On Saturday, April 1, 2017 at 4:37:00 PM UTC-4, wrote:
A few years ago this happened on another spot (I thought soap scum retained
water) and eventually the wall crumbled and had to be rebuilt. Is it a sign
the wall behind the tiles are wet? Is it enough toseal the cracks around the
tiles?




The way I "rebuilt" the crumbled wall just this November was I got a sheet of
PVC about ten by twenty inches, put flashing compund behind it and sealed
around with silicon. I can't afford any big projects. I'm freaking out.


The tiles look wet or the grout between the tiles looks wet?

If it's the grout, then it has failed and is retaining water as well as
letting water through to the wall behind it. That wall will eventually fail.
BTDT

You can fake another repair with a sheet of PVC or you can do it "right".

"Right" can be anything from an insert that goes right over your old wall
to a gut and retile/surround.

Here's how an insert works...no tear out.

http://fast.wistia.net/embed/iframe/...deo=2w3qnsa3fi