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Any plumbers/tile experts on ATOT?

M

ManBearPig

Diamond Member
Well, what i thought would be a simple remove caulk and reapply correct caulk job (because the moron who applied it last time used the totally wrong kind) became a disaster. the soap dish, which wasnt properly adhesed (is this even a word) to the wall behind it, fell off.

No problem, buy quickrete and follow directions and reapply. Ok. Well, since there is no moisture remover fan and the caulk allowed water to seep in, the drywall behind it is so moist and molded it has turned brown and falls apart on touch. it doesnt even look like drywall anymore.

What can i do short of removing all the tiles and re-adding drywall? its a small 5inchx6inch rectangle.

pleaseeeeee help me, thanks so much
 
I am by no means an expert at this stuff, but I have patched holes in walls using paint stirring sticks.

I went to the home center and grabbed about ten sticks at the paint counter. I applied liquid nails onto the ends and inserted them up and into the hole. I then aligned them into a flat grid to provide a firm base. After they dried, I put a small piece of drywall on top with liquid nails and finished the surface.

I would suggest using blueboard or cement board since you're in the tub area. If there is a tile expert out there that has a better idea... let's hear it.
 
good ideas guys, thanks.

you think i could just try to bleach the wall and then let it dry, and then just apply quickrete to the portion that is left, and just caulk around the soap dish really well?
 
Originally posted by: Kazaam
good ideas guys, thanks.

you think i could just try to bleach the wall and then let it dry, and then just apply quickrete to the portion that is left, and just caulk around the soap dish really well?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't, personally, but it seems to me, worst case scenario is you lose the soapdish and you're back to square one...with possibly more water dmg...depending on the quikrete.
 
The drywall has been water damaged, and the damage almost certainly goes beyond what you can see. There are a couple ways of doing a quick fix, but the underlaying problem will remain, and may get worse. Tile over green board (the drywall you see) is the poorest method of tiling a shower there is, I can't understand why it's even allowed anymore.

Go around the base of the shower and press your knee against the tile, put some pressure on it and see if it moves at all. If there is any "give" you probably need a new shower. If not, you might be able to get away with a repair. No matter what, I'd plan on replacing the shower soon.
 
I would suggest removing a couple more tiles to check your drywall and the wood framing behind that. Wouldn't want a nasty water problem to bite you later down the road.
 

1. Check to see if the soap dish is the water culprit, or it could be a leaky shower spout/valves/water line.

2. Rent a diagnostic snake camera to take a look behind the wall, or cut a hole that is large enough to view the damage area (cut access hole from the back side of the shower if possible).

3. Clean damage area with bleach, and replace/repair damage drywall (greenboard, or cement board).
 
Is this area that you are talking about in the tub/shower area? There should be either durock or hardibacker board behind the tile. Then your GREEN drywall. Not the regular drywall that goes to the rest of the house.
 
Originally posted by: Kaspian
Is this area that you are talking about in the tub/shower area? There should be either durock or hardibacker board behind the tile. Then your GREEN drywall. Not the regular drywall that goes to the rest of the house.
Click to expand...

If you mean the greenboard should be applied on top of the durarock, ah, no. Even green board will detiorate. Like others have said, now days hardi or durarock is the best substrate for tile. It should be the only substrate allowed by code.

OP, usually you can pop the tile off with a putty knife or a scarper. Pop off the tile around the bottom of the wall, go high enough that you are back into solid sheetrock. You can then cut out the bad rock and replace it with hardi or dura and then reapply the tile. You keep talking about quickrete and if you are talking about a masonary product like I think you are, thats not the riight stuff. Tile is applied with thinset, buy premix.

Glue the tile back onto the wall and then regrout with an unsanded grout. Either the grout joints failed or the plumbing has a leak. The grout needs to be sealed to prevent mildew approx. 48 hrs after the grout is applied.

Lot more work then you wanted but it really the only way to fix it where you dont have the same problem again.
 
Originally posted by: bctbct
Originally posted by: Kaspian
Is this area that you are talking about in the tub/shower area? There should be either durock or hardibacker board behind the tile. Then your GREEN drywall. Not the regular drywall that goes to the rest of the house.
Click to expand...

If you mean the greenboard should be applied on top of the durarock, ah, no. Even green board will detiorate. Like others have said, now days hardi or durarock is the best substrate for tile. It should be the only substrate allowed by code.

OP, usually you can pop the tile off with a putty knife or a scarper. Pop off the tile around the bottom of the wall, go high enough that you are back into solid sheetrock. You can then cut out the bad rock and replace it with hardi or dura and then reapply the tile. You keep talking about quickrete and if you are talking about a masonary product like I think you are, thats not the riight stuff. Tile is applied with thinset, buy premix.

Glue the tile back onto the wall and then regrout with an unsanded grout. Either the grout joints failed or the plumbing has a leak. The grout needs to be sealed to prevent mildew approx. 48 hrs after the grout is applied.

Lot more work then you wanted but it really the only way to fix it where you dont have the same problem again.
Click to expand...

3/4" mortar is the best tile base for tile there is. Next is wonderboard/hardibacker, then green board with a membrane over it, then just plain old green board. Of them all, green board is the only one will always fail.
 
Originally posted by: Greenman
The drywall has been water damaged, and the damage almost certainly goes beyond what you can see. There are a couple ways of doing a quick fix, but the underlaying problem will remain, and may get worse. Tile over green board (the drywall you see) is the poorest method of tiling a shower there is, I can't understand why it's even allowed anymore.

Go around the base of the shower and press your knee against the tile, put some pressure on it and see if it moves at all. If there is any "give" you probably need a new shower. If not, you might be able to get away with a repair. No matter what, I'd plan on replacing the shower soon.
Click to expand...

Actually over regular drywall would be worse.

How do you suggest they do shower enclosures cost effectively for the average home?

As long as you have sealed the tile properly you should not have any problems. Most homes are using this method.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
How do you suggest they do shower enclosures cost effectively for the average home?
Click to expand...
Just use cement board. It doesn't cost much more and it isn't THAT much more labor.

 
Can you take a picture please? That would help a whole lot more to tell you exactly the right steps and how far to go.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
Originally posted by: Greenman
The drywall has been water damaged, and the damage almost certainly goes beyond what you can see. There are a couple ways of doing a quick fix, but the underlaying problem will remain, and may get worse. Tile over green board (the drywall you see) is the poorest method of tiling a shower there is, I can't understand why it's even allowed anymore.

Go around the base of the shower and press your knee against the tile, put some pressure on it and see if it moves at all. If there is any "give" you probably need a new shower. If not, you might be able to get away with a repair. No matter what, I'd plan on replacing the shower soon.
Click to expand...

Actually over regular drywall would be worse.

How do you suggest they do shower enclosures cost effectively for the average home?

As long as you have sealed the tile properly you should not have any problems. Most homes are using this method.
Click to expand...

Code doesn't allow plain drywall to be used in a shower, so it doesn't apply. In housing tracts where they install tile over green board, they know that 1 in 5 will fail in the first year. They always fail sooner or later, the design of the wet wall system is such that moisture will always be trapped in the green board, and wet green board always fails.

There is no excuse to use green board anymore, it's a system that at it's very best is poor, and the savings of green board over cement board will be less than 5% of the cost of the shower, it's a no brainer.
 
Originally posted by: Greenman
Code doesn't allow plain drywall to be used in a shower, so it doesn't apply. In housing tracts where they install tile over green board, they know that 1 in 5 will fail in the first year. They always fail sooner or later, the design of the wet wall system is such that moisture will always be trapped in the green board, and wet green board always fails.

There is no excuse to use green board anymore, it's a system that at it's very best is poor, and the savings of green board over cement board will be less than 5% of the cost of the shower, it's a no brainer.
Click to expand...

I am not debating that greenboard is inferior, but if you seal properly which IMHO includes a moisture barrier it's has stood up for many homes just fine.

a 5% cost could be significant especially when other options are considered. I thought the cost difference with the labor included was more than that though.

 
Originally posted by: bctbct
Originally posted by: Kaspian
Is this area that you are talking about in the tub/shower area? There should be either durock or hardibacker board behind the tile. Then your GREEN drywall. Not the regular drywall that goes to the rest of the house.
Click to expand...

If you mean the greenboard should be applied on top of the durarock, ah, no. Even green board will detiorate. Like others have said, now days hardi or durarock is the best substrate for tile. It should be the only substrate allowed by code.

.
Click to expand...

You missed understood my post.

 
Originally posted by: Kazaam
maybe its not plain drywall...it looks light brown. i dont know though.
Click to expand...

That's green board, and is an approved method of setting tile, it just doesn't work very well.
 
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