it was raining in the dining room.

I suspect some combination of bad grout and bad shower pan. I've taken pictures to document it, as I can't do the situation justice with the keyboard:
http://tinyurl.com/obfqg8

Is it possible that the shower pan is still 'good', or 'sufficient'? Is it wasted effort to regrout the shower and seal it at this point?

Thanks for any help.

 

[jaros bros.]

It was obviously not built right. Get it done. Rip it all out and start from scratch. At this point you need to clean it all out and let things dry and determine if any other damage has occurred to the framing or other building components. Jobs done halfway leave room for future problems.

 

[Double A]

It seems you have a few issues, and the pan itself might be leaking. If that is the case, you'll need to blow up the shower and rebuild.

Rip the dry wall out on the dining room ceiling and examine the shower drain. You should/might be able to see if the shower pan is properly clamped to the shower drain. Also, look for leaks/cracks in the shower drain fitting itself from below.

The damage you're seeing around the door is most likely from the door, and not necessarily from a bad pan. A new sweep and recaulking might solve that problem.

Grout is not water proof. It should be sealed to prevent water from seeping through it. Also, many tile setters, in addition to skipping the sealing portion of the job, do a poor job of applying the grout by not forcing enough into the joints. You can test for this by scratching at the grout in the suspected problem areas. If you find voids, then enough grout was not forced into the joints and you'll need to regrout.

Post your pics of the underside of the shower drain please.

 

[floortrends]

This situation is not a matter of caulk, grout or sealer. The shower pan is leaking. If the tile is still available it would be possible to remove the old pan and replace it using a different contractor. Sealing grout is not a requirement of your tile contractor, usually. But that won't help. A properly built shower system does not require that the grout be waterproof and shouldn't rely on caulk to keep it from leaking.