This is a perfect example of what's happening in our bathroom. When we bought the house 3 years ago, everything looked fine in the shower. But, we found out later that the previous owners had a flood in that bathroom. After we moved in, mold beganappearing in the grout, etc. and no matter how often or how much I clean it, it reappears. There is regular drywall behind the tiles. I guess we should go with the cementious backerboard when remodeling? Or is it just because of a lousy grout job? (didn't appear to be).
Your short post mentions many possible issues that could be playing a part in this.
Recurring mildew is a sign of persistant moisture. That could be the result of a lot of things, from something as simple as needing to provide better and/or dryer air movement in the shower between uses to water leaking inside the walls from a pipe, window, the roof, etc. and a myriad of things in between. The previous flood you mention opens up a whole host of other possibilities, too.
You're the best judge of whether you have the skills to tackle this, or need to call in a pro. IMHO, what to use behind the tiles is 'way down the road.
dh says that looking in the basement underneath our bathroom doesn't show any signs of a flood (no water damage) He's been up in the attic and doesn't seem to be any sign there either of damage/smell/etc. We do have a window in the bathroom, but not in the shower. Maybe I should tell dh to always use the fan when he's in the shower; that may help, too. I guess one never knows until walls start coming out? Could be that they had the same problem and regrouted before selling. Thus, we end up with the same problem.
...Maybe I should tell dh to always use the fan when he's in the shower; that may help, too. I guess one never knows until walls start coming out? Could be that they had the same problem and regrouted before selling. Thus, we end up with the same problem.
Recommendations I've seen are for the exhaust fan to run during the shower and for 15-20 minutes afterwards, so yes, I'd start with a word to DH were I you. We have ours on a timer (instead of an on-off switch), and make sure to hit the '15' button on our way out the door, in addition to it running during the shower. Also, we leave the curtain partly open, to allow the air to circulate.
And, yes, once you start pulling walls out, you never know what you might find. It's often the hidden problems that add to the budget. FWIW, where we are, if action was taken by a previous owner to hide a problem, and the problem was not disclosed at the time of sale, the former owner can be held liable.
Unfortunately, we bought this house from investors and they were not aware of problems (supposedly!!) and it was disclosed as such in the contract. Although, you would think an inspector would see anything in the attic. But, behind walls, outa luck.
I like the idea of a timer switch. When we do remodel, I'll talk to hubby about this (maybe add a warming light overhead, too!). If you all could, I've started a thread on my bathroom in the Laundry/Bathroom section and would love it if you all could check it out and see what you think. MANY ThANKS!!
it's been several days since i've been able to check the responses back from my original posting on the use of greenboard and whew!!! lots of great responses and diversions into bathrooms, backsplashes, etc...thanks to all who took a few minutes to read and respond.
i have a better understanding of greenboardand where/how to use it. right now our kitchen has several areas of drywall water damage especiallybehind the the base of the sink and where a washerwas usedin the kitchen.when its time to replace the drywall in our kitchen,we'll consider usinggreenboardin flood-prone areas (behind sink, diswasher, maybe the fridge) and use regular drywallthroughout the rest of kitchen. we'll also investigate the cement board to see if that can be used as well since it seems to be a better choice for any direct water contact.the areas inour kitchen are small todeal with but more of a "safe than sorry" issue at this point. obviously though, this issue is much more suited for those remodeling bathrooms of which we are also dealing with some drywall moisture damage as well.
thanks again for all the input....majorly impressed !
Not that I want to 'beat a dead horse'. In the kitchen, greenboard doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Let's say you put greenboard in what Jackie termed flood-prone areas. If you do have a flood, say from a DW leak, if it was bad enough to necessitate the replacement of regular drywall, it will probably be enough to necessitate the replacement of greenboard also.
If you are tiling your backsplash, you will need to seal at a minimum your grout, possibly the grout and tiles, to minimize the risk of discoloration from the potential stains from all sorts of stuff related to kitchen activities. Properly installed tiles and grout, sealed, caulked where appropriate and properly maintained, will stand up to the level of water spray and heavy cleaning usual for a kitchen. No need for greenboard.
In the kitchen we just reno'ed, the 2x2 tile backsplash was the original, dating back to '79 . We know the previous owners knew diddly about home maintenance; I have some horror story photos to prove it. (however, we knew all this going in and it was one of the reasons we chose this house - yup, we're certifiable). Anyway, the original tile backsplash was just fine, and the drywall was all in excellent condition. And it was normal drywall.
So you're saying that green board isn't really any better than drywall, it's just how well the grout, etc. is maintained? It does make sense that if the tile/grout isn't maintained that water is going to penetrate and do damage no matter what is behind it.
Greenboard is more water resistant than normal drywall. However, in an outright flood, it's not going to make a difference. In a kitchen backsplash under normal use and cleaning, there really isn't enough water exposure to make using greenboard necessary, if proper installation and maintenance practices are used. That said, greenboard is no different to install than regular drywall. If you really want to use it, go ahead.
In our renovations, we tend to 'over engineer' and err on the side of caution. We used regular drywall in the kitchen.
IMO and experience, based on the state of the countertop in this house when we bought it, and others I have seen, water infiltration at the cut edges of laminate countertop is of greater concern than drywall.
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). If you all could, I've started a thread on my bathroom in the Laundry/Bathroom section and would love it if you all could check it out and see what you think. MANY ThANKS!!
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