Water Getting Behind Wall Tile

Water leaks are often because of pinholes in your plumbing system or small failures in caulking or other exterior materials.

Water getting behind wall tile.

If given enough time a slow leak can result in very serious structural damage that will make the restoration process longer and more expensive. Leaky tiles can occur anywhere where water is used whether it s a shower a wet room or a kitchen splashback. Stopping the leak from the outside is only treating the problem and not fixing the problem. Water takes the easiest path down to the ground so it will often travel along the framing in the walls.

They can often cause damp and mould within surfaces behind tiles and can even threaten the structural integrity of walls so it s important to tackle the issue at the first sign of a leak. If water from a shower gets in behind tiles in either a shower enclosure or around a bath through. Tiles and paint dripping or spraying water in the wall will soak the plasterboard or drywall. Paint peeling from the wall in and around the shower is one sign of a leak.

Loose and peeling tiles are. Water getting behind tiles can also damage the tile adhesive which could cause tiles to come loose and possibly fall off the wall altogether. Rarely water damage to a tile wall can be caused by leaking pipes within the wall. In this instance the damage is usually confined to the wall where the showerhead and faucet is located and it may be found anywhere on the wall not just down near the base.

Determine where your shower is leaking. One other sign of a shower leak behind the wall is the drywall tile in front of the valve becomes spongy. If the water is leaking from behind the tiled wall then the source of the water must be coming from behind the tile wall. An incomplete or broken silicon seal normally related to to the incorrect fitting of the bath the grout itself especially if you have a power shower and the substrate wall behind the tiles is not waterproof then it can fail resulting in tiles falling off walls and major remedial work to put everything right.

It is possible that the leak could be coming from a pipe inside the wall. Hidden water leaks behind walls can be especially dangerous because the water will get absorbed into flooring drywall and ceilings as well as wooden support beams and sheetrock. Cracked or missing grout.