Pebble shower floor fiasco??

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

I moved into a fairly new townhouse in 2021 - the house was built in 2019. its not my first time owning, but it is my first time owning a place with so many issues. Ive never had pebble or stone showers before and didnt realize they needed specific care. i do now…my shower is in horrible condition. it started with a small leak in the kitchen ceiling, which i was able to trace to the master bath shower above it. I finally discovered a small hole in the grout, so i sealed it, and that seemed to be that. until it started happening again. It looks like the grout is pulling away from the stones?? I called the building handy man, recommended by neighbors, and asked if it was something he could fix - regrout maybe? clearly a bad idea….it looked great at first, but now grout keeps chipping away more than ever. AND to top it off, the guy put clear. silicone. around the entire edge…even i know thats a big no no. I spent weeks trying to remove it without damaging rhe tile as it yellowed 😒 i also don’t think he sealed the stones, which I ended up doing about three coats myself. That wasnt even a six months ago and now the floor is looking stained and rough no matter what i clean with.

(pictures are of the shower after i cleaned it, wet)

Now, i dont know what to do. there is still a leak happening, small, but from where i have no idea my best guess is still the shower. I swear the walls look like they are warping too. Is this just completely destroyed now? can I save it, or do i need to re-tile the entire shower now? help??

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Comments (4)

cpartist
2 years ago
If you have a leak from the shower it's because it most likely wasn't waterproofed correctly when it was built. Grout, sealer,and tile etc will not fix that. In fact if a shower is waterproofed correctly, you could shower in it without tile, grout and sealer and have no leaks.

If it is because it wasn't waterproofed correctly the only solution is to redo the whole shower.
Gabrielle Portal
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you! i am not sure if the leak is from a problem with a pipe or if its the shower itself - there are some waterhammer issues in the house as well. aside from the obvious mark of a leak, are there any other ways to know if a shower was or wasn't waterproofed correctly? ive had some bad experiences with home repairs and i want to be more informed.
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chispa
2 years ago
Grout is not waterproof! Your issue is with the way the shower was built and how it was (or wasn't) waterproofed. A properly built shower doesn't need tile or grout to be waterproof, but wouldn't look very pretty.

Here is some information to get you started on how it can be done. Do even more research so you know what to ask a contractor and how to check that the correct methods are being used during construction.

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/project-guides/tiling/waterproofing-tile-showers

There are some other/older methods that can work well, but tend to be region specific, like California, where you can still find companies that specialize in waterproofing with hot tar. Run from any contractor that tells you he does it some other way and hasn't had a problem in his 30 years of work!
ci_lantro
2 years ago
i am not sure if the leak is from a problem with a pipe or if its the shower itself

Drag a garden hose thru a window and into the shower and run water to see if it leaks. Or fill 2-3 large buckets of water from elsewhere in the house and pour into the shower.

Or, if the kitchen ceiling is damaged to the point of needing to replace drywall, go ahead and cut it open and inspect for where the leak is coming from.