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Author:
JaneJane (MS)
Hi! I am desperate! I have found water coming from the baseboard in my hall. The wall has a shower on the other side. Its cold water and it seems to be steady even without using the shower. There is no easy access and I have wall paper on that wall that is no longer made. I was wondering if there is anything I can try before cutting into the wall. My husband (it's his bathroom) says the shower head used to drip, but that it stopped recently. The bathroom is an odd build and I can't replace it easily without tearing out many walls. Its a fiberglass surround in a tight fitting bathroom. Any suggestions? My husband just had brain surgery and funding is tight, so looks like I will be solo on this one. I am pretty good with repairs, but can't see where this is coming from. Ugh! Any help greatly appreciated!!!
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Author:
North Carolina Plumber (NC)
First thing to do is remove the handle on the shower faucet, then the trim screw and trim plate. You can then shine a bright flashlight back onto the actual valve body. You very well may be able to see where the leak is coming from. If not then I would suspect a pinhole in the piping as it passes thru the walls bottom plate.
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
Is there a basement or crawl space under this part of the home where you or someone can look upward to see the plumbing pipes? If so that might give you a better idea what is going on and how best to fix it. If you figure out it will be a big job to repair and will take some time to get done you could have someone install a shutoff valve in the water pipe going to that shower and cut off the water supply to it for the time being, that will stop the leakage and further damage.
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Author:
JaneJane (MS)
That's a great idea! I also found out that a friend has some sort of scope that I might be able to use and another tool that views water behind walls??? Wow- you plumbers are high tech! Many thanks. Hope I can spot the trouble. Will try your suggestion.
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Author:
JaneJane (MS)
Shut off valve is a great idea! Whoever built this house did a horrible job with such. No access and no shut offs. You should see under the master vanity! Pipes all over the place. Supplies to double sinks and to the outdoor faucets and another one that we can't figure out! If only it went to the shower. lol
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Author:
stuckinlodi (MO)
You can shutoff any valve you want, then see where you don't get water, that way you will see what it controls. You can get some tags with strings, write on the tag what the valve controls, like "bathroom sink", etc and tie it to the valve to organize things. The unknown valve may do what you need.
If you figure out where he leak and you have to cut into the wall with the unavailable wallpaper you could install an access panel when you are done. The panel could be something wooden or metal with a frame around it so it doesn't look too bad. That way you wouldn't have to deal with the wallpaper problem and you'd have a way to get back in the wall in the future if needed.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
PlumberLoren (CA)
You could also consider after cutting the drywall with the wall paper on it, to put a Picture or Poster over the opening after you have reinstalled the drywall. Just another option.
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