shower leak....something bad going on

bjrog1

I have 7 year old self build house and ive had problems with leaky
Showers for ages now. Initially I thought it was bad plumbing on the drainpipes from showers but we exposed these pipes and they are ok.

Then I started to suspect dodgy tiling on showers was done so we got the last row of tiles at base of showet removed and packed and sealed with silcon etc.that seemed to keep the leaks at bay for a couple of years.

We have got one fairly bad leak back at present. its definitely not waste pipe or seal. Happens when water runs on wall of shower /around edge of shower.

I notice there are cracks in the grout on the wall of the shower ? I understood there should b a waterproof guard behind the tiles/grout anyway so even if water got.through cracks.in grout it still shouldnt seep down into ceiling below. Grout is not waterproof I thought.its the barrier behind that should protect from leaks?

Im worried now the tiler did a shoddy job on the tiling as the finish was awful
Maybe he didn use waterproof layer behind.d tiles and this is why im having leaks?
Any advice greatly appreciated

Simply regrouting/sealing wont fix the problem?
Is it costly to rip out shower tiles and put a waterprrof layer in and retile?

Sleeper12

Grout is waterproof.
There is no waterproof barrier behind tiles.
The grout between the tiles needs replacing.

agusta

bjrog1 wrote: »

I have 7 year old self build house and ive had problems with leaky
Showers for ages now. Initially I thought it was bad plumbing on the drainpipes from showers but we exposed these pipes and they are ok.

Then I started to suspect dodgy tiling on showers was done so we got the last row of tiles at base of showet removed and packed and sealed with silcon etc.that seemed to keep the leaks at bay for a couple of years.

We have got one fairly bad leak back at present. its definitely not waste pipe or seal. Happens when water runs on wall of shower /around edge of shower.

I notice there are cracks in the grout on the wall of the shower ? I understood there should b a waterproof guard behind the tiles/grout anyway so even if water got.through cracks.in grout it still shouldnt seep down into ceiling below. Grout is not waterproof I thought.its the barrier behind that should protect from leaks?

Im worried now the tiler did a shoddy job on the tiling as the finish was awful
Maybe he didn use waterproof layer behind.d tiles and this is why im having leaks?
Any advice greatly appreciated

Simply regrouting/sealing wont fix the problem?
Is it costly to rip out shower tiles and put a waterprrof layer in and retile?

Grout is not waterproof,its water resistant,There is a difference.
The difference is really only with a power shower hitting the one spot on the wall continous.in this case water can penetrate the grout minutely.
Grout missing between tiles is usually a symptom of loose tiles.you can check this by knocking you hand on the tiles,if they sound hollow they are loose.
If your only missing grout on the corner where two walls join its because of movement from only wall to another.In this case a bead of tec 7 will sort this.

A tanking kit membrane is installed as a preventive measure to prevent water damage to the walls and ceiling downstairs in the event of a leak through the tiles.The tanking kit is not designed to keep water in the shower,that is the tiles job
In your case either the tiles are loose [hollow sound] or the grout is missing where the two walls meet due to movement

agusta

bjrog1 wrote: »

I have 7 year old self build house and ive had problems with leaky
Showers for ages now. Initially I thought it was bad plumbing on the drainpipes from showers but we exposed these pipes and they are ok.

Then I started to suspect dodgy tiling on showers was done so we got the last row of tiles at base of showet removed and packed and sealed with silcon etc.that seemed to keep the leaks at bay for a couple of years.

We have got one fairly bad leak back at present. its definitely not waste pipe or seal. Happens when water runs on wall of shower /around edge of shower.

I notice there are cracks in the grout on the wall of the shower ? I understood there should b a waterproof guard behind the tiles/grout anyway so even if water got.through cracks.in grout it still shouldnt seep down into ceiling below. Grout is not waterproof I thought.its the barrier behind that should protect from leaks?

Im worried now the tiler did a shoddy job on the tiling as the finish was awful
Maybe he didn use waterproof layer behind.d tiles and this is why im having leaks?
Any advice greatly appreciated

Simply regrouting/sealing wont fix the problem?
Is it costly to rip out shower tiles and put a waterprrof layer in and retile?

No, he didnt use the waterproof tanking layer.why,it cost 70/80 euro!
Regrouting,resealing will fix the problem short term but not longterm

bjrog1

Thanks guys for advice.

We have regrouted and sealed and this seems to have fixed the problem for now. There doesn't appear to be any to be any "hollow" sound from the tiles.

but agusta,are you saying i should eally consider stripping d tiles from the shower and installing the waterproof membrane? Is it risky business just patching up with reseal and Regrout?

agusta

bjrog1 wrote: »

Thanks guys for advice.

We have regrouted and sealed and this seems to have fixed the problem for now. There doesn't appear to be any to be any "hollow" sound from the tiles.

but agusta,are you saying i should eally consider stripping d tiles from the shower and installing the waterproof membrane? Is it risky business just patching up with reseal and Regrout?

Not really,The waterproof membrane is not the most essential part.its mainly a preventive measure to stop water damage when water gets inside the tiles.Except in the case of a power shower where water in theory can penetrate the grout very minutely if water is directed at the same spot continously.
If you were to remove tiles,put tanking kit on,buy 2 to 3 yards tiles etc it would cost 300euro approx to redo.so the first think you would do is regrout provided all the tiles are bonded 100 percent.

So in your case its about ensuring no water gets inside the tiles.This is always the case whether there is a waterproof membrane behind the tiles or not

agusta

So im thinking how did gaps appear in the grout..
a/It normally happens when tiles are hollow or not bonded fully
b/poor quality grout and the water is eroding the grout
c/movement in a stud wall,rare
The best quality grout is " BAL GROUT"

bjrog1

Thanks agusta...I think gaps appeared maybe as a combination of a) and b) suggestions. The finish in the tiling was shoddy.it was during the boom so the guy I got was in an out..he was the only one I.could get at the time. So judging by his workmanship maybe some of the tiles aren't bonded correctly and I'm sure he used cheap as possible grout. Quite a bit of grout cracking in all d bathroom areas. Wud natural setting of d house cause studs to move a bit also?

I'm ultra paranoid about these leaks now
PS they are power showers

agusta

bjrog1 wrote: »

Thanks agusta...I think gaps appeared maybe as a combination of a) and b) suggestions. The finish in the tiling was shoddy.it was during the boom so the guy I got was in an out..he was the only one I.could get at the time. So judging by his workmanship maybe some of the tiles aren't bonded correctly and I'm sure he used cheap as possible grout. Quite a bit of grout cracking in all d bathroom areas. Wud natural setting of d house cause studs to move a bit also?

I'm ultra paranoid about these leaks now
PS they are power showers

The natural tendency is for studwork to shrink a little.but really just in the first 18 months.It doesnt normally cause the grout cracking,it would normally crack the tiles or cause a gap to appear where two walls meet.
if walls were not primed or a ready mixed bucket adhesive was used it could cause a bonding issue

bjrog1

Yeh they were skim coated with plaster as far as I can remember

agusta

bjrog1 wrote: »

Yeh they were skim coated with plaster as far as I can remember

its not the most ideal surface to tile onto,cement based adhesive reacts with it.they have to be primed with "bal apd primer" or a similar product before tiling.its just a possibility the walls may not have being primed.
you would only know by taking off a tile and seeing how good the bond between tile and wall is