I have a marble tile shower that I saw being built about 6 years ago. After reading other postings in the forum, it seems that it was built correctly. Sloped floor, membrane up and over the sill and up the wall, CBU, and moisture barrier. The horizontal corners and the vertical corners were caulked and the rest was grouted. However, recently the caulk in the floor/wall joint has bubbled up near the front of the shower.
I removed the caulk, fixed a couple of small cracks in the grout, regrouted, recaulked, and resealed. The caulk bubbled up again (in the same places) after about 3 months despite wiping the shower dry after each use. When removing the caulk around the perimeter of the shower floor I noticed it was wet and very soft near the front of the shower; the caulk in the back of the shower was dry and very solid.
I have checked for external leaks and find no evidence of water getting behind the escutcheon, no plumbing pipe/joint leaks, and no water or evidence of water in the basement where I can see the base of the shower. It appears that the shower pan is doing its job, but I'm looking for suggestions on where is the water coming from? How do I fix this joint? What steps should I take to find and resolve this problem? Thank you.
I removed the caulk, fixed a couple of small cracks in the grout, regrouted, recaulked, and resealed. The caulk bubbled up again (in the same places) after about 3 months despite wiping the shower dry after each use. When removing the caulk around the perimeter of the shower floor I noticed it was wet and very soft near the front of the shower; the caulk in the back of the shower was dry and very solid.
I have checked for external leaks and find no evidence of water getting behind the escutcheon, no plumbing pipe/joint leaks, and no water or evidence of water in the basement where I can see the base of the shower. It appears that the shower pan is doing its job, but I'm looking for suggestions on where is the water coming from? How do I fix this joint? What steps should I take to find and resolve this problem? Thank you.