Old Tile Shower Potentially Leaking / Options?
Hello Tile People!
We just moved into a house, the previous owners passed away so information on the unique bathrooms is hard to come by. The previous owner was a tile tradesmen (as evidenced by our roman bathtub and everything being tile everywhere). We have been using the master walk-in tile shower for a few weeks and I have my suspicions regarding it leaking and wonder what our options are. I'd like to retain the existing tile work if possible, and cost is a bigger issue than aesthetics.
There are some cracks / pinholes in the inside tile area … it's not sealed grout so I figure no huge issue. The curb seems to be where issues might be, on the outside of the curb there is a bit of wet seeming rust colored grout. The shower door appears to have been replaced not too long ago and has rust / brown trapped under the silicone. Some of the curb tiles appear to have maybe popped up … or just weren't put back down flush after someone got in there. There are some attempts to even put colored silicone over the grout in spaces on top of the curb. Single story, slab foundation.
The drain looks a mess, maybe weep holes are clogged? maybe the drain is a lost cause? I have used a camera from the other side of the wall, and things seem to be generously hot mopped, we live in SoCal … and the shower could be as old as 54 years. I'm sure a tile guy is in my future, just want to know a little more before I have to start talking shop and prices.
- What would you check, what are the steps you might take?
- Is it possible to repair the curb / drain without destroying the pan?
- Is it possible to replace the pan / curb / drain and leave most of the wall tile intact?
I have a gallery linked with photos, thanks for any ideas, suggestions, advice!
P.S. It's dog hair!
Like @jmartin015 said, a pan and curb replacement is possible if you go up about 18”. I would recommend hot mop replacement and new tile and grout. Only a qualified tile installer would be able to pull off the repair correctly. Most of the time it turns into a full replacement, because there is so much cost in the repair that you might as well do the rest of the shower.