Wet kitchen blamed on grout (now with pics)

[Jono11]

Hi all

Not sure if this belongs in the plumbing or tiling section

My mother in law has recently discovered a leak in her kitchen, it has been leaking for months as the bottom of the cabinets are rotten and there is mould behind them.
The insurance company's leak detection expert came round and put gas and dyes in the pipes but could not find any issues and said he did not know what was wrong. He them told the insurance company the most likely cause was the grout in the shower ( the shower is a mini wet room and is on the other side of the kitchen wall).

She if having difficulty getting anyone around to quote to regrout so she has asked me to regrout which I was happy to do until I looked into it and realized it was a bit different to regrouting a kitchen.

My questions are
I always thought that if the wall or floor behind the tiles was damp the tile would fall off or be lose, is this the case (The tiles are all sound, the grout is old but I cannot see any gaps or holes).

The water appears on the kitchen floor even when she has not showered that day, would it take the water that long to travel through the wall and pool on the floor if it was a grout issue.

Thanks
Jono

 

[nortonj]

Pictures needed.
Could be the seal where the wall meets the floor.
Leak detection expert? Was he a plumber? Try get a plumber out to look at the job.

 

[Jono11]

She had a plumber out initially. He did not know what the problem was and would need to rip out the kitchen cabinets to progress. He was not too keen though as they probably would not go back and the issue could be elsewhere.
He did not think it was the shower.

 

[REEMS]

Which wall is the shower valve on could it be a shower feed pipe in the wall, or waste pipe leak, need pictures really always better with something to look at.
Andy.

 

[Jono11]

Shower is on same wall. The mixer tap was fitted in January. The plumber who fitted the shower mixer has been back to find the leak and did not suspect the shower.

Is there a void that pipes run down behind the tiles or do they touch the walls.
Could it leak from an olive on the shower, down the pipe without touching a wall (and so not affect the tiles) and drip down where the pipe bends to go into the kitchen.
Would a leak from the shower install drip down the front of the tiles or down the pipe

 

[REEMS]

I would suspect the pipes to the shower valve do you se what was behind the valve when it was put in does the wall sound hollow, water would run down the pipes to the floor if the tiles and grout look ok i think that's what your problem could be.
Andy.

 

[Jono11]

I have been around again.
When the mains water is on I can see water coming into the gap behind the cabinet from the floor and a drip from the wall above the hole in the wall. This stops when the water is turned off.
The pics show behind the kitchen cabinet where the water is pooling, the hole in the wall, dont know what it is for but I can see some pipes there and a pic of the shower which is on the other side of the wall to the cabinet.
At least I know it is not the grout.

 

[steve32]

You have answered your own question there is a leak on the water main.

 

[REEMS]

Yes as Steve says the pipes in the void don't look to good I would be checking those

 

[slippyr4]

If you can see the water coming out, what class of idiot was your insurance company's "leak detection expert"?

 

[Jono11]

All that kit he used when all he needed was a torch and a cloth. To be fair though I still haven't found the leak.

She is going to get the plumber who installed the shower mixer back to check the installation.
I don't imagine he will find anything wrong with the install but the leak will probably stop shortly after. (I am a bit cynical at the moment after my fascia replacement saga).

Thanks for the tips anyway.
Jono