Porcelain wall tiles cracking in shower?

Pc88

Hi forum,

I had a new bathroom fitted 3 years ago and in that time, I've had 3 separate issues occur.
1. grout started to crack behind the shower so had this repaired.
2. top right tile cracked (no exposure to water, porcelain tile with thickness of 8mm!), had this replaced
3. most recently, cracked tile behind shower which I tried to temporarily patch before the tile beneath it started to come out a bit, it isn't lose but is clearly protruding.

The wall is beyond patching and I want to fix it properly once and for all. So, I had two separate tilers come in, the first said they suspect either water damage, or house movement. I doubt its water damage as pressure of shower has been sound and water damage doesn't explain why top right tile cracked.

The second tiler, doesn't suspect water damage and suggested it could be my chimney (which is right above the problem area in the bathroom), causing a downward pressure thus causing the cracking and "blowing out" of the tiles. He was adamant that water damage wouldn't cause the type of damage seen and said there's no point retiling until the chimney had been looked at/removed, as the tiles could end up just cracking again. Removing the chimney stack wouldn't be cheap so I wanted to take on some advice before making any knee jerk decisions.

Some options:

- call out a roofer to take a look
- call out a surveyor to take a look
- remove the chimney stack and retile
- leave the chimney stack and retile (or replace with a shower panel?)

Some pics:
The red circle is were I thought I could see a crack on the external wall, but hard to make out. The red circle is also were the shower wall is on the other side.

Thank you for reading this far!

m0bov

I do think you have something structural going on.

Looking at the chimney, it's had a very messy repointing repair. I don't like the way the tiles are around the flashing.

I'd get a roof to check and make good 

P.s I'd also ask the neighbour to move the dish as it's overhanging the boundary.

csgohan4

if you have another bathroom, I would not use this one until it it has been fixed. Further water damage behind, despite small will get worse over time

This needs a full investigation and I agree a patchwork is not going to do it

m0bov

Op have you looked in the loft? I noticed cracking to next doors rendering. Worth mentioning when you talk to them about the dish.

RS2OOO

Next door has also had some sort of loft conversion which may suggest structural work has taken place.

Definitely worth a climb into the loft to see if anything stands out.

seven-day-weekend

How far across do those cracks from next door go?  Or is it just their render?  

Might be worth getting a surveyor in.

dimbo61

That is a good sized chimney sticking out of your roof !
Do you use it ? 
Log burner, open fire or gas fire ?
Did your neighbour remove the chimney in his side and replace with a gallows bracket ?
Do they have a chimney breast on the ground floor room and bedroom adjacent to your property ?
If you and your neighbour don't use the chimney I would have it removed 

pinkshoes

1. the neighbour's render seems to have cracks in
2. your side of the chimney seems to have been repointed. Why?

How long have you owned the house?

Pc88

m0bov said:

I do think you have something structural going on.

Looking at the chimney, it's had a very messy repointing repair. I don't like the way the tiles are around the flashing.

I'd get a roof to check and make good 

P.s I'd also ask the neighbour to move the dish as it's overhanging the boundary.

Full disclaimer, when I moved in, the chimney was desperately in need of a repoint as a lot of the mortar had crumbled away so I had someone come in to repoint my side (as the neighbour had done their side before I moved in). Admittedly, the job is messy but my main concern was making sure the chimney wasn't going to come toppling down. Will talk to neighbour re dish and I agree, bringing in a roofer is the way to go.

csgohan4 said:

if you have another bathroom, I would not use this one until it it has been fixed. Further water damage behind, despite small will get worse over time

This needs a full investigation and I agree a patchwork is not going to do it

Unfortunately, no other bathroom but I'll do my best to not get any more wet on that wall.

m0bov said:

Op have you looked in the loft? I noticed cracking to next doors rendering. Worth mentioning when you talk to them about the dish.

Not checked loft yet. I briefly spoke to the neighbour re the cracking and they seemed confident it was due to the rendering.

RS2OOO said:

Next door has also had some sort of loft conversion which may suggest structural work has taken place.

Definitely worth a climb into the loft to see if anything stands out.

The loft conversion has been there since I moved into the property 3.5 years ago.

seven-day-weekend said:

How far across do those cracks from next door go?  Or is it just their render?  

Might be worth getting a surveyor in.

3-4 cracks at different parts of their wall.

dimbo61 said:

That is a good sized chimney sticking out of your roof !
Do you use it ? 
Log burner, open fire or gas fire ?
Did your neighbour remove the chimney in his side and replace with a gallows bracket ?
Do they have a chimney breast on the ground floor room and bedroom adjacent to your property ?
If you and your neighbour don't use the chimney I would have it removed 

We don't use it. Funnily enough, there are two chimneys, one at the top of where the two sides of the roof meet (think top of a triangle), and this extends down the entire height of house, and this one, which doesn't extend below so its just the stack.

pinkshoes said:

1. the neighbour's render seems to have cracks in
2. your side of the chimney seems to have been repointed. Why?

How long have you owned the house?

Owned the house since mid 2018 so 3.5 years. Chimney was repointed by workman I hired when I initially moved in, reasoning was because a surveyor mentioned the chimney needed repointing as a lot of the mortar had crumbled away and the last thing I wanted was for it to come toppling down. If I had known it would be a potential issue down the line, I would have had it removed instead!

I found an old pic of the bathroom when it was being renovated:


Thanks for all the replies, I'm going to check the loft and bring in a roofer to have a look. Thinking ahead, removing the chimney makes sense given its not used and if its potentially causing the tile damage, it makes sense to get rid.

GDB2222

Sadly, some builders don't use waterproof tile cement. It lasts a while, until water gets through tiny cracks in the grout....

FreeBear

Not seeing any support for that chimney - There should be a steel to take the weight and transfer the load to the outer wall. Gallows brackets used to be fitted, but most (all ?) building control departments no longer permit their use. I'd suggest getting a structural engineer in to take a look.