Spent 4 hours tracking down a leak that wasn't even a pipe issue

Last month I was working on a bathroom reno in an old house near Portland. The homeowner kept saying they had a slow leak coming from the shower wall. I spent a whole afternoon cutting drywall, checking the copper pipes, and running the water over and over. After 4 hours of nothing showing up, I finally noticed the caulk line around the shower pan was cracked in a spot I couldn't see from standing. Water was sneaking through that tiny gap during showers and running down the back of the tile. A simple bead of new silicone fixed the whole thing in 10 minutes. Has anyone else chased a phantom problem that turned out to be something way more obvious than you thought?

3 comments

3 Comments

wesley1392mo ago

4 hours in and it was just bad caulk the whole time...

evan_dixon672mo ago

Oh man that is the WORST. I spent a whole Saturday ripping out caulk that looked fine until I actually tried to use it and it was all crumbly and useless. Felt like I wasted the whole day on something that should have taken 20 minutes.

margaretrivera6d ago

That caulk thing gets me every time. Last year I had a tenant complain about a wet spot near their front door for weeks. Checked the roof, the siding, the window seals. Nothing. Finally looked closer and it was just old caulk around the door frame letting rain sneak in during storms. 20 dollar tube of silicone and 15 minutes. Felt like an idiot.