Bathroom Wall Damage - how to fix?

3758 Views 7 Replies 7 Participants Last post by dengle, Feb 13, 2013

MrChris

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2013

New to the site and can't wait to start browsing all of the topics! We just bought a new home and I've been working constantly on upgrades and repair jobs to get it feeling like ours. Anyway - we have a jack and jill bathroom that needs a paint job. There was one area where there was some damage to the wall/paint that looked like someone just did a poor spackling job on. I went to sand it smooth and refill it today and some of the board(?) chipped off and now looks even worse. I'm not sure if just normal spackle will do the trick...any suggestions? I also noticed there is a gap where the two baseboards meet at the corner. I tried prying off the smaller section but it's really on there...any suggestions besides filling and painting the gap?

The Crack Old pic was pre-sand. The two Crack news are post sanding/chipping.

Thanks!

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747

· #2 · Feb 11, 2013

Wow the tile on the left is going to be a problem. It has to be handle just rite. I"m sure joe or somebody will jump in. I'm not sure if you can fix it without removing the tile on the left. He or they would know.

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DannyT

· #3 · Feb 11, 2013

i would find the source of the water that did the damage first, if you don't it will just reoccur. i would look around the tub enclosure first. i ran into a lot of tub enclosures where the piece of track on the wall meets the piece on the bottom they never sealed the bottom corner on the inside and when the track fills with water during a shower the water just runs into the wall at the end of the lower track. from the looks of it the wall behind the tile might also have water damage.

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brockmiera

· #4 · Feb 11, 2013

Use a utility knife and score the top and side of that base moulding. You can pry it off easy enough after that. You can then examine the drywall behind it to see if it is water damaged. If not you can re cut it to match that other base trim. The cuts could have been off or the wall isn't square.

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joecaption

· #5 · Feb 11, 2013

Got the perfect storm for a leak. See how that bull nose tile seam comes right at the top of the tub and the bottom of the shower door.
I'm not there to see it in person but that's where I would be looking for the source of the leak.
Water has now gotten in behind the wall and ran down the outside corner and down behind the baseboard.
The baseboard is now trashed.
That drywall and outside corner now has to be cut out and replaced not just covered up.
(PS you use drywall compound not spackle, spackle is only for small nail holes.)

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ToolSeeker

· #6 · Feb 12, 2013

Where I am this is common in almost every bathroom I have done. First there doesn't necessarily have to be a leak. In a shower area the grout is not water proof therefor moisture gets behind it and on older bathrooms where they used drywall as backer(even green board)this moisture will bold up over time and wick thru the drywall to the corner bead and rust it. It also is making the drywall softer. This is why drywall and green board are no longer used in showers. That corner bead can be replaced just be easy removing it, then replace it with vinyl bead. I hate to break the news but a remodel is not to far away the next thing to happen is the tile will start coming loose from the wall. Hope this helps you.

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MrChris

Discussion Starter · #7 · Feb 12, 2013

Thank you everyone for the advice! Going to research all this a bit more before I tackle it but I agree - need to stop the leak first. The caulking used all around the house was definitely subpar as it's begun to crack and deteriorate in many places, including this shower/tub. I'm going to start there and recaulk everything to see if that will at least contain the water. Appreciate the help - looking forward to many more projects and contributions on this site!

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dengle

· #8 · Feb 13, 2013 (Edited)

Based on that picture, it almost looks as though they butted the shower glass right up the the drywall(hopefully cement board) and then put the tile on afterwards. I'm hoping it's just how the picture makes it look. If that's the case, though, that could definitely be a major problem for water infiltration.

EDIT: I looked at the pics again and realized that bottom picture is showing the tub not the shower glass. I think DannyT hit the mark though. Either the shower railing caulk gave out or was never caulked right as well as potentially the caulk inside the shower in general could all be suspect. If any cracks are along the vertical shower door track -- including cracked grout, it could be a suspect for the water.

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Bathroom Wall Damage - how to fix?

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