How can I tell if my shower wall has been waterproofed?

[EvilJ]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post and would really appreciate some words of wisdom on my problem.

We moved into our house over 3 years ago and since I can remember we have been having very small puddles appearing on the other side of the shower walls. We didn't install the shower tiling, only a new screen for it.


I'm assuming that our shower seal needs replacing as it's only a line of sealant between the tray and the tile wall. But I also noticed that the bedroom had some black marks growing on it after stripping the wallpaper back in our spare bedroom. Some of the original plaster here has also blown slightly. Also one of our tiles has a crack in the grout, could this have been caused by the wall not being waterproofed?

Is there a way of checking that the tiling has been sealed properly without removing the tiles to find out, or should I just assume that the whole lot has been bodged and re tile the lot?

Many thanks

 

[TheVictorian]

I'd be inclined to redo the lot personally, otherwise you won't ever really know the state of what's behind the tiles (including any timbers).

 

[jrh14]

Hi,
If there are puddles of water and black marks growing you can safely assume that it's time for a new bathroom renovation.
Had the job been done correctly then these problems should never have arisen.
I would recommend that you totally gut the bathroom so you can see the full extent of the problem.
This will allow you to see what the extent of the damage is, rectify it correctly so your money isn't wasted and also to give peace of mind that there isn't mould behind the walls that can potentially cause health problems especially with young kids.
In short re-do the bathroom.