# New tile job in bathroom cracking **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 22, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364 "2019-05-22T18:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/21 "2019-05-22T23:43:56Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Get a brand new contractor to give you an estimate to tear the whole thing out and redo it correctly. Then call your current contractor. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t call back. Then sue. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t show up. Then take your default judgment decree, go to the sheriff and get a lien put on anything he owns. Don’t be surprised if he’s an LLC or everything is in his wife’s name. > > Ask me how I know this. I had my local guy (who does smaller jobs for the condo assoc but is a contractor himself.) take a look. He saw the cracks as OK to fix, w/out major surgery. They are just in the corner join of the two walls. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2019, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/22 "2019-05-22T23:45:05Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > You shouldn’t get the crack wet since you don’t want water to seep in and get behind the title Go to the hardware store and get a plastic drop cloth and tape it over the shower wall so you can shower without the tile getting wet. Thanks. I guess I’ll keep taking baths for a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/23 "2019-05-23T02:15:49Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > It will take some time to do that. Is there a clock running on me? > > I have to use the shower. I wonder if it will do damage in the meantime. Every state has a law about implied workmanship warranty. There are also laws about latent defects in workmanship or material. If this jackass won’t fix the problem _immediately_, contact a lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/24 "2019-05-23T04:41:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Every state has a law about implied workmanship warranty. There are also laws about latent defects in workmanship or material. If this jackass won’t fix the problem _immediately_, contact a lawyer. Not to mention he has only 4 google reviews…so far. I never carried that much say in anything in my whole life. One of the names is fake too. 40 good reviews on the referring site, but that facade is cracking. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2019, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/25 "2019-05-23T15:41:27Z")
Probably not common when it happens so soon after the work is done, however cracks along the corners especially on and exterior wall seem to be a common seasonal problem. When the house exterior expands and contracts due to the external temperatures it shifts against inside walls. We have tiny cracks that open in the grout corners in the winter and then close back up in the summer. People recommended using a flexible caulk for the corners but I found a flexible grout instead, mixed up a small amount, and ran my finger down the corner to fill it this winter. It seems to be working fine going into June. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/26 "2019-05-24T00:41:34Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > Thanks. I guess I’ll keep taking baths for a bit. You might try getting some 2" clear packing tape and running it straight down the seam. Make the seal as tight as you can, especially at the top and bottom. Angle your shower head as far away from that corner as possible. ---
**Author:** ![FluffyBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecb155/32.png) [@FluffyBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FluffyBob)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/27 "2019-05-25T16:19:28Z")
I am a project manager for residential insurance restorations, a master carpenter, and used to build custom homes. I have over seen a lot of tile jobs. Small cracks in grouted corners are to be expected and so the industry practice is to silicone those corners after grout has had time to cure. This prevents the cracking. Tiles and grout are not a waterproof surface, this is accomplished with waterproof tile backer or waterproof membrane. For a shower, proper tile backer (such as Kerdi board) should be used and joints and fastener holes treated as directed for the product. Tiles in wet locations should be installed with thinset mortar, not water based adhesive/mastic which is a common shortcut of bad installs. Large cracks could be a sign of movement in tile backing, but could be due to poorly mixed mortar or grout. Does the tile move when you apply pressure? ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364/28 "2019-05-25T16:46:48Z")
> [@FluffyBob](#): > > I am a project manager for residential insurance restorations, a master carpenter, and used to build custom homes. I have over seen a lot of tile jobs. > > Small cracks in grouted corners are to be expected and so the industry practice is to silicone those corners after grout has had time to cure. This prevents the cracking. Tiles and grout are not a waterproof surface, this is accomplished with waterproof tile backer or waterproof membrane. > > For a shower, proper tile backer (such as Kerdi board) should be used and joints and fastener holes treated as directed for the product. Tiles in wet locations should be installed with thinset mortar, not water based adhesive/mastic which is a common shortcut of bad installs. > > Large cracks could be a sign of movement in tile backing, but could be due to poorly mixed mortar or grout. Does the tile move when you apply pressure? Not really. I think the second job was fairly solid. Based on this it might be that they expect to have to do a fix on every job, and they want to put off coming in to finish the job until a crack happens if it’s going to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-tile-job-in-bathroom-cracking/834364.md?page=1)