Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - bathroom leak

I have been living in this house for about 1 week now. Everything has been fine until the other day. My daugther took a shower in the upstairs bathroom and it started to leak. It turns out that the tile that is a soap dish has been missing from the wall. Therefore it is leaking from there.

My question is how do I repair this. What do I need and how do I go about it. I really would appreciate any help that I can get on this.

Thanks in advance

A lot of your solution is going to depend on how long the tile has been missing. Prolong exposure to water will cause severe damage to the rest of the wall.

Inspect the tile area, are there any signs of moisture. Are any of the surrounding tiles loose?, are there any bubbles or expansions in the wall?

If not, then it could be a quick trip to the home improvement store. Pick out a new soap dish, a small bucket (smallest available) of tile adhesive, and a tube of silicone sealant.

Let the wall area dry thoroughly. Clean any old adhesive from the area with a putty knife. Apply new tile adhesive to the wall as directed and place the soap dish in place. Use masking tape to hold the soap dish to the wall until the adhesive dries (24hrs). Once dry use the silicone sealant around the edge of the soap dish.

I would not use this shower until these repairs are made.

If there is already water damage from prolonged exposure I'm am sorry to say that a large section, if not all of your tile wall will need to be replaced. Attempting to patch the wall with new grout or silicone may buy you some time, (a few weeks, maybe a month) but the wall will need to be replaced before major damage results.

Let us know what the condition of the surrounding wall is and I'm sure I speak for every one here, we would be happy to walk you through this project.


Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. The tile was missing when we moved in and no one was living in the house for at least 6 months before that. the other tiles appear to be sturdy and are not cracked or bubbled or anything. Only that missing Soap dish tile. We haven't been using that shower now for about 4 days so I am assuming that the wall is dry but will be checking once I get home from work.

It was quite strange though cause my daughters had used that shower maybe 2 or 3 times prior and no leaks and then it started. At first I thought it was the plumbing and it took a few days to figure out what was going on. During the time of trying to locate the problem the girls had already stopped using the shower until further notice.

Step by step walk thru would be greatly appreciated. Do you think that it is ok to just replace the tile or should the wall be replaced. If so, approximately, how much would that repair run.

Thanks again in advance

If there is no visible damage, or any loose tile, it is probably OK to replace just the one tile.

It may have taken several days for this leak to show itself because;

If the house has been vacant for 6 months, any leaking prior to that would have been completely dry.

Water would only affect this area when the shower is in use and water being directly splashed on the area.

The water would seep behind the existing tile and find a way down. Once a path has been established the leak would become more persistent.

To fix this, do the following;

1) Clean any old adhesive from the wall surface with a putty knife. This may not be easy, this glue has been dried for several years. If necessary, gently tap the handle of the putty knife with a hammer. Be very careful not to nock any of the other tiles off the wall.

2) Go to your local hardware store for the following;

New tile soap dish, (pick your favorite) $8 - $16

Tile adhesive Get the smallest bucket possible you don’t need more than 1/4 cup at the most for this job $3 - $5

Tube of silicone sealant. This usually comes in white or clear, get which ever you prefer. $2 - $4

3) Apply a thin even coat (1/8 in) of adhesive to the wall where the missing tile is located with your putty knife.

4) Firmly and evenly press the soap dish into the glue

5) Use masking tape to hold the soap dish on the wall until the glue dries. (24 hrs)

6) place a bead of silicone around the edge of the soap dish. Wet your finger and press it into the edge and circle around the dish for a nice even finish. Use a small bead of caulk all the way around the dish, it is easier to add more than remove excess. This stuff is very sticky.

7) let dry and enjoy your shower.

You will need a putty knife $2 - $4, hammer$6 - $25 and caulking gun $2 - $8 for this job.


If you continue to have leaking, inspect the grout in the rest of the shower for any visible cracks. Also inspect the silicone in the corners and around the tub.

Silicone should be redone every few years, grout every 5 - 7 years. Both are very inexpensive but time consuming and frustrating. Let us know if you need help with this in the future.

Hope this helps

Thanks alot,

I will be purchasing this stuff this weekend and will let you know how it goes.

I really do appreciate your help.

Have a great weekend and I will let you know the final result.

Just wanted to let you know that I purchased all the stuff that you told me to get and followed your directions.

Thanks for all of your help. It seems to have worked and we now longer have a leak (knock on wood)

Thanks again