My tenant called about the water leaking into her kitchen. This is the 3rd time I have attempted to fix it – not much to be brag about. The first time, a plumber (introduced by the tenant) figured it’s a leaky shower door. So he silicone-sealed the the shower door and called it done. The second time, the handy man figured it must be the leaky drainage. Se he silicone-sealed the the drainage pipe area and recommended that shower pan be replaced. Each incremental fix seemed to have done some good. At least it kept the tenant quiet for a month or so. Then yesterday the tenant called and complained that it’s leaking again. This time it’s really “pouring.” So I figured I will probably need to spend some money to replace the shower altogether. This morning, I went to Lowe’s and found the choices of 32″x32″ shower pan/kit to be quite limited. The integrated wall/pan kit is economical (~$300) but it’s too wide and would not fit the narrow door, according to the sales guy. The kits that separate the wall and shower pan and doors are expensive. They would probably add up to over $600 easily. Mmmm… That’s a bit more than I’m willing to pay. So I kept on shopping online. The on-line deal is not as economical as Home Depot or Lowe’s because the transportation costs can go as high as $100 due to the bulkiness of the product.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought I needed a second opinion. So I called up this plumber from the Craig’s List. Yes, I have had reasonable good experience with the trade/service people I found on Craig’s List. You just have to be a bit selective on how “professional” they sound in their ads. I would avoid the desperate “cheap” and “do-them-all” type of people. She asked a few questions and said she needs to diagnose the problem in person.

Fours hours later, this good looking woman with a great figure showed up in front of my apartment. I never saw a woman plumber before and was at awe. My tenant, a woman painter, was excited to see a woman plumber too. The plumber checked a few things and listened for the “quiet” dripping. She hypothesized that the shower pan is leaking water (not from the faucet) as she saw the discoloration of the wall around the shower. So she touched around the shower wall area. Sure enough, the caulk/seal was not even forming a good seal between the shower wall and the shower pan. The wall was flapping and moving. She then determined that it’s the source of the leak. She prescribed that I “go crazy” with the GE Silicone II Clear around all the joints where leaks may occur. I thanked her and asked what kind of plumbing work she usually does and if she has “others” (implying men) working with her. She said she has a crew of 3 and she’s been too busy already trying to keep all 3 employed. She left without asking for a dime.

It just happened that I have a tube of GE Clear Silicone in my car, I immediately followed her direction and went crazy with the Silicone and sealed every possible gaps I can find in the shower.

I will report back if this fixed the problem. Stay tuned….