Grout is NOT waterproof. Even sealed grout isn't waterproof. Regrouting will do nothing to stop water from getting behind a tile installation. What stops that happening is waterproofing. 20 years ago, showers weren't constructed with waterproofing. Many of them set tile straight onto greenboard, which was supposed to be "water resistant" drywall. Water damage from such an install is a common well known syndrome that anyone in the trades is very well familiar with. It's sadly an all too common occurrence. The showers that were constructed that way will pretty much be a mass of mold and mildew behind that almost pristine looking wall from the slow water leaks penetrating through the grout. If a soaking tub was used, the issue is exacerbated and there's usually more than just the mold and mildew behind the wall. There's usually a semi-active small leak to whatever is below. A waterproof tub shower needs a tub with a tile flange. The install is like installing shingles on a roof. One layer physically overlaps the other, and that's what keeps the water out. A properly constructed waterproof shower doesn't even actually need tile on the surface to keep water out of the wall cavities. The overlapping waterproof layers will do that without the tile. Technology has changed a lot in 20 years. Educate yourself thoroughly on modern methods of creating a water tight tub shower. Your band-aids may work for a short time, but if the inspector is correct, you will need to know how to do the renovation properly. And even if your bandaids work for a short enough time to get the home listed for sale, you are still required to inform any future buyers of the water damage issues. They will want to deduct the cost of the project from any offers that you might receive. Buyers also typically inflate in their minds the costs of the project, so keep that in mind.

We've closed down that bathroom--I think actually it hasn't been used since the 16th, when I took those pics. I'm going to pressure DH to go ask the upstairs neighbor to run her shower for a while (I want to mark the edges of some of the bubbles, so we can compare). A few points people raised-- ⢠shower organizer hanging off the shower head--Our showerhead is on the opposite (non-bubbling) wall. ⢠tub spout--no tub. These are both stall showers. But to speak to the similar issue of moisture going through a uncaulked hole for a pipe--all the pipes are in the opposite wall, I'm certain. ⢠fan / ventilation: there isn't one; there's a window, which usually isn't opened during a shower. We can change that. (It's just that we've run showers in there for this long before, often, and this is a pretty sudden arrival. And he doesn't shower daily--more like weekly. (I know, I know.) ) â¢I really don't want to change the shower curtain to allow steam to escape around the edges--that's what's keeping The Kid from flooding out the guy downstairs w/ water that gets outside the shower enclosure. ⢠kind of paint: It's a latex made for bathrooms.

You ask a very good question. 1) You mentioned mold. Has this been remediated (bleach)? No wood rot? 2) You want this to dry out really good so we would advise leaving it open. 3) After the new installation, have the standard shower "flood test" done and wait 24-48 hours. If all is good, then have them proceed with the repairs to the ceiling. 4) Warranty? The most important thing you can be doing right now is hiring a qualified contractor to do this work and specifying that all work will comply with TCNA standards. Sorry you are dealing with this. We get too many "leaking into dining room/living room/ basement" calls (not our work). Make sure your contractor knows what he/she is doing and ask how they will be constructing the shower, and document/photograph the stages. Good luck with your project.

3onthetree- Strange...mine is the second post at the top, right after millworkman, and I can still see it sitting there, but I tried a different browser and it's missing! Here it is again: This is a very common problem. The typical reason for this is a bad seal, or no seal/gasket behind the overflow beneath the tub spout. My neighbor had the same problem, and we finally figured out that this was where the water was leaking from. If you take off your overflow cover, you'll probably find that the penetration isn't properly sealed, and water leaks in when you shower. Take a look at this YouTube video: Bathtub leak My neighbor and I installed a repair kit and it fixed the problem: Overflow repair kit