Category: Shower Installation & Repairs
Why Your Shower Floor Has Standing Water Near the Drain
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor would not click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound because they think the underlayment will hide the dip. It will not. When I walked onto that site, the homeowner was complaining about a floor that felt like…
How to Fix a Leaky Shower Arm Without a Plumber
How to Fix a Leaky Shower Arm Without a Plumber I once walked into a house where the homeowners thought a tiny drip at the shower arm was just a minor nuisance. By the time they called me, that 2 cent leak had saturated the wall cavity and rotted the subfloor so badly the bathroom…
How to Fix a Shower Head That Keeps Dripping
I smell like WD-40 and oak dust most days. Twenty-five years of crawling into crawlspaces and leveling concrete has taught me one thing. Water is a patient killer. You think that rhythmic drip in your shower is just an annoying sound keeping you awake. I see it differently. I see a constant moisture load hitting…
The Reason Your Shower Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs
The chemistry of a sulfurous shower Hydrogen sulfide gas and sulfur bacteria are the primary causes of a rotten egg smell in showers and drains. This anaerobic reaction occurs when organic matter like hair or skin cells decomposes in the P-trap or within porous grout lines. It creates a hydrogen sulfide emission that mimics the…
Why your shower drain is gurgling when the sink runs
I have spent twenty five years on my knees, crawling across damp concrete and checking the level of floor joists. You learn a lot about how a house breathes when you are that close to the ground. My hands are rough from years of mixing thin-set and my lungs have tasted more oak dust than…
How to Fix a Loose Shower Head Without Calling a Plumber
I once spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet because the previous guy ignored a simple dip in the slab. That same level of neglect happens inside shower walls every single day. Most homeowners think a loose shower head is just a minor…
How to Fix a Gap Between the Wall and Your Shower Base
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. The homeowner thought they had a simple cosmetic gap between their shower base and the wall tile. They were wrong. When I pulled back the first layer of sealant, I found a subfloor that was…
Why Your New Shower Floor Is Holding Water in the Corners
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet. Most guys skip the leveling compound. They think the underlayment will hide the dip. It won’t. I have seen it a thousand times where a contractor rushes the shower pan and the homeowner is left…
How to install a sliding glass door on a fiberglass shower
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet, and that same homeowner asked me if I could slap a sliding door onto their fiberglass shower unit while I was at it. I looked at that flimsy wall and knew exactly what was coming.…
How to fix a shower handle that is stuck in the hot position
I spent three days grinding concrete on a job last month just so the floor wouldn’t click like a castanet because the previous installer ignored a simple level check. That same obsession with structural integrity applies to your plumbing. A shower handle stuck in the hot position is not just a nuisance. It is a…