While most of the time, when I am called out because a homeowner has a leaky shower, it is pretty obvious where the leak is, sometimes, the moisture has an ambiguous origin. There can be a couple of other reasons, besides a leaky pan to cause water to either leak downstairs and to the outside of the curb (shower step in area). If you have a shower door or curtain, it is possible, especially if you have children using the shower, that you are getting splashover water, that is either, in the case of a curtain, going under or around the bottom and ends of the curtain. In the case of a shower door, check to make sure the door is properly caulked, and that the waterseal device at the bottom of the door isn’t leaking.

You may also either have grout cracks in the corners that are wide enough and high enough to let some water run down the walls behind the pan, or you might have a large opening under the inside lip of the curb, especially if the curb top is a slab of marble. I have known many veteran tile setters who sometimes overlook this gap. Simply lean down and look under the step, if you do not see tile or grout solidly to the bottom of the marble slab, you will want to seal it, either with grout and caulk, or if it is a small opening, just caulk. (note: the heating and cooling, as well as the dramatic changes in humidity in a typical bathroom may cause the walls to expand and contract at different rates and cause cracking, all 90 degree corners should be caulked as well as grouted.

If you aren’t sure what is causing your leak, you do, or have a plumber do for you, a leak test. Palm Beach Builders can do it for you, too, for a minimal cost. This involves removing the metal drain cover from the drain of your shower and inserting a rubber ball like device, filling the shower with water up to just under the curb, and letting it sit overnight. if the water level is down significantly by morning, the pan has to be replaced. If the water is basically as deep as it was when you went to bed, you probably have a leak at one of the aforementioned locations.