# Drywall disintegrating near shower



## A_DAB_will_do (Nov 2, 2015)

The thread title says it all. This started a few months after we moved into the house. Clearly it had been patched and painted by the previous owner just prior to the sale of the house.

My first thought was that a screw holding the shower door frame to the wall was allowing water to penetrate the tile. But the damage has crept up higher than the suspected screw. I can't see an obvious flaw that explains why this drywall is deteriorating. But clearly water is leaving the shower somehow.

The last two photos I use my thumb to indicate where the dry wall feels soft; but still appears sound.

So, what other explanations are there for this? 

Is it time to demo and redo the shower? My first thought is to rip out the shower doors and frame. Then look for cracked tiles holes or another obvious path for water to leave the shower enclosure. We dislike the shower doors that are there now. But I fear uncovering damage that will require that I demo the whole shower.

Some of the tile grout is eroded away from the floor of the shower. I saw a small section of grout on another wall of the shower pop out the other day. Not sure why. I pushed it back in and pretended that nothing happened. but I realize I'm just sticking my head in the sand.

We have other bathroom tile issues in this house. I thought this shower pre-dated the crappy tile work in two other showers in the house. Now I'm questioning my judgement. From what you can see is this an isolated issue or is this the first sign of a complete failure of the shower to hold water?

Should I resign myself to demolition of this shower in the near future; or is there a simple repair I'm not seeing that will halt the problem?

It's taken 3 years for what you see to progress to the point shown in the photos. If I need to further postpone this repair; how long can I realistically wait if I assume the repair will be a complete gut and redo? I'm weighing the risk of structural rot against the fact I have two other shower's out of service because their tile is faulty and leaking. I'd like to tackle one or both of those rehab projects before working on this problem.

Thanks for your helpful suggestions and/or constructive criticisms.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

That is fixable and a pretty simple repair. And check all your grout and caulk.


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## A_DAB_will_do (Nov 2, 2015)

OK. Yes I know it's a simple repair. 

The real question is what are the odds I need to tear out the tile, and rebuild the shower walls and floor with a waterproof tile substrate, to keep the problem from happening ever again?



ToolSeeker said:


> That is fixable and a pretty simple repair. And check all your grout and caulk.


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

You will know when you cut a hole in the drywall, above where your thumb is, and see if the wood is rotted


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## A_DAB_will_do (Nov 2, 2015)

OK, that helps. At least that gives me a yardstick to measure by when I'm digging into problem.

Any guesses why this might be happening? 

There's no sign of water leaking below the shower. I can see that portion of the sub floor from a utility space in my basement. That, and the fact that the dry wall is disintegrating so slowly, leads me to think this is not some kind of plumbing leak. 

I think it's a leak through the wall tile and substrate for the shower. I just can see any obvious reason it's happening. There are no visible cracked tiles, the shower door seals tight in that area, so I don't think it's water spray escaping the shower.

I dislike making patch repairs, knowing that the problem will come back. I also dislike going overboard with shotgun fixes. 

Is there any sense in removing the shower door frame, and just a few of the wall tiles around the damaged area. Then replacing just those tiles(assuming what's underneath isn't damaged?) 

Or if I have to touch the tile, does it make more sense to just renovate the whole shower and install a modern waterproof substrate? (Kerdi, or cement board with one of the paint-on membrane coatings)



ZTMAN said:


> You will know when you cut a hole in the drywall, above where your thumb is, and see if the wood is rotted


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

By the way, have you looked in the cabinets behind the show wall to see if there is an access panel that you can remove to see what is going on.

That looks like the bathroom was remodeled by the previous owner. A pro would have returned that base molding


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## A_DAB_will_do (Nov 2, 2015)

No luck. the insides of that linen closet are solid. I hate that closet, by the way. I'd have rather had another foot of shower stall. And something died inside the walls of that linen closet last year. My guess is a mouse. Stank to high heaven for weeks. I think I solved the mouse problem; but I can't wait to find out what is entombed in the wall when I do finally remodel this bathroom.

Lots of nice work in this house from some previous owner. Lot's hackery as well; like the base molding you mentioned. 

I have two baths with tile installed on drywall. Probably used mastic for the tile as well. At least that's what I figure when I'm sticking pins in a voodoo doll while waiting to save enough money to start the repairs.

My daughter filled the shower pan in the second floor shower and made it rain to the basement 3 years ago. My visiting relative discovered that the tub in the first floor bath leaks and the tiles are popping off the walls.

It was wishful thinking on my part that the master bath would have been done by a solid craftsman. But I'm starting think the same guy did all the bathroom work in this house.



ZTMAN said:


> By the way, have you looked in the cabinets behind the show wall to see if there is an access panel that you can remove to see what is going on.
> 
> That looks like the bathroom was remodeled by the previous owner. A pro would have returned that base molding


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

A_DAB_will_do said:


> Any guesses why this might be happening?



Looks like a slider door. Could be a very small leak when the water hits it just right. Could be a few drops from the exiting body.

In my personal case I have a small spot like that when the out swinging door throws a few drops of water. Mine is very small and it took 20 years to fester. I intend to cut out all the soft stuff and finish with Durobond. 20 years from now I most likely will be festering worse than the wall.


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## jeffnc (Apr 1, 2011)

A_DAB_will_do said:


> The thread title says it all.


He said, and then wrote 5 more pages :smile:

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Anyway, hard to tell - could be a small problem, could be a big problem.

One thing to keep in mind. Tile does not waterproof a shower or shower curb. If water is penetrating a tile because of a screw hole, that shouldn't matter at all. If that's the problem, then the shower was simply built incorrectly. You should be able to remove all the tile in your shower and take a shower in it, with now damage to anything at all. i.e. the shower should be waterproofed before the tile goes in.

So even if the problem is bad caulking on the shower door frame, there's still another problem.


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