Bathroom with water damage

McReidy · Oct 03, 2007 2:00 pm

The house we bought had a 'home reno' job done on the bathroom a couple of years before we moved in.. Looking at it, it seems like not too bad a job.. However.... The tiling in the shower recess is terrible - all the grout is coming away and water was getting into the walls..

The whole house is polished floorboards except for the hallway which has carpet (the bathroom backs onto the hallway).. There was obvious damage to the wall where it had been covered up and after pulling up the carpet discovered water stains on the floorboards..

We spoke to the previous owners who told us that there had previously been water damage but it had been repaired (just didnt bother repairing the floorboards.

Basically we want to retile the bathroom, but don't know about the water damage side of things - obviously this needs to be looked into first before tiling..

So, after such a long post, my question is - who would we use to tell us if it is ok to tile - a plumber, tiler, builder etc??

The last thing we want is to renovate a bathroom only to have to pull it apart due to damage...

_Al_ · Oct 04, 2007 12:25 pm

Once you have tiles off you can probably see any damage yourself.

And depending on how far you are going to renovate will determine if you strip the walls of plaster or whatever lining there is to look at damage to the studs. Long term water will kill them, one off leak they should be ok.

Can you get underneath the house to look at around the base of the shower?

Worst case, bottom of the studs will be rotted and you'll need to replace them (or perhaps just the bottom) The bottom plate may also need part replacing.

Best case, reseal the wall with water proofing stuff and tile away happily.
Use silicone in the corners and around the base/tile edge to allow for any movement.

Have fun