Repairing tile in shower: trim and grout

[Laura B]

I have a shower seat in an old shower (installed by previous owner) and the trim fell off. I need to replace it but I'm not sure how. My experience working with tile is limited (installed tile flooring in a 1x10 entry way a few years ago.)

The pictures attached show the shower seat where the trim fell off, and also a piece of trim that remains attached. I'm also showing the back side of the trim that fell off. (I think that there is damage to the grout on the tiles on the top of the shower seat as well.)

Any advice is welcome!

Thanks!
Laura

 

[Ryan Symons]

Yikes. I bet alot of water is getting behind that tile. That trim was never intended to be glued to the face of the tile. It looks like an afterthought to cover that awful corner. No good answers here....it wasn't right to begin with.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

I'd want to get a light, maybe an awl and check what the interior of the seat is made of. Usually, breaking grout or tile, loosening tiles, etc., is the result of movement. If the seat was made of wood and the whole thing wasn't waterproofed, the wood could be rotting, expanding, and causing the bonds to break. Thinset should bond to the front of the tile, but it's better on a polished surface to rough it up a bit. Industry standards call for all changes of plane or materials to have an expansion joint. THat's often caulk, but could be an engineered profile.

If the seat doesn't have slope to the front, that's an issue, too, and will promote moisture getting beneath. FWIW, neither tile nor grout are considered waterproofing...they're decorative wear surfaces. What's underneath is more important for longevity.

 

[Dj2]

What you have is faulty installation, and the only remedy is to take it apart, clean, replace and do it correctly.

 

[Laura B]

Thanks everyone for your input on this rotten situation. I was worried I might be faced with having to remove it. The previous owner did some stupid S*@t around here.

Also, I am wondering now about Jim's point regarding the expansion joints. How do I tell whether they exist? If I'm going to be ripping out the seat, I might as well make sure there's nothing else to demolish. I'm attaching three images of areas where grout is cracking, one outside the shower curb, one on top of the curb, and the other in one of the interior shower corners. Does this diagnose anything, or is there any other way for me to determine the extent of damage or poor installation for the entire shower?

 

[Jadnashua]

INdustry standards call for any change of plane or materials to have accommodation for movement. THere are basically three ways to achieve that:
- leave a physical gap (often done on a floor where the gap can be hidden by baseboard)
- fill the gap with something flexible, this is often a caulk - silicone is better than an acrylic version...it lasts longer. Most are available in color-match to your grout
- use an engineered joint. A few companies make them, but the largest, and original supplier is www.schluter.com

Without knowing how the shower was originally built, as you start to try to repair things, you might find there's a lot of rot. Are there any walls you could open up and look at the back of the shower wall(s)? That might give you an idea of how it was built, and if it's worth saving or not. When I see things cracking and falling off, it sends up a big red flag.

ON things like construction of a tiled shower, I like www.johnbridge.com . Terry's site is great for some things, but John's site is pretty much dedicated to tiling things and especially showers. Lots more pros and experience there on tiling. Now, doing the drain or water, here is your best bet.