# Reattaching shower soap dish



## JLeather (Nov 4, 2012)

On Monday my tiled soap dish fell off my shower. It seems that the caulk failed somewhere near the top causing it to retain water behind the dish and soften the grout. I'm also not positive what kind of backer board is behind it. It seems to have had a paper top layer that came off with the soap dish, but it is not normal drywall. What's left behind is sort of like a clay material, but doesn't appear to have any reinforcing fibers? Can anyone ID what's behind the tile? The material is still firm and solid, although it's being very slow to dry out. I've left the hole open since Monday in an effort to dry it out, but it is still slightly damp. The surrounding tiles are not loose or apparently compromised. I'm trying to figure out how to attach the soap dish again. I have grout/adhesive, but I'm not sure it will stick to this backer board now that the paper top layer is gone? The soap dish does overlap the surrounding tiles about 3/4" all the way around. Would the grout/adhesive between this overlap and the surrounding tiles be enough? I don't know if this hole spans a stud, so lets assume for now that it doesn't. What is the best approach for a repair without removing/retiling a large part of the surrounding area?









Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


----------



## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

There are a lot of videos on youtube.


----------



## JLeather (Nov 4, 2012)

Thanks for the video, but is plaster of paris really an acceptable choice for mounting a shower soap dish? Even with caulk afterwards it seems like it'd be really susceptible to moisture. Should I use adhesive grout like the tiles?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


----------



## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Maybe there are some other videos with other ideas.


----------



## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

JLeather said:


> Thanks for the video, but is plaster of paris really an acceptable choice for mounting a shower soap dish? Even with caulk afterwards it seems like it'd be really susceptible to moisture. Should I use adhesive grout like the tiles?
> 
> Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


You are correct the use of Plaster of Paris ( moulding plaster ) is not a good choice for a damp / wet area it will attract moisture & fail.
Use a tile grout or tile adhesive.


----------



## Sir MixAlot (Apr 4, 2008)

Use a tile thin set mortar only. The premixed stuff will not work!


----------

