On Jul 29, 11:51*am, "EXT" wrote:
dadiOH wrote:
rank beginner wrote:
Hello,
I had a new shower with tiled walls and ceiling put in about 5 years
ago. This year the grout in one specific row of tiles on the ceiling
is really starting to crack. This started last year as a hairline
crack in the grout along the entire length of the row of tiles. Now
the crack has widened and I must do something to repair it ASAP. The
thing is, I'm not sure what it is that should be done.
Photos he
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...alltile_01.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b...alltile_02.jpg
Should I regrout the whole cracked area? If so, should all the old
grout be scraped out first? What would be the best way to do that
(if indeed that is what I should do)? Tools?
Also, is it a problem if water has seeped into the crack a bit?
(There were drips from the ceiling tile where the crack is today).
My hope is that no permanent moisture has entered the ceiling.
Any and all help or advice is greatly appreciated.
The grout is cracked because the ceiling is moving; could be moving
laterally, could be moving down.
If you had drips from the ceiling tile, moisture *has* entered the
ceiling...those drips didn't get there from the shower (unless you
are an extremely frenetic showerer). *It is most likely the water
that is causing the ceiling to move.
The first thing to do is locate the source of the water. *If an attic
is above the shower, check the roof; if not or if you have plumbing
above the shower, check it too.
Next, fix the source of the leak.
Next, you need to make the ceiling that is under the tile sound once
again. I assume it is drywall? *Drywall - even "moisture resistant"
drywall - and water do not play nice together. *If it were me, I'd
remove all ceiling tile and replace the drywall. *Again, if it were
me, I'd not replace tile on the ceiling...the tile isn't all that
heavy but it is pulling the drywall downward against the screw/nail
heads. *Drywall isn't all that strong to begin with and - especially
with a bit of moisture - the weight of the tile would tend to pull
the fastener head further into the drywall causing the ceiling to sag
slightly, sag cracking grout.
Yes, for a gap that big something is moving, either sideways to open the
gap -- not likely, or vertically. Lay a straightedge on the ceiling and you
will probably see that the ceiling is sagging -- the lowest point at the
crack. Do you know what material was used for the ceiling, as mentioned
above drywall or even any other gypsum product is bad news anywhere in a
shower. I would wager that there is also a seam in the backing material very
close and parallel to the crack. You may have to drop the ceiling and re-do
it with cement board and some new tiles.
Thank you to everyone for your suggestions.
They have helped considerably in finding a solution
to this.
A few things I'd like to point out/mention, though:
• I'm almost certain the water I saw dripping out
was not because of a roof leak. First, the bathroom is
on the ground level of the house (we expanded a
half-bath to a full bath in the dwonstairs rec room),
so there is no roof to the exterior anywhere near
the ceiling of the bathroom. Immediately above
the shower is the subfloor of the kitchen.
• The water probably got into the cracks in the grout and started
dripping perhaps through steam from the hot water when showering.
Since the shower ceiling is quite low (little over 6 ft.), the water/
steam
does not have far to travel. It's possible that the steam penetrated
the crack
in the grout, and then later, cooled down and condensed back into
water.
The drip-drip only lasted for a minute or two, and it started several
hours after
I had showered in it. This fact is what leads me to think that steam
is getting
behind the tiles in the ceiling and then later condensing once the
temperature drops.
• Yes, there is drywall behind
the tiled walls and ceiling of the shower.
• As far as lateral or vertical movement
above the shower ceiling maybe being the cause - this is where I've
deduced, thanks to your helpful replies, the root of the problem:
New hardwood floors were installed 2 years ago, and the old floor tile
was ripped out, and other significant
construction was done in the kitchen during the summer of '07,
including installing cabinets
against the wall right above where the downstairs shower is. The new
cabinets
that replaced the old ones now house a pretty heavy microwave and
regular
oven built into the cabinetry. Before the kitchen renovation, by that
wall (which is right above
the shower), there was an old refrigerator that was leaky. At one
point, before I got rid
of it, it would leak water onto the carpet and at one point it seeped
down into the subflooring. I subsequently had
to replace a section of the sublfoor with new plywood, but that's
another story. To sum up, that section of the
kitchen floor was never quite the same, even with the new plywood.
While they were doing the kitchen reno, I had a chance
to check out the repair job I did with the subfloor (about a 2 sq. ft.
area). Well, it was holding up, but the floor still "gave" a bit and
had some sag, especially if you walked over it and put your weight a
bit over it. So, I've come to the conclusion that this is
the cause of the drywall sagging and the grout cracking.
• What gives even more support to this is the fact that I took a
straightedge to the tiled ceiling and indeed
the lowest point of the sag is exactly where the cracked grout runs.
So I think this adds further weight
to the theory that the compromised subfloor and all the activity in
the kitchen is what has made
the drywall move and the grout crack.
• Fixing this is the right way, i.e., taking the ceiling tile out,
replacing the drywall with cement board
and replacing with new tile, is beyond my $$ means, as well beyond my
own skill level. I'll just have
to settle for redoing the grout. I don't have a dremel, so I will
consider getting a hold of one with
the appropriate attachment, if you think it's worth it. I wonder how
much a secondhand dremel
with the attachment can be had for? I'll check eBay for one.
Whew...got some work to do.
Thanks again for your quick replies and excellent suggestions/advice.
Chris