Do you have any pictures of the build in progress? What waterproofing system was used for the walls? Who did the actual plumbing connections? Is the supply also PEX there? What about the drain? With the damaged ceiling torn out, where was the water observed to be originating from?

Some, but I will have to see if my husband has any pictures of that tub mid-way. They did two bathrooms and a kitchen…the bathroom in question was just the shower and the least interesting. But, either way, we aren’t getting anything from this guy - we fired him halfway through (but he had already finished the tub/shower and been paid for it when we let him go).

We had all of the plumbing moved to pex from copper by plumbers who we have been using for years (they re-plumbed our last house without issue and we’ve always been happy with their work). Everything was re-done from soup to nuts - I don’t know much about plumbing but I seem to remember that pex were the incoming lines and outgoing was PVC (so drain was pvc). I can ask my husband if that’s not right though. Whatever the standard code is, is what we had done.

We haven’t torn out the ceiling yet, but I assume that means we should. My husband isn’t concerned with any of this, meanwhile I’m sure that we now have mold up there that will require remediation. Reality is probably somewhere in between, but if I need to open the ceiling, I’ll just do it myself in a little square where the drip is and open it until I can see something. I wish they would teach the basics in high school or college instead of useless humanities. This stuff is just not in my wheelhouse.

A large and really expensive project like that should have the contractor using licensed subs. As well as him being licensed and insured as a GC at the appropriate above 250K project level, not the 10K small minor project level. 2-10M in insurance. Who was his licensed plumber sub that he used? Can you call them and ask them to come and look at the issue after you tear out the ceiling drywall?

If they won’t respond, can you at least verify that he paid them and they wont be putting a lien on your house? Was any of that inspected? What about flood tested, as is required in most locations? Has your trusted plumber been scheduled for a visit, if you can’t get the GC’s plumber sub to respond?

We had a leak in our ceiling under a tub in a previous house. We called a plumber and they were able to fix it . It was something to do with the waste drain. They did not need to tear into the ceiling.

They installed a new tub (that we purchased new at Lowe’s) and re-tiled the second bath shower. Two times now, there has been a leak from the ceiling in our kitchen.

Some, but I will have to see if my husband has any pictures of that tub mid-way. They did two bathrooms and a kitchen…the bathroom in question was just the shower and the least interesting.

Confusing. Which is leaking? Tub or shower?

@Frank - sorry, I’m being confusing. The plumbing was all done by our plumber - we didn’t use use the GC’s plumber or electrician because we already had two teams who have done great work and are actually bonded, insured, don’t sub, etc. If it’s a plumbing problem, they will fix it right up, but everything that’s gone wrong so far has been a GC problem. They did not use Kurdi or a concrete pan under the tub - they used green board on the walls. When someone is in the tub the ceiling kind of creaks…I’m just assuming that this is all tied together, but it may not be.

@ci - it’s a shower with a tub…I don’t know what’s leaking / where the water is coming from. Twice it leaked when someone was showering and once when one of the kids was taking a bath. Not draining during a bath - when they were sitting in the tub actually bathing (no water was overflowing or reaching the safety). It’s not enough to be a major leak that would collapse a ceiling - just enough to make the drywall of the ceiling pucker and a few drops to leak out.

“Not draining during a bath” - I mean the water was leaking during the actual bath, not when the bath was draining.

Hi, Jennifer,

You may have more than one problem. First, greenboard is moisture-resistant drywall. It's fine for drywall surfaces in a bathroom, but it's not a suitable waterproof substrate for tile. The use of greenboard under the tile sets you up for a long term mold/mildew problem. If your tub has a tiled deck, it would need a waterproof substrate, too. Without waterproofing the tile job is a do-over.

Second, if your tub is fiberglass or acrylic, it needs to be installed with a mortar bed to prevent the tub from flexing (and eventually cracking) when filled with water and a bather (or two.) In our market, the tub and mortar bed would have been installed by the plumber--not a general contractor.

If you are able to drill a hole in an adjacent wall you may be able to observe what is happening in the void space under the tub deck with the help of a fiber optic camera.

Leaking during the bath?

Have plumber check drain seal to tub, and plumbing from valve to spout, possibly water test the tub (fill w drain closed for one day)

If no luck there, check the seal between the tub and wall tile.

Water proofing is not typical under a tub as that is the purpose of the tub.