Shower leaking in one corner, water protrusion from shower door

Submitted by Arp590 t3_10jeevy in DIY

My shower was leaking water into my kitchen, it appears that the shower door is allowing water protrusion on the front right corner of the tub. When showering water is splashing/pooling up in that area & leaking behind the wall tile in that corner.

I've been able to use the bath with a makeshift barrier/splashguard in that corner, no leaking whatsoever when taking a bath & when I prevent water from getting up there.

My question is, do you think that the plumber's diagnosis below is correct? It seems like that's most likely the issue, but the reason I ask is because the plumber had to make 3 separate trips to my house. His initial diagnosis was a leaky pipe, we discovered there was no leaky pipe. 2nd trip he determined that he just needed to re-caulk around the tub, that did not solve the problem. And then finally the 3rd trip it seems like the issue was diagnosed correctly, but he said he can't make the repair.

Plumber diagnosis: The shower door is allowing water protrusion on front right corner of tub near bedroom door. The shower door should be dismantled at all points of contact between walls and tub for reinstallation of new seals and silicone.

Pictures of corner: https://imgur.com/a/SuPI6zP

(Ignore the missing wall tile/caulk, the plumber was trying to remove the old caulk & the bottom tile kind of disintegrated, & then the restoration company removed the larger tile above that.)

I attempted to take pictures behind the tile in that corner: https://imgur.com/a/l0sb34I

Do you think I should just remove the shower door, reseal that corner, put up a splash guard, & use a shower curtain instead?

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Pinstrip3 t1_j5k94we wrote

Door is far better than a curtain. I'd clean the door and reseal it properly. I'd also check if the drain isn't an issue. I've recently had similar issue and it turned out to be the cracked siphon under the shower.

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Arp590 OP t1_j5kcaj1 wrote

Thank you. Yeah the plumber had suggested just replacing the door with a curtain & that it would keep water in better, I was a bit confused by that suggestion.

Thanks I will clean the door & reseal properly as you've suggested.

As far as the potential drain issue- when I look from behind where the drywall was opened up I can see where the water stains begin & it starts at the height of the top of the tub & runs down. The plumber didn't see any damage to the subfloor & when I run the faucet versus the showerhead I don't get any leaking. So I'm hoping the drain is probably okay?

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Pinstrip3 t1_j5kjnhk wrote

Wall materials, especially drywall are hygroscopic so the stains may be caused by water from below. Doesn't mean you have leaking siphon, just there is such a possibility. Doesn't hurt to check though

Judging by the photos You have issues with cracked/shrunk silicone and I'd bet on it being the main problem.

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pipenho t1_j5m5lqi wrote

Seems like we have the same shower door! I ended up caulking every seam and plugging every space I found before it stopped leaking.

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Arp590 OP t1_j5mqv5z wrote

Did you remove the shower door or just go straight to caulking everywhere? The plumber recaulked around the shower but apparently skipped the door area.

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pipenho t1_j5mxsan wrote

Oh it was an ordeal! We had no idea the shower was leaking until there was mold on the wall. I cut the drywall and it was like clay. The underlayment by the shower was so wet I could break it with my hands. Turns out the water was coming behind the wall. So aftet figuring out where the water was coming from, I sealed everything. I didn't care whether it looked nice or not. If it had an edge or a gap, it got caulked.

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