Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - Falling Shower Tile

A year ago we bought our current house. Last Summer I had to repair a section of tiles (4 x 4) in our shower because of a little water damage caused the tiles to fall. Well a portion of another wall (lower section that touches the floor) is buckling out. What would cause this? Is mold eating away at the grout? When I replaced the other section (2' x 2') I thought noticed termites. I'm not sure they were termites, but would they cause a problem to make the tile buckle? I'm fed up with the tiles, so I'm going to take them all down and put in a shower kit. But what would cause this?:confused:

Don't know until you can take some things apart.

Is the tile installed on drywall? What was the substrate made of when you made the last repair?:)

If I remember correctly it was on wood. I had to cut the bad portion out (it was moldy) and I replaced it with another piece of wood.

Hi,

If you thought there was termite damage when you made the last repair, it would have been wise to pull it all down, then.

Termites travel, they can move on to adjoining walls and upstairs and down.

It's certainly not the tiles fault they don't have anything to hold onto:)

Get a termite inspection while you have the walls open.

And, regardless of what you decide to put back up there, remove the wood and drywall from the wet area and install a vapor barrier and cbu (concrete backer underlayment). At that point, tile would be a good choice to go back up with. The tile will last only as long as the backing stays intact, so with the cbu, your buckling days would be ended. I say this because I really don't like the plastic panels for a tub enclosure.

"Wood" huh? That's too bad!:)