Two years ago a tile job was done by a supposed professional. The actual appearance was decent.
Subway tile was used for a tub surround on an existing but relocated cast iron tub with shallow lips. The tub needed to be reglazed, so I was told to tell the tile guy to leave the run of tile along the tub uncaulked for the glazer guy to do his thing..
The glazer said he would apply the final bead of caulk (silicone) along the tub edge. A few weeks later mold spots began to appear on the plumbing side of the tub. They wiped away fairly easy, but kept reappearing. Now a prominent area of black mold about 4″ long exists in the right corner of the tub on the plumbing side.
Distinct mold odor is present while using the bathroom now. 8-10 tiles up is one of those triangle soap dishes. Durock was used in the surround area.
Upon closer inspection a few horizontal hair line openings in the grout about 5/8″ long were discovered.
Is this enough for water to get behind the tile and get trapped behind the the bead of silicone along the tub itself? I can’t tell if the crack is full depth or just on the surface of the grout.
What do you think is the best approach to inspect further or repair this problem. Chip out the last row of grout and tile and redo or? This is the only shower in the house. Thanks for any suggestions
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Anyone out there have any suggestions? Thanks
Hard to determine without seeing it. Sounds like a leak in the back of the tub spout. Tile grout should not be cracked at all so you can start by digging it out and replacing it. Any mold or mildew in caulk or grout is caused by water, often from the back side as water has leaked behind the tile. We do these all the time and are usually able to clear it up but again difficult to nail it down without being able to look at it. DanT