Re-grout Tile Shower Floor – Sadler Property

Joel and Jessica Sadler are two of the nicest clients a contractor could ask for.  Jessica, a real estate agent for Fonville Morisey in the Durham, NC area, emailed me concerning the stains and crumbling grout in her master-bathroom shower.  The home is a great, craftsman style bungalow with contemporary furnishings and open floor-plan.  The shower was not constructed using current building science…i.e. no waterproofing/decoupling membrane, latex-modified grout or proper expansion joints.  I could tell from the photos she emailed me, there had been some water infiltration behind the shower seat.  The perimeter grout joints (especially around the shower seat) had recently been re-sealed with some sort of sanded-silicone grout and were peeling and showing discoloration.

Removing grout can be quite telling in respect to underlying problems.  I began removing grout, with a particular interest in the area of the shower seat.  On the floor, I used a grout-saw (pictured below) to carefully grind the level of the existing grout down past the edges of the tile.  I wanted to see the edges of the tile before using a rotary bit on them to prevent chipping.

Unfortunately, as I began removing grout on the shower seat, tile began to come loose.  It was immediately apparent that the shower seat framing was completely rotten.  There was no choice, I had to remove the seat and inspect the tile behind it. The previous contractor simply glued the seat-framing to the tile wall! The seat-framing should have been incorporated into the waterproofing-membrane of the shower (not present here) or constructed from masonry board and then be screwed into the wall-framing.  Surprisingly, the tile behind the seat were in excellent condition!  The seat however, was completely deteriorated and covered with mold.  The shower pan was sloped extremely well and I am sure that is what kept the water from leeching into the wall behind the seat.  The grout under the seat was pretty stubborn to remove, which is a good sign that it was keeping out water.  I cleaned the area and removed as much of the staining as possible.  The tannins from the wood in the seat framing left a faint line, but with repeated scrubbing I am sure it will become less noticeable.

After cleaning the shower thoroughly, I began “gouging” the joints.  I used a DeWalt® DW660 with DREMEL® grout-removal bits, set to a  ¼ in. depth.  The grout was sturdy in most places with only a few cracks, which were probably caused by shifting during the foundation work.  I was able to get very clean lines with the rotary tool especially having removed the top layer of the joint previously.  I cleaned any loose debris from the joints with an ice pick and double checked for adequate depth.  I cleaned up my work area and got ready to grout.

Outside, I met Joel and Jessica’s dogs.  They are cool little dudes and they kept me company while I mixed the grout.  I used Polyblend® non-sanded grout because the joints were less than an eighth of an inch wide.  I misted the tile and began grouting.  It looked much better, even before I wiped it down.