Bad shower tiling

[dirtydog]

If the tiles in your shower look like this...



Then ffs stop using the shower!

This was a job I got called out to this morning, landlord said "it just needs re-grouting."
The crack was about 12mm wide in some places, the plasterboard behind the tiles was soaking and mouldy, all the tiles on the bottom row were loose and the carpet the other side of the shower was wet!

Conversation with the landlord was like this
Me: at least the bottom 2 rows of tiles need to come off, plasterboard replaced and then re-tiled
Landlord: how much will that cost?
Me: gives the price
Ll: no, I'm not paying that. Can't you just re-grout it?
Me: yeah I could but it'll be cracked by the end of the week.
Ll: just grout and re-seal it so it looks ok then.
Me: ok I'll do that if that's what you want but the guarantee on my works ends when I walk out the front door.
Ll: yeah that's fine.

What a nob!

[Bibio]

yup typical landlord. i used to do maintenance work for a few but got fed up with their attitude and always complaining about my invoices which took longer and longer to pay so in the end i vowed never to do work for those sort of people again and if i did then it was double the price with half up front.

[dirtydog]

The "just patch it up" attitude drives me nuts. Why can't they just accept they need to do a job properly?
If something like that gets sorted properly and in a decent time then the tenant will be happy and will stop hassling them about getting stuff repaired etc

[Bibio]

because the don't care as they don't stay there but they also don't realise that if not taken care off properly then it can lead to rotten joists and all sorts but again they don't care as then they can claim off the insurance.

I've seen this in quite a few houses, it's shocking how many showers are fitted incorrectly, even new builds the showers are more often than not fitted crap.

Unless the tray is stable and solid, it will move and crack the silicone and sometimes cause what you see in the op.

Landlords are mostly the same, fecking tight and short sighted idiots.

I don't like working for them tbh, I don't wanna put my name to shoddy work even if they are approving it.

I met a landlord the other week who had the right idea, he was still tight but he said that if the property is maintained, warm and quiet, you'll keep your tenants long term.
He keeps his properties long term so wasn't short sighted on sub standard materials or repairs.

[dirtydog]

We've got a slightly iffy shower in our house due to how its been fitted and badly tiled but our landlord isnt too interested in sorting it properly as that would pretty much mean the whole bathroom needs re-tiling. Even offered her a very large discount on my labour costs to do it.
I find the plastic trays are the worst for it, which is why I always recommend the stone resin ones

[timwilky]

This is why I always line showers with aquapanel before tiling them.

When I was a scumbag student, our landlord decided to deal with the damp and mould on the shower tiles by buying an enormous piece of PVC and caulking it in place OVER the tiles.

He also dealt with the damp and mould in the downstairs front bedroom (which was mine for a year before I wisely moved upstairs) by just painting over the wallpaper each year to conceal the greenish black that was spreading.

If the shower tray has been fitted properly and sealed them aqua panels aren't required, they won't make any difference if the tray is moving due to poor installation.

I use the green moisture resistant board mostly, it's perfect for bathrooms.

[timwilky]

To seat trays I tend to use a stiff mortar. But always resin trays. cheap nasty plastic don't cut it when the fatties want shower sex.