The most common cause of leakage is an old or damaged washer. These small parts are easy to find and remove. They do not cost much to replace either. If the washer is not the problem, there may simply be a loose part somewhere inside the faucet. You can tighten most parts with an adjustable wrench.

If you run into trouble while fixing your shower faucet, help is not far away. You can find helpful suggestions for do-it-yourself plumbing online. The only problem is that each manufacturer of shower parts uses a slightly different design, so getting specific advice can be difficult. Another great place to get advice is a local plumbing supply store. When in doubt, just bring your old parts with you to the store and explain your situation. Many employees are very knowledgeable and are happy to help.

Don’t fret if your shower is dripping or leaking. This is a do-it-yourself project that you can handle! With some basic tools and a little know-how, you will soon be able to add shower faucet repair to your list of DIY skills.

Shower leaks in a ceramic tile shower are not a pretty sight. Not too long ago I noticed the hardwood floor right in front of my chest of drawers looked like it had changed colors. Yikes… Sure enough, that colored spot felt wet too. Here’s what happened.

Tile shower floors just naturally leak. The grout is porous, and water seeps right through. Some tile is not waterproof either. The water that makes it through the floor is supposed to be stopped by what’s called a shower pan.

The shower pan in a conventionally built masonry shower is built into the floor. The pan includes a waterproof membrane that catches all the water that makes it past the floor surface. The water is then routed to sub-surface holes in a special drain and then down the drain.

If the shower leaks, the pan either was left out!!! It happens!!! The pan has a hole in it. Or the installation was faulty.

Otherwise, the pan will catch the shower water, and it will not leak. A standard shower pan built with traditional masonry construction should be waterproof for decades.

My leaky shower was the result of an old metal pan that had just rusted away.

I asked around at first about why the shower might leak and got several replies. Your grout is cracked… It was. Your caulk in the corners isn’t right. It wasn’t. There were other ideas. None of those explain the leaks. That’s because all those problems should not have caused leaks. The pan should have caught the water from those. The problem was the faulty pan.

The fix was a tear-out of the old pan and a new installation of a shower pan.

Shower leaks can cost you. I documented all the steps for building shower pan. Learn how a pan goes together and check behind the tile installer and make sure he or she gets it right.

Before you start your do-it-yourself repair, it is important to be prepared with the right tools, parts, and knowledge. Fortunately, fixing or replacing your shower faucet should not require very many tools at all. In most cases, a screwdriver, a wrench, and some elbow grease are all you will need. If you have those and some other basic tools around the house, it is unlikely that you will have any trouble.

 

For more information, contact Vinny’s Jersey Plumbing, located in Wayne, New Jersey.  We also service other towns in New Jersey, such as Dumont, Hackensack and Glen Rock.