Bathroom Patch Job

Temporary fix for water damage in a poorly designed bathroom

Living with a poorly designed bathroom can be frustrating and annoying, but a poorly built bathroom can cause a whole other set of problems. Our main bathroom was small and cramped, but we learned to live with it with the expectation that we would someday replace it with a larger one. However, before that day would come, I would have to address some water damage. This fix was neither pretty nor permanent, but it was the easiest, most cost effective solution.

The previous owner of our house sacrificed an 10x12 bedroom to create a main bathroom and an ensuite bathroom.  The space the original bathroom occupied was incorporated into a larger master bedroom.  The new main bathroom was small but functional.  Unfortunately, it was also a poster child for how not to renovate a bathroom.

water damage in wet zone of bathroom

One day, I was cleaning the grout around the tub when I noticed a loose tile.  It did not take much persuasion to remove the tile and reveal the mess that was behind it.  This is what I learned about my bathroom upon further investigation:


My quick fix (and keep in mind that this was only temporary) involved removing the worst of the wet drywall (both layers) exposing the studs.  I attached some strapping across the studs and installed 3/8" plywood to patch the hole.  I then installed a piece of Barker tile board over the plywood and sealed all the seams with silicone.

completed repair with Barker wall tile in place

It's not the best looking repair in the world, but I am confident that no water is getting through any of my work.

Someone with more talent and experience could have possibly saved the tiles and reinstalled them on the new backer, but that would have taken at least two days for the tile to set and then to apply the grout. My solution allowed same-day use of the tub and shower (at least in theory).

You may notice that the tile board is in two pieces. This is because I did not realize at the time that the tub spout simply unscrews from the pipe. Therefore the repair could have been much cleaner with a hole drilled for the pipe instead of cutting the tile board in two pieces to fit around it.

So, how did this half-arsed repair stand up? The bathroom was gutted about four years later and there was no further water damage to the wall, and no evidence of any water getting behind the wall. I guess I can take credit for a successful repair, despite its ugliness.

Project completed in 2005