Rising Damp / Ants / Shower issue?

[halfmoonforever]

So I had some damp on the opposite wall of the shower (in the 2nd bedroom), and decided I would make sure the shower is sealed properly, which I did. I then noticed two bubbles (indicating rising damp) on the walls going into the bathroom, not necessarily attached to the shower directly.

There's an ant problem in the complex I live in (black ants) and I suspect they ate through the grouting pretty easily as I found 2 spots in there that they come through whenever the shower goes unused for a while.

Is it possible the ants somehow ate through the under-flooring below the tiles, so that when the shower leaked water, it seeped in there?

I know that the walls will take about 6 months to a year to fully dry out, but I'm wondering if the issue is actually fixed or not, since the previous owner did say there was a damp issue but that it was fixed. How do you even begin to check something like that?

Thanks for any insights or advice you guys may have

 

[hj007]

Damp and water seepage are a pain. Eventually you just need to scrape down the plaster and have a look. No easy fix and it really is just a messy job of maintenance.

 

[halfmoonforever]

Thanks. I think I'll go buy one of those damp meters as it will be cheaper in the long-run than to get a leak-detector dude out.

I'm 80% sure the issue was in the shower. Just trying to get the walls dry now.

Might try and claim from insurance for them to fix when/if it's dry