bbmuffins_ OP t1_iu59qer wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:25 PM

Reply to comment by tuckedfexas in If i redo the the grout lines in our bathrooms tiles every now and then would it help water leaks? by bbmuffins_

Yes so like it would leak downstairs. Not sure if the guy who redid the flooring and tiles last time didnt do it properly or where the issue is but we're currently redoing the flooring and tiles again but would want to prevent it before it damages the flooring again

tuckedfexas t1_iu5bkbt wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:37 PM

If the grout is intact and the water isn’t pooling on the tile anywhere it’s probably something to do with the drain/plumbing. If you’re tearing it out it shouldn’t be too hard to determine where the problem was. If you can’t find anything obvious I’d probably call someone with professional knowledge to take a look and see if they can identify the issue. It’d be more likely to be a spot where the floor meets the wall than just soaking through the grout unless it’s cracked.

Sevulturus t1_iu5bfcv wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:36 PM

Are you sure it's leaking through the tiles? You would need quite a bit of standing water to get enough to soak through the grout, then into the ceiling of the next room.

Grout itself isn't waterproof though. Neither is the concrete under it

bbmuffins_ OP t1_iu5cbr7 wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:42 PM

I believe so.

We had a bathtub before but had the same issue so then changed it to a big shower (wet room) but had the same issue. Redoing it again but will have a glass door somewhere which will hopefully help isolate the water and direct it down the drain better

Sevulturus t1_iu5i7gw wrote on October 28, 2022 at 6:22 PM

So, I think the first and most important step is to actually identify where the way is coming from. For it to make it through the tile it would take a substantial amount of water sitting on it. You could try laying out some plastic sheets to stop it from getting to the tile and running the shower. Or if you are getting a lot of water on the tile, find a way to keep the water in the shower.

d4m1ty t1_iu5m2hh wrote on October 28, 2022 at 6:48 PM

Please tell me they did a shower pan. You don't normally need one for a tub, but for a new shower, if they didn't do a shower pan, there is your issue.

rpapafox t1_iu5efpy wrote on October 28, 2022 at 5:56 PM

> Yes so like it would leak downstairs.

For it to show up downstairs, there must be a fair amount of water that is not making it into the shower pan.

If you have pools of water on the bathroom floor after you shower, the problem is not with the tiles and grout, but with your not containing the water properly in the first place. If this is the case, the simple solution is to determine the path of the water from the shower area to the floor and block off that path so that no water can escape the shower area.

If there are no signs of water on the flooring itself, then your next check is to make sure that the border between the walls and the shower pan is caulked properly.

Unless there are major portions of grout missing, this should not be an issue.

As others have suggested, if there isn't any visible pooling, it is probably a leak in the plumbling,