Just bought a house, and during the inspector noted in his report that the "shower step" (the door frame on which glass door rail sits) has a slope the wrong direction, causing water to accumulate against the rail, and probably infiltrating in the "step".
He said that if underneath it's concrete straight (it's in the basement) there is no cause to worry, and that I could probably just redo the silicon. When he inspected, he measured the humidity on the outside of the shower step, and it was at 100%. (using a General Tools & Instruments MMD5NP Pinless LCD Moisture Meter or somethign that looked like that.)
What I was planing on doing is:
- Buy such an instrument.
- Measure the humidity as a benchmark.
- Redo the silicon
- Wait a few weeks
- Measure again and compare.
If the humidity stays the same, consult someone to help me with fixing the step, if the humidity drops, leave it like that and keep an eye on it.
My question is: Is that course of action viable, or I'm just wasting time and money?
Best Answer
Water penetration is usually destructive, such that damage is detectable without fancy instruments. The tile grout on the outside of the curb would show signs of being wet and/or you might see efflorescence from evaporating moisture. As well as loose tiles, wet floor, etc.
If the shower curb is indeed sloped towards the outside of the enclosure then it was not designed correctly, which is a concern. Put a level on it. In the end, if it's been like that for some time and there are no signs of damage, it may not be something to worry too much about. The detector is not the "be all end all", a few years back inspectors did not even use them.