Watch Out For The Tile! Part III

Carlo Americo Odella, President Europamerican Tile & Marble

When examining a tiled shower or tub surround take note of what has been used to fill the space between the tiles whenever the direction of the surface changes. As an example, the interior corner of a shower must be caulked! If gout is used, it will inevitably crack as the two walls move differently due to different impacts of temperature and humidity. Similarly the area between a tub deck and the backsplash or face must be caulked or that joint will inevitably will fail. The failure might allow moisture to get behind the walls or beneath the tub surface to cause damage that can go undetected for long periods of time and cause extensive and costly repairs.

Lack of caulk is also often an indicator of an installation by an amateur as opposed to a professional. If an amateur is indicated, you then need to question whether cementious backerboard was used so as to avoid a costly repair from wall failures due to moisture. Other indicators that cementious underlayment was not used are: (1) The grout and /or caulk is black (Moisture is getting through to behind the tile and is residing in warmth, darkness and bacteria. Mold is then developed on the inside and going through the grout or caulk from behind the walls.) (2) Leaking around shower or tub surround doors. If they have not been properly caulked and affixed to the walls with rust resistant fasteners, leaking will often result because they are attached to drywall or other water fail prone materials.(3) Fixtures and or tile fall off the wall. Once drywall or plaster becomes wet, it starts to fail and portions of the wall will fall bringing the fixtures or tiles down as well. All of these indicators generally lead to full replacement of the wall and tiles.
If you have any of these potential difficulties, call me at Europamerican Tile and Marble 937 439 1485, or Email: europamtile@aol.com for prompt professional advice and counsel. We have addressed all of the above problems and have been able to fix the consequences of all of them over the past 20 years of our existence as a dealer/contractor specializing in tile.