Replacing leaking tiles

[Kmurphy]

Recently had a supporting wall replaced with a beam and a leaky spot has appeared. The enclosed shower is directly above… in the shower are 4 cracked tiles. Do I just get a tiler to replace those tiles, re grout and re silicone or is likely something more dramatic required?

 

[Kmurphy]

FWIW - the tiles are white metro installed over ditra matting. I’ve temp silicones the F out of them

 

[Scally-Ho]

Before doing anything to the floor above the RSJ, make sure that any settlement has finished, or the same could happen again to a retiled shower wall.

 

[Kmurphy]

That makes sense. How do you do that? There are a couple of other cracks in other rooms. They seem to have been stable for over a week

 

[accelerator]

When did the tile cracks appear, before or after you had the structural work done?

 

[Kmurphy]

Honestly don’t know. They either weren’t there or have got worse. We definitely didn’t have a leak until now

 

[accelerator]

If you've siliconed over the cracks in the tiles, then it's not them that's leaking, it's something else. It could be the shower tray, or it could be the waste pipe under the shower.

 

[Kmurphy]

I’ve siliconed the cracks I can see now. Leak is being monitored, but the tiles need to be replaced at least

 

[Kmurphy]

If I run the shower without anyone in (it’s got a big gravity head up top). There’s no leak, so pipework, tray and waste seem good

 

[accelerator]

If I run the shower without anyone in (it’s got a big gravity head up top). There’s no leak, so pipework, tray and waste seem good

The weight of a person could be producing some movement though that makes the leak.

How long did you run it to test? A longer shower could create the leak.

 

[Kmurphy]

Thanks. Never say never, but pretty sure it’s not the pipework at this point. I’m more worried that the membranes have failed and retiling is pointless

 

[simplesteve]

I know it’s not what you want to hear, but that shower frame has to come off so that all the tiles can be replaced. ( and allow the wall to be looked at and dry out properly)
As a tiler, I would never replace ‘ just the tiles at the bottom’ of a shower - you don’t know what you’re tiling onto, or if the problem is solved.
That would also allow that siliconing around the tray to be re-done properly !

 

[Kmurphy]

Nope. I want it sorted. It’s in the corner of a room. You think both walls need to be stripped and potentially the pan replaced? Or just focus on that one wall with cracking tiles?

 

[simplesteve]

I would start with just the one wall. You have to get the tiles off that wall to see what’s happening.