That time I tried to regrout my own bathtub on a Sunday afternoon

I figured how hard could it be? Watched a couple YouTube videos, bought a $12 grout saw from Lowe's, and went to town on the old grout in my 1970s bathroom. Problem was I dug too deep in one corner and hit the waterproof membrane behind the tile. Water leaked straight into the wall cavity below and I didn't notice until Tuesday when my kitchen ceiling started dripping. Has anybody else hit something hidden behind tiles during a simple refresh?

2 comments

2 Comments

dakotawells16d ago

Wait, did your kitchen ceiling actually hold up for like two days before it gave out? That's wild. I had a buddy who tried to fix a loose tile in his shower, figured it was just the caulk failing. He pulled the tile off and found the whole wall behind it was just black mold and soggy drywall. He ended up having to tear out the entire shower and re-do it because the moisture had been seeping in for years behind that one tile. He said he wished he'd never even looked at it, but at least he caught it before the mold got into the rest of the house. So yeah, I guess sometimes you find way more than you bargained for behind those tiles.

elliotc1016d ago

@dakotawells sounds like your buddy got the full "what else is hiding in there" package deal. At least you got a two-day grace period before your kitchen ceiling made the surprise announcement. My Sunday project turned into a "how much can a plumber charge for a Tuesday emergency visit" real quick.