Leaking shower pipes

[Nickem09]

Evening all,
I have had a leak in my shower, which after an investigation looks like it's may coming from the pipes behind. I decided to cut hole in the drywall behind the pipes to look for issues, however on drilling through 20mm of drywall I came across a secondary wall/insulation directly behind approximately 4 inch thick. Could this be asbestos? Looks dimpled and gray in colour with the consistency of cement. I will try and post pics. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

brease block wall with dot and dab plasterboard

 

[Nickem09]

brease block wall with dot and dab plasterboard

Hopefully this the case, would you recommend my action to create a viewing hatch behind pipes or would it be better to remove tiles from front side? I'm still not 100% sure this is where the leak is coming from, however leak is coming from above trap area and tray looks good. Must be substantial as I lose about half a pint of water in 15 min. I also have a viewing hatch in downstairs celling. I could do to call a pro but money is tight. Also I did take off the exposed shower mixer but cant see anything only the pipes coming through the wall.

 

[Harvest Fields]

As per above matey. Looks like breeze block and dab with plasterboard. What is the view like from the shower side?

Please like this post if you find it helpful.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Hopefully this the case, would you recommend my action to create a viewing hatch behind pipes or would it be better to remove tiles from front side? I'm still not 100% sure this is where the leak is coming from, however leak is coming from above trap area and tray looks good. Must be substantial as I lose about half a pint of water in 15 min. I also have a viewing hatch in downstairs celling. I could do to call a pro but money is tight. Also I did take off the exposed shower mixer but cant see anything only the pipes coming through the wall.

you can do either depends on what you want to put right afterwards

you sure its not coming from the seal against the wall - shower tray?

 

[Harvest Fields]

Or cracked grout around your tiles?

Please like this post if you found it helpful.

 

[Nickem09]

you can do either depends on what you want to put right afterwards

you sure its not coming from the seal against the wall - shower tray?

Dont think so as just put a new bead of plumbers gold around tray. Grout looks fine, I ran the shower just in the tray and it leaked and I'm sure there is no cracks in the tray and I filled it up with a bucket without leaks. Here is the view from underneath. The shower type is a Bristan exposed type.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

does it leak when theres no water running eg no ones using the shower?

 

[Harvest Fields]

does it leak when theres no water running eg no ones using the shower?

Was about to ask that. 😉 😉

 

[Nickem09]

does it leak when theres no water running eg no ones using the shower?

No doesn't seem to, however I ran it for 15 min this morning and it only started leaking when I turned it off, could be a coincidence that it took this long to soak through, but it got me thinking that the turning it off stressed the pipes slightly, it stopped after a couple of minutes??
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As per above matey. Looks like breeze block and dab with plasterboard. What is the view like from the shower side?

Please like this post if you find it helpful.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

best way to find out put the hose into a bucket and turn it on / off a couple of times if it leaks its the shower if not then its the shower base/tray /maybe waste

 

[Nickem09]

best way to find out put the hose into a bucket and turn it on / off a couple of times if it leaks its the shower if not then its the shower base/tray /maybe waste

Good shout, I will try this tomorrow morning, waste and seals are bone dry.
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Good shout, I will try this tomorrow morning, waste and seals are bone dry.

Run it into a bucket this morning for 30 min and NO leak from pipes, back to square one! I'm now gonna block the plug and fill tray again with water and apply pressure to all areas. Feeling now that I want to just smash the whole thing to smithereens!
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Update:
filled sealed tray from bucket, no leak (applied pressure to tray)
Filled bucket from shower no leak
Ran shower directly into plug, no leak
Ran shower around sealant, no leak
Had shower, turned off, big leak?? Need pro help with this one, anyone give me an idea of cost to fix? I'm in the ip137jb area.