Tile in new house appears to be rusting

6 years ago

We just bought a new house (new build) and there are tiles in the shower that appear to be rusting. It is very odd. The rust marks will vary in color getting lighter at times and darker at other times. The builder thinks it is a stain that can just be cleaned but regular cleaner doesn't work and I don't want to use anything harsh as it would mess up the natural stone. Any thoughts as to what it could be? I feel like it has to be coming from below.

It also appears like the grout in the corners never dries - not sure if this is causing the issue.

Featured Answer

MongoCT

6 years ago

Most common with marble.

Marble can contain iron within the stone.

Marble is porous.

Porous materials can absorb moisture.

Iron plus water can equal iron oxide.

Iron oxide can appear as orange, brown, yellow, etc.

The "rust" can be on the surface, or within the depth of the stone.

Once it indicates, there's really no way to combat it. It's sort of organic in nature, it can indicate, abate, lighten in color, or darken, etc.

It's a combination of the grade of stone used and the structure of the shower, etc.

The grout in the corner never drying can be an indication of too deep a grout joint, or their being a flattening of the slope in the corner, or a negative slope, a "birdbath". An area that hold water versus sheds water.

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Comments (7)

L'Anda Johnson
Original Author
6 years ago
Adding photos
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HU-527663426
6 years ago
Do you have in-progress pictures of the shower build? Such as framing stage, floor and wall waterproofing, and tile installation? Any pictures of the tools, materials, and buckets of products that were on site?
L'Anda Johnson thanked HU-527663426
L'Anda Johnson
Original Author
6 years ago
Unfortunately even though it is a new build we bought after it was almost complete so no in progress photos.
User
6 years ago
Marble rusts. If this gets much worse saturated though, you’ve got bigger issues.
L'Anda Johnson thanked User
L'Anda Johnson
Original Author
6 years ago
mackdolan - could you elaborate on what bigger issues? I am keeping an eye on it. IT started off as one tile. Now it is 6 in different areas of the shower - all along the perimeter.
HU-527663426
6 years ago
Mackdolan is probably referring to the shower construction and waterproofing. Since it’s a new build, contact the builder. Showers need to be completely waterproofed before any tiles are installed. The tile and grout are just the surface parts that you see; they are not waterproof. Ask the builder what materials and methods they used to build and waterproof your shower. If the shower is not waterproofed properly, it will fail and leak. Maybe it’s just rust because marble can rust even when waterproofing is done correctly. But since you don’t know, ask the builder how it was constructed. Don’t take “we’ve never had a call-back” as an answer. Ask for specific brand names of the waterproofing materials, and method of tying the floor into the waterproofing system.