Shower Pan Leak

[Bruce.B]

It was a little disappointing to see a puddle of water outside the shower the other night. I assumed it was because the sweep at the bottom of the door was damaged and needed replacing. I called Shower Enclosure America and got a fast response: they'll send me a sweep and instructions on how to adjust the door.

But in the meantime I discovered that the real culprit is the pan of our Garden Tub shower. I found a crack that runs along the edge of the non-skid. It is only visible when a load is applied and my eyes are close to the area. It only opens a few thousandths of an inch, but apparently that's enough for a fair amount of water to get thru.

So, before I go smearing disgusting gooey, sticky stuff in all the wrong places (probably 3M 5200) in hopes of sealing the leak, has anyone had this issue? How did you handle it? Frankly it looks like sealing from the top is just going to leak again... that gel coat seems to be something that's difficult to adhere to. I suspect the best approach is to remove the pan and repair it from the bottom, but I would *really* like to avoid that nightmare.

Btw, I can now see why the factory doesn't seal around the base of the tub. Had they done that, the water would have been trapped in the enclosed space under the tub and I wouldn't have known there was a leak. Scarey thinking about repairing both the shower *and* dry rot!

[Icehouse]

Dieselguy came to our rescue with just the information we needed. We too have a hairline crack and are just going to buy a new shower pan AND build the proper support under the shower pan that Keystone failed to do. Here is a link to my question just a few days ago. We found exactly what we needed.

http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=44909

[racerjoe]

are you still covered by the warranty?

[Bruce.B]

quote:Originally posted by Icehouse

... AND build the proper support under the shower pan that Keystone failed to do...

Exactly my thoughts! Very disappointing mfg. design. Still, my search on this forum didn't turn up any other failures (including yours, which makes my search suspect!), so I guess it's not the issue I was sure it would be.

My reluctance to replace the pan is cuz we live on our Montana and my beloved *really* doesn't want to hike to the showers. We did that for a lot of years and the mere mention of using the park shower gets me a stern look!

Thanks for the link. We very well may need to go that way.

[Bruce.B]

quote:Originally posted by racerjoe

are you still covered by the warranty?

Consistent with our good fortune we are 3 months out of warranty! I even thumbed thru the paperwork to see if maybe I'd bought the extended warranty, but no joy.

Depending on what I turn up here I'll probably contact Keystone to at least ask if they'll help.

[pbahlin]

I'm sure every rig is a bit different but I had a leak in my shower after 4 months of continuous (full timer) use. Here's what I found.

First, the pan was put in without any support underneath it, at least in the area of the drain. It's not flat, duh! So when you put your weight in the center it flexes (down). Underneath the shower I discovered the plumbing had a very solid pipe hanger right next to the elbow at the drain. This meant that when you stepped near the center you were opening up a gap between the drain and pan. The day I found the leak I happened to be in the basement while the DW was showering. As she moved around I could see the leaking come and go.

I did two things to 'fix' it. First I sprayed in that expanding insulation foam stuff from the basement into the gap between the floor and the pan. I don't remember the name but make sure it's the stuff that cures hard. Don't overdo the spraying as this stuffs expands big time. The goal was to firm up the floor. I wasn't confident that this would totally eliminate the flexing. I just wanted to reduce it.

The second thing I did was to remove the pipe strap to allow the drain to move with the pan. Then I redid the plumbers putty around the drain. So far the fix has worked. When the DW is showering I can still see some (much reduced) movement of the pan but now the pipe moves with it and the putty is not being cracked open.

If you're lucky, you'll find a ginormous hole in the floor to accommodate the itty bitty drain. This will give you plenty of room to do the foam thing. Keystone cuts all their access holes with chain saws to enable customers flexibility in finishing the construction process.

[Bruce.B]

quote:Originally posted by pbahlin

I'm sure every rig is a bit different but I had a leak in my shower after 4 months of continuous (full timer) use. Here's what I found.

First, the pan was put in without any support underneath it, at least in the area of the drain. It's not flat, duh! So when you put your weight in the center it flexes (down)...

What you describe is what I suspected. I did a temp repair with (aarrrgh!) duct tape- Red Green would have been proud. Then I waddled around inside the shower paying attention to any flexing. I was surprised to find that the floor seemed fairly rigid *except* in the area where the crack has developed. Flexing is adjacent to the non-skid area and before the inside radius of the corner- not what I expected.

quote:... Underneath the shower I discovered the plumbing had a very solid pipe hanger right next to the elbow at the drain. This meant that when you stepped near the center you were opening up a gap between the drain and pan. The day I found the leak I happened to be in the basement while the DW was showering. As she moved around I could see the leaking come and go...

This sounds like a problem just waiting to happen!

quote:... I did two things to 'fix' it. First I sprayed in that expanding insulation foam stuff from the basement into the gap between the floor and the pan. I don't remember the name but make sure it's the stuff that cures hard. Don't overdo the spraying as this stuffs expands big time. The goal was to firm up the floor. I wasn't confident that this would totally eliminate the flexing. I just wanted to reduce it.

The second thing I did was to remove the pipe strap to allow the drain to move with the pan. Then I redid the plumbers putty around the drain. So far the fix has worked. When the DW is showering I can still see some (much reduced) movement of the pan but now the pipe moves with it and the putty is not being cracked open...

Since the floor is flexing less than I expected, perhaps it's the pipe strap & plumbing that's providing the rigidity. In any case this sounds like something that can be done quickly, though neither of us is excited about living with duct tape long term!

quote:If you're lucky, you'll find a ginormous hole in the floor to accommodate the itty bitty drain. This will give you plenty of room to do the foam thing. Keystone cuts all their access holes with chain saws to enable customers flexibility in finishing the construction process.

Thanks for the input. I'll dig into it tomorrow.

Btw, the duct tape seems to be working. May need to replace it daily (?), but at least there's no water and the carpet can dry.

[richfaa]

The base of the shower wall is not caulked because the manufacturer claims water can be trapped behind the wall and cause rot or mold. Caulked ours 5 years ago and no rot or mold.
We also, on advice on this forum, reinforced the space under the tub and floor with with heavy duty thick styrofoam blocks. 5 years of longtimer use and not a problem.

[Phil P]

richfaa

How did you go about puting the styrofoam blocks under the shower pan?

Phil P