Leaking shower, bath or leak under tiles

Three possible sources

• The supply: the hot or cold water pipe to the mixer, concealed in the wall. It leaks all the time, even when the shower is not in use.
• The drain: waste fitting, trap, connection to the drain pipe. It only leaks when water is draining.
• The waterproofing: grout, shower tray, membrane under the tiles. Water gets through when it runs down the walls or sits on the floor.

Regrouting won't help if the leak comes from the supply. Replacing the trap won't help if it's the waterproofing. That's why each source should be tested separately before any work starts.

How we tell them apart

• Supply: pressure testing of the pipes, and thermal imaging to follow the hot water route.
• Drain: water dyed with fluorescein is poured only into the drain, without wetting the walls, and we watch whether it reappears in the stain.
• Waterproofing: we wet one zone at a time (walls, corners, base of the walls, threshold) and track changes in moisture with a moisture meter.

Walk-in showers

Without a shower tray, a walk-in shower relies entirely on the membrane under the tiles. Defects are most often found around the floor drain, at the base of the walls and at the threshold. These are the areas we test first.

In a flat

The leak usually shows in the flat below. Our tests establish whether it really comes from your bathroom, and from which element, which is essential for the water damage claim.