Diy

[MynameisLuca]

A leak from my shower is seeping into my neighbors apartment below me, (we have the same layout) I knew that I had tiles with missing grout but didn't do anything about it. When I checked my shower tiles, I pressed on the tiles and I could feel them 'breathing' ... I was able to removed them by hand. Now what I want to know is how do I proseed? I'm not going to use the shower and I'm going to leave the extracter fan on 24/7... Is there anything else l can do to speed up the drying?.. I'd also like to know how long it will take for the wall to dry out before it can be retiled

[The Builder]

Having read Homer's latest post. I have to say that I agree.
It's so difficult answering questions "remotely" like this. At the back of your mind is always the thought "where do you stop".

Easy to spend someone else's money. But, if it were me, given a long standing leak problem, I would also take the tray out and start again.

We really don't know the state of the floor under the tray, or even the joists.
If you get someone in now, they'll tile and walk away. They couldn't be held responsible for any hidden problems.

Get a decent tradesman in. He can then take out the tray, and start afresh. Any problems after that, and you can most likely call him back. I'm sure there won't be though.

[alavahalf]

Personally I would chisel the plaster out at the back of the tray and 'set' the tray in a recess in the wall, well and truely siliconed in place.
Fit aqua panels in the shower area before tiling down to the tray ( leaving a 1/4" gap at the bottom). Scrape the grout out below the bottom tile and finish with a premium sanitary silicone.

Another option ... there are a few suitable back boards for wet areas that would eliminate the need to re-tile.
We were using them last week .. £250 per board
We stuck them straight onto the wall with Stixall.. three tubes for each board as a belts and braces approach.
But you do need a circular saw with a fine blade to cut them.

[MynameisLuca]

I'm going to buy an dehumidifier, seems to be the best solution.

[woofgang]

my shower is panelled with wall cladding intended for outdoor use. looks very smart, easy to clean and no grout!

[woofgang]

but yes having been the person who leaked on myself and trashed my kitchen ceiling I would want to know why there was a leak and fix the leak before putting everything back together.

[albaqwerty]

don't buy one, hire a dehum.

Where would you keep it after it's done its thing?

[MynameisLuca]

It would cost over £40 a day to hire one, industrial ones, I don't need one of those as it's a very small area, (6ftx6ft) there are small units that can be bought for less than 30 that should do the job.

I like the idea of the panals instead of tiles, never heard of them. Must check them out.

[albaqwerty]

jeez, that's expensive ! £40 a day, strewth. Never knew that.
One thing I do remember tho, is they are very expensive to run. But that's me going back in time quite a few years so hopefully things have changed there too.

[jno]

The Builder, the dehumidifier is inside, so the rest of the hemisphere should be safe. (It hasn't actually rained here for weeks.) The water from upstairs has been seeping down into our interior living room wall. They've stopped the leak upstairs. Neither of us has any idea how long it's been going on, but I would have thought that sooner or later the wall would dry up. What do you recommend?

[MynameisLuca]

I got a lend of a dehumidifier, had it running constantly for the last 4 days. For the first couple of days the tank has taken in about a litre of water a day, now, for the last couple of days the intake has gone down to about a cup full a day... I need to know if the dehumidifier would be taking in the moisture, dampness from underneath the shower tray? Or would it have to be pulled out? There is gaps at rim of the tray where the tiles have been removed.

[alavahalf]

Collecting such a small amount suggests that you have little moisture left in the room. If you are trying to avoid taking the tray out, I would prise an edge of the tray back and point a fan a the opening. Having just realised you have concrete walls, I would doubt you have done any damage through soaking the walls.

Sounds as though you are ready to re-tile .. assuming you have soaked and scraped the tiles clean. Not to mention drying then out again ?