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mikjenna

Tile Disaster Help

4 years ago

Hopefully there is someone that can help or someone that has seen this before. We had a full bathroom renovation completed June 2021. It did not go well, which is another story. The tile we had installed in the shower is now cracking in spots and when it gets wet it has black webbing throughout. The contractor says they’ll replace only the cracked tile and seal the rest. I’m concerned that the cracking will just continue since it has already spread. Can anyone tell me if they’ve seen this before and what it could be caused by? Thank you n advance!

Comments (13)

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    Improper substrate preparation. I'd wait another year and have all the cracked ones replaced simultaneously. Maybe it'll self-destruct by then.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    Any photos during construction? Any ideas what is behind the tile?

  • 4 years ago

    I have a few photos.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    With your initials and the photos now I think this may be a joke post. The prep can't actually be that bad. If this is in fact a real post with that prep it is 100% a complete tear out, and do it now before your house gets further damaged.

  • 4 years ago

    Not a joke post. Can you tell me what you mean by that?

  • 4 years ago

    I took the pictures because I thought it looked odd, but I’m not trained.

  • PRO
    4 years ago

    You have no waterproofing and the shower is structurally unsound. The only solution is to gut and rebuild with a different contractor.

  • 4 years ago

    Not our only option since it’s still under warranty.

  • 4 years ago

    "Not our only option since it’s still under warranty."


    Actually it really is the only option as what is there cannot be fixed.

  • 4 years ago

    You're going to have water penetration through those unsealed joints under the tile that will rot the framing (no grout is waterproof). I was also going to say that you can't simply replace individual tiles without compromising the integrity of the waterproofing, but it appears from your photos that the waterproofing was incompetently done, so that probably can't get any worse. Sorry to be negative, but that's a disaster and needs to be completely re-done.

  • 4 years ago

    Thanks for your input. We’re going to have to fight to have it torn out.

  • 4 years ago

    No, we’re not. We’re just going to have to fight to have them pay for it. It’s a giant mess and now that I know more about it, I’m shocked that a company would even do this. It was an expensive renovation and we trusted them. It’s sad.