Newly tiled bathroom wall already leaking down into the new kitchen.?

Question

I did all the work myself. It's been 6 monyhs now, and its now leaking down into the kitchen. It seems all the grout around the bottom has gotten soft. I've had nothing but problems ever since.

Answer 1

Hiya Tat,

If you email me a step by step description of your installation process, I could help you find where you may have the problem.  I assume you are referring to the shower.  There are specific steps to take to ensure water/moisture is blocked before the wall cavity and collected into the pan, which must be  properly pitched to a securely connected drain that will allow the water to escape the installation.  You could have a problem with one of these steps or improperly connected/punctured pipes.  Unfortunately, the likely solution for either of the scenarios is to remove and replace.

EDIT:  Sealers do not stop all transmission of water.  It would be the same idea as trying to paint the roof of your home in hopes of keeping out the water rather than overlapping water resistant shingles to manage the flow of water.  Shower construction must correctly utilize a pan and a moisture barrier/waterproofing.  There are lots of bad information out there, but here's a link to a site with good info (nationally accepted standards).

Answer 2

buy a new house

Answer 3

Okay grout don't get soft.  Grout is made to dry like concrete, how is the grout getting soft??????? Something else is wrong if it is leaking, where is the leak coming from??????

Answer 4

It wasn't properly sealed in the beginning. Remove everything loose, replace, regrout, and seal with grout sealer.

Answer 5

What did you use for backing?