Flooring Tile - Bathroom floor leaks

Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.




View Full Version : Bathroom floor leaks


yagati
10-21-09, 03:12 PM
Whenever we get water on the bathroom floor (doesn't have to be much water), the person living in the basement complains that there is water coming onto her bathroom tiles. Our floor has ceramic tiles. Except for maybe a couple of very small hairline fractures in between the tiles (in the grout), there appears to be no holes on the floor that would account for water leaking. The leaking seems to mostly occur when there is water near the edge of the bathtub and the wall. Also, it it possible it cover the floor with linoleum over the tile?Would the linoleum need to be glued on?


chandler
10-21-09, 03:59 PM
Welcome to the forums! Is this your residence or is it a multiple family dwelling? Depending on how the tile was installed (the cracks are a telltale sign that it wasn't) the floor may need removal and replacing in a correct manner, and no, linoleum won't stop the problem. It is highly likely there are cracks around the bath tub. What type wall is it above the tub?

yagati
10-21-09, 11:06 PM
Thank you for replying. This is a three family home (basement, first floor, second floor). There are tiles above the bathtub. How should the floor have been installed? Was there supposed to be anything under the floor to prevent leaks?


chandler
10-22-09, 04:44 AM
Not so much to eliminate leaks, but if the tile wasn't installed on a concrete backer underlayment, it would be a weak installation, as is indicated by the cracked tiles, which will leak right through. The cbu is not waterproof on it's own, but basically eliminates cracked tiles, and grout problems. How is the gap between the wall and tub? I am assuming there is no shower unit, but a tub only.