bathroom wall tile cracks
Jung
3 years ago
Looking to get some advice and thoughts on this issue. We recently moved in to a new construction (March 2020) and noticed the bathroom tiles are cracked in the middle of the shower (chest level). Initially it was a hairline crack around the entire shower and as time went on, the crack seems to be bigger.
I know drywall nail pops and cracks can happen since the summer hot days expand the studs and the house settles. But is this normal for the bathroom wall tiles to crack? Same situation is happening with our second bathroom on the same floor. Your thoughts are appreciated!
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millworkman
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Oh NO! Why me? New bathroom wall 'settled' (?) and tile cracked!
Comments (23)I thought you were in MA, not ME. The good news is that if it's the PT that shrank, it's done. The bad news is that if the soil is undergoing expansions and contraction cycles...it's unstable. I don't have a vast amount of experience working in clay, but I had a big bucks job in clay years ago. We actually set up something similar to a drip irrigation system around the perimeter of the foundation. The purpose was that the drip irrigation would keep the clay continually moist so it wouldn't undergo movement cycles as the clay dried and rewet. It'd essentially stay permanently wet and not move. Any excess moisture was removed by foundation perimeter and footing drains. Now, you wrote that the crawl space is sealed up... 1) For clarification, I'm assuming that there is a concrete foundation around the perimeter of this addition? Or is it built on piers? 2) If it's a poured foundation, was a rat slab (thin 2" poured slab) or a full slab poured in the crawl space? Or is the bottom of the subfloor open to soil on the ground? 3) With the clay, did your dad have any engineering analysis done with regards to soil movement or stabilization? As to "what now"...was this a Kerdi shower? Or did it have a topical membrane (HydroBan, RedGard, etc)? I remember your shower but forget the specifics of how it was built. If Kerdi, the cracks are sort of inconsequential when it comes to water penetrating into the walls. The cracks are more cosmetic unless they really open up. I'd get in touch with your installer regarding the details of the walls. Depending on how the walls were detailed/waterproofed might give you a warm fuzzy regarding letting things sit as they are while you see if movement has stabilized versus taking action (caulk the crack, etc) if water penetration may be a concern. I'd mark the ends of the cracks with blue tape and keep an eye to see if the cracks extend or if the movement has stopped or stabilized....See Morecracked bathroom tile with heat mat
Comments (5)if the installer looselayed and nailed the cement board without a thinset base under it, your entire tile installation is incorrect and compromised because he did not give the backerboard a solid base to begin with by electing to looselay it, which is the incorrect method of installing cement backer board. the correct method(s) of installing cement backer board is in a minimum troweled 1/4" bed of thinset mortar UNDER THE BOARDS and nailed or screwed every 6"-8" and within 1-1/2" from all seams, and some manufacturers allow a bed of high strength construction adhesive UNDER THE BOARDS with the same anchors and naiing pattern, so check with the manufactrer for specifics). This gives the tile system a solid foundation to prevent movement and to flatten or level any minor subfloor inconsistencies that may cause movement in the system that can crack or debond tile and/or grout joints. Loose laying and screwing is insufficient and does not provide that solid foundation so it would be prone to movement that can cause cracks, tile pops, debonding, and/or cracking grout joints. The tiles and cement board needs to be gutted down to the bare subfloor, and the cement board anchored properly, or you may have more problems even worse than what you have now. Basically everything needs to be gutted and reinstalled properly or new product purchased and installed properly if they can not be gutted intact and usable. If that isnt feasible for you or your workers, then any repairs may be a waste of time, quite temporary, and plan on revisiting this issue time and time again over the years. Here is some information on CORRECT installation of cement backerboard systems: How to install Cement Backer Board In my opinion, your should demand the contractor with 30+ years experience gut all his tile and backerbaord work, install new the backerboard properly, then the rest of the tile work, PLUS foot the bill for anything that is damaged or uninstallable because of damage during the removal process ... because he did a crappy job and must guarantee his shoddy workmanship. If he refuses, you may have civil recourse becasue his work is improper. as to removing everything unhamed ... good luck ... i dont think its possible because everything is attached and locked in with thinset. If you must try delicate intact removale, jsutt go slow and pry lightly with just enough force to bring it up, but again, its improbable becasue you are talking cured thinset, so i doubt the matting will survive....See MoreHelp! Long horizontal crack in bathroom shower stall wall
Comments (14)If I "ignore" the issue, and just caulk over the crack, what's the worst that could happen? Second worst: Water leaks behind the caulk, destroys the studs behind the tile and the joists in the floor, and you have to rip out the whole shower stall, wall and floor and replace everything. And do mold remediation. Worst: Water leaks in there, destroys the studs behind the tile and the joists in the floor, and you step in the shower one morning and the joists give way and you and the shower stall end up in the basement. No fooling, this happened to a friend ... he caulked around the base of a leaky toilet because he didn't want to have to remove/replace toilet and fix the problem. About a year later he sat on the toilet and ended up in the basement because the joists had rotted. The paramedics were amused....See MoreGrout cracking in bathroom corner walls on 7 month old bathroom
Comments (11)If you have a curb, you will have the cracks develop there, too. and where the walls meet the floor. Anywhere where two different materials meet or where one surface meets another that is in a different direction (known as "change of plane"). My contractor still grouts such places, too. But I did a solid surface shower that he could not do wrong. I am keeping an eye on the place where the floor meets the shower pan, all other places are in dry areas. So there it is just cosmetic. I would guess that water can get behind your tile with those cracks. If properly waterproofed it is fine, but if not, I would get to this as soon as you can. A lot of shower builders do not use waterproofing, even though it is now required. If you do a search on this forum for "Shower waterproof," you can see many discussions about it and learn what is and is not waterproof. (Redguard yes, Durock no, for instance.)...See More
Sammy
3 years agoI‘m guessing the required gap between backer boards, which allows for movement without tile cracking, is nonexistent.
Jung
3 years agoJung
3 years agomillworkman
3 years agolast modified: 3 years ago
PROJoseph Corlett, LLC
3 years ago
PROCreative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago
Nancy in Mich
3 years agoJung
3 years agomillworkman
3 years agoJung
3 years agokudzu9
3 years ago- PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
3 years ago 
PROCharles Ross Homes
3 years agoJung
3 years agoWanted to update folks. They sent a sub contractor to pull the tiles. Here’s what it looks like behind the tiles. They are saying they will fix this row and put a new cement board in this section. My feeling is that this isn’t a permanent fix since now if the house shifts again, I’ll end up with two cracks. Been trying to have a discussion with the builders to get them to gut and redo the entire shower. But seems like they are just doing a bandaid fix vs a real solution. Thoughts?
MongoCT
3 years agokudzu9
3 years agostrategery
3 years ago
cpartist
3 years agoJung
3 years agomainenell
3 years agokudzu9
3 years agoci_lantro
3 years agoJung
3 years agoHappy new year everyone. I know this thread is old but wanted to let everyone know that with many weeks of back and forth and taking everyone’s advice, we were able to get our shower and second bathroom a full gut redo with proper waterproofing! Thank you to everyone who provided great insight and professional advice. Thank you.
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