How to Stop a Leaking Shower Without Removing Tiles: What Every Homeowner Should Know

Yes, in most cases you can. The water getting into your ceiling or your skirting boards is usually coming through the grout and silicone on the surface of the shower, not from behind the wall, and that can be put right with every tile left exactly where it is. We have been doing this work across Sydney for more than 26 years, from North Richmond and the Hawkesbury through to the Hills District, the North Shore and Western Sydney.

Here is how the leak gets found, which of the three repairs your shower actually needs, and when it is a job for a different trade.

Can You Fix A Leaking Shower Without Removing Tiles?

Most of the leaking showers we look at are surface seal failures. Cement grout is porous, silicone shrinks and lifts, and normal building movement opens up the joints that take the most water. All three let water past the tile face and into the wall cavity, and all three are fixed from the surface. Regrouting and resealing corrects them without disturbing your tiles or the waterproofing membrane sitting behind them.

There is one situation where the tiles do have to come up. It is covered below.

How We Find A Shower Leak Without Opening The Wall

A shower leak almost never shows up where it starts. A stain on the ceiling below the bathroom can be fed by a grout line two metres away, so the first job is finding the entry point rather than sealing over the top and hoping.

We check the wall to floor junction first, because that is where most showers fail. It takes the most water, it copes with the most building movement, and it is the joint people scrub hardest. From there we work across every grout line and silicone joint, the corners, the recess shelves, and the seals around the tap body, the screen track and the waste. Recesses in newer homes are worth a close look on their own, because that is often the part the original tiler rushed.

Then we tell you what we found. No plaster cut out, no tiles lifted to have a look. If you want to check the signs at your place before you call, we have written those up separately in signs your shower is leaking and what to do next.

The Three Ways To Fix A Leaking Shower Without Removing Tiles

Not every leaking shower needs the same job. Once we know where the water is getting through, the repair falls into one of three.

Full Regrout: When The Shower Grout Itself Has Failed

We grind out the failed cement grout back to the tile edge and replace it with epoxy. This is the repair when the grout is cracked, crumbling, missing in patches, or has gone soft and porous. More on how long that lasts in how long shower regrouting actually lasts.

Reseal: When The Shower Silicone Has Given Up

Here the grout is still sound but the seals have gone. We strip and replace the silicone at the corners, the wall to floor junction and around the fixtures. It is a smaller job than a full regrout, and plenty of showers need nothing more than this.

Silicone Replacement Only: The Smallest Shower Seal Repair

Mouldy, lifting or shrunken silicone with no grout failure behind it. Smaller job again, and if that is all your shower needs we will say so rather than talk you into a regrout. A single cracked tile in the field gets repaired as part of whichever job you book. A full retile is not our work. We are not tilers.

Why Epoxy Grout Keeps A Regrouted Shower Watertight

Standard cement grout absorbs water. That is why it darkens, why mould keeps coming back in the same joints no matter how hard you scrub, and why it eventually breaks down and lets water through. Epoxy grout does not absorb moisture, it resists mould and staining, and it flexes with normal building movement instead of cracking away from the tile.

Andreas is Ardex Academy accredited and we use Ardex EG15 epoxy on shower work. It is slower to install properly than cement grout. It is also why we are comfortable putting a 10 year warranty on the grout. If you want the full comparison, it is here: epoxy grout versus cement grout.

When A Leaking Shower Is Not A Regrouting Job

Not every leak is ours to fix, and you should know the difference before you spend anything. Three situations come up regularly.

• A pipe or waste leak. If the shower has been dry for days and the damage is still spreading, that points at plumbing. A licensed plumber is the right person for that and we will tell you to call one. We work alongside plumbers, we do not do plumbing.
• A failed waterproofing membrane. The membrane sits behind the tiles. If it has gone, the tiles have to come up, and that is work for a licensed waterproofer and tiler under AS 3740 rather than a surface repair. Andreas holds NSW Fair Trading contractor licence 89111C, which covers waterproofing, minor maintenance and bath and shower resealing, so he can tell you on the day when the membrane is the problem. Membrane work still is not a job we take on, because it needs the tiles off and a clean slate.
• Building movement. If the structure is shifting enough to keep opening the same joint season after season, resealing is a short term answer. You should hear that before you book, not six months afterwards.

We would rather tell you on the day than take the job and have you ringing us back.

Licensed, Accredited And 26 Years Of Leaking Shower Repairs

Leaking Showers Sealed has been repairing leaking showers in Sydney for more than 26 years, and the work is done under NSW Fair Trading contractor licence 89111C. You can check that number yourself on the NSW Fair Trading public register before you let anyone into the house. We are licensed and insured and Ardex Academy accredited, and the Google reviews on the listing will tell you more about the work than we will.

The full scope of what that covers is set out on our leaking shower repairs page, and the regrouting side is on the shower regrouting page.

What A Fixed On-Site Quote For A Leaking Shower Includes

We come out, look at the shower, tell you what we found and give you a fixed quote on the spot. Nothing starts before you have that number. The on-site quote is free and there are no hidden extras added afterwards.

A standard residential shower is generally a one day job, and you can use it again 24 hours later. Tile and grout cleaning is included, so the shower looks fresh when we are done rather than clean in the joints and grubby everywhere else. The finished work is backed in writing with a 10 year grout warranty and a 5 year workmanship guarantee.

Where We Fix Leaking Showers Across Sydney

We work out of North Richmond and cover the Hawkesbury, the Hills District, the North Shore and Western Sydney. We do real estate and rental work too. A regrout and reseal before a sale, or between tenants, turns a tired shower around without the bathroom being out of action for weeks.

Not sure whether your suburb is in? Ring 1300 815 512 and ask. If we cannot get to you, we will say so on the phone.

Leaking Shower Repairs Without Removing Tiles: Frequently Asked Questions

Can every leaking shower be fixed without removing tiles?
No, but most can. If the water is getting through failed grout, cracked silicone or joints opened by building movement, a regrout and reseal fixes it with the tiles left in place. If the waterproofing membrane behind the tiles has failed, the tiles have to come up and that is a job for a licensed waterproofer and tiler. We will tell you which one you have when we inspect it.

How long does it take to fix a leaking shower without removing tiles?
A standard residential shower is generally a one day job, and you can use it again 24 hours later. How long yours takes depends on the size of the shower and how much grout has to come out, so we give you the timeframe with the fixed quote, before any work starts rather than after.

How do you find a shower leak without opening the wall?
We start at the wall to floor junction, because that is where most showers fail, then work across every grout line and silicone joint, the corners, the recess shelves and the seals around the tap body, screen track and waste. The entry point is nearly always on the surface, so no plaster gets cut and no tiles get lifted to find it.

Is there a warranty on shower regrouting and resealing?
Yes. Our shower work carries a 10 year grout warranty and a 5 year workmanship guarantee, both in writing. The grout warranty is why we use Ardex EG15 epoxy rather than cement grout, since epoxy does not absorb moisture and does not break down in the joint the way cement grout does.

What happens if my leaking shower turns out to be a plumbing problem?
We tell you, and we tell you to call a licensed plumber. If the shower has been dry for days and the damage is still spreading, that is a pipe or waste leak rather than a surface seal failure. We do not do plumbing work and we do not quote on it. We work alongside plumbers, and we would rather send you to the right trade than sell you a regrout that will not fix it.

Andreas Jagle owns Leaking Showers Sealed and has been repairing leaking showers in Sydney for more than 26 years. NSW Fair Trading contractor licence 89111C. Ardex Academy accredited. Servicing North Richmond and the Hawkesbury, the Hills District, the North Shore and Western Sydney. Call 1300 815 512.