A stain on the ceiling directly under the shower
With a crew geared up, escaped pan water follows the joist bay and drops at the first low point it finds, which is rarely under the drain itself.
Source of the water
Texas
Our always-ready team cleans up shower leaks and overflows, including moisture behind tile, beneath flooring, and inside nearby wall cavities.
Signs to look for
With a crew geared up, if you notice any of these problems, call us before water has more time to spread into nearby materials.
With a crew geared up, escaped pan water follows the joist bay and drops at the first low point it finds, which is rarely under the drain itself.
With a crew geared up, water that gets past the pan runs to the edge of the mortar bed and into the subfloor at the threshold.
With a crew geared up, run a knuckle across the shower floor and listen for the tone to change from solid to empty.
Because we answer at any hour, corners and the curb move slightly with the building, so rigid grout there cracks and reopens.
So mobilization stays on track, a shower curb is waterproofed over the top and down both faces, and its two ends are where that wrap is hardest to finish.
Because we answer at any hour, a shower curb is built to shed water back inward, and a door sweep or threshold seal keeps the rest in.
What happens
Our always-ready team adjusts the work to what got wet, how far the water traveled, and which materials can be saved.
For an always-ready response, before we look at the pan we rule out the toilet, the sink and the supply lines feeding the shower.
For an always-ready response, the drain is plugged and the pan is filled to just below the curb, then watched over a set period.
Because we answer at any hour, if the pan holds, water is directed at the curb, the corners, the door sweep and the valve trim in turn.
So mobilization stays on track, a traditional pan drains twice: once through the visible drain and once through weep holes at the base of the drain body.
So mobilization stays on track, a moisture meter reads the framing, subfloor, wall base and the ceiling underneath, and a thermal imaging camera shows the shape of the wet area.
With a crew geared up, we tap the shower floor and the lower walls and mark what has debonded. For an always-ready response, hollow sounding areas ordinarily come off in the repair anyway.
Talk with a restoration specialist
Describe the source, the impacted rooms, and when you first noticed the damage.
What to expect
Here is how we ordinarily handle shower leak cleanup near Texas.
For an always-ready response, on the call we ask one question first: does the water appear during a shower, or with nothing running.
Your callFor an always-ready response, stop using it and use another bathroom if you have one. With a crew geared up, every additional shower adds water to a structure that is already wet.
+5 minutesFor an always-ready response, if a ceiling is stained or bulging underneath, keep people out from under it and leave the area lit from a doorway.
+10 minutesSo mobilization stays on track, a crew arrives, meters the wet area and sets up a flood test on the pan.
On arrivalFor an always-ready response, we show you where access is needed and why, and we choose the least visible wall wherever the drying allows it.
First hours on siteBecause we answer at any hour, air movers deliver air into the wall cavity and under the flooring rather than across the room.
Day 1So mobilization stays on track, the three places that stay wet longest are the subfloor at the shower threshold, the framing behind the surround, and the ceiling below.
Day 2 to 4Understanding the cost
With a crew geared up, we explain the recommended work and price before you approve the job. With a crew geared up, these examples show what may change the estimate.
| Common situation | What the estimate may include | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Shower leak caught early, drying the floor and wall base only | Nationwide cost range for diagnosis, testing, drying gear and moisture watch where nothing needs removal. | $500 to $1,500 |
| Wet wall cavity drying behind a tub or shower, one bathroom | Nationwide cost range for controlled openings, cavity drying and daily readings behind the surround. | $450 to $1,200 |
| Shower leak that reached the subfloor and the ceiling below | Nationwide cost range covering both rooms, including ceiling material removal, drying and cleaning. | $2,500 to $8,000 |
| Drying priced by affected area, clean water | Nationwide cost range used when the wet area is measured rather than priced as a room. | $3 to $7 per square foot |
| Tile and mortar bed removal, per square foot | Nationwide cost range for removal and disposal of tile with a mortar setting bed. Thinset over backer board sits at the lower end. | $3.00 to $8.00 |
| Shower pan flood test performed on its own | Nationwide cost range when the test is the only service requested. It is normally folded into a full diagnosis site call. | $150 to $400 |
| Shower pan or membrane rebuild by a tile contractor | Nationwide cost range for the rebuild trade, not our work plan. Included so you can see the whole picture. | $1,000 to $4,000 |
How long the shower has been leaking
So mobilization stays on track, a few weeks means wet framing and a drying work plan.
Whether the tile and mortar bed have to come off
Drying can in many cases be done through a small opening in an adjacent wall or from the ceiling below.
Which component actually failed
For an always-ready response, a door sweep or a caulk joint is a cheap fix once it is proven.
Access to the space under the bathroom
A basement or crawl space under the shower lets us dry the subfloor and joist bay from below, which is faster and cheaper.
How much of the room below is involved
Because we answer at any hour, a single stain is a small work plan.
Equipment days in a small closed space
Bathrooms dry well because they are small, but tile and mortar release moisture slowly.
Why timing counts
For an always-ready response, water can keep moving into nearby materials even when the surface looks dry.
With a crew geared up, unlike a burst pipe, this leak is switched on by the household.
With a crew geared up, plywood that goes through repeated wet and dry cycles delaminates in layers.
With a crew geared up, a mortar bed sitting on a failed liner acts like a sponge that never gets to dry.
For an always-ready response, a wall cavity behind a shower is warm, dark and repeatedly rewetted, which is a favorable set of conditions.
Helpful service information
Because we answer at any hour, start with the short explanation. For an always-ready response, open a card if you want a little more detail.
At the bottom sits the preslope, a sloped bed that sends water toward the drain.
A tile shower is a stack of layers, and knowing the stack makes clear every failure. At the bottom sits the preslope, a sloped bed that sends water toward the drain.
For an always-ready response, grout and tile are the wear surface, not the seal, and water passes through both slowly by design.
For an always-ready response, the grout myth costs homeowners more money than any other idea in bathroom repair.
Because we answer at any hour, mortar and tile hold moisture and release it gradually, so the room air can read normal while the setting bed is still saturated.
With a crew geared up, drying a shower leak is different from drying a burst pipe, because the wet material is enclosed and slow.
Help near you
Choose your area below, or call (888) 657-0846 and describe what happened.
You may also need
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Get a Quote: (888) 657-0846Common questions
Because we answer at any hour, timing is the first clue. So mobilization stays on track, if water appears during or shortly after a shower and nothing shows with the water off, the assembly is leaking rather than a pipe.
Because we answer at any hour, no, and this is the most common misunderstanding in shower repair. For an always-ready response, grout is a filler between tiles and it is porous by design.
With a crew geared up, sometimes the leak is at the curb, the door sweep, the valve trim or a corner joint, and those are repaired without touching the floor.
For an always-ready response, the drain is plugged, the pan is filled with water to just below the curb, and the level is marked and watched over a set period.
Because we answer at any hour, a traditional shower drain has small openings at its base that let water sitting on the pan liner escape into the drain.
So mobilization stays on track, check whether it darkens after a shower and fades between them, which points at the shower rather than a pipe.
For an always-ready response, three to five days is typical once the source is stopped and the gear is in. So mobilization stays on track, tile and mortar release moisture slowly, so the setting bed and the framing lag behind the room air.
Talk with a restoration specialist
Describe the source, the impacted rooms, and when you first noticed the damage.
Areas we serve
Our always-ready team gauge homes, businesses, and managed properties throughout Texas and nearby communities.
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