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Question:

fixing bathroom tile grout/underlayment?

The previous owner of my house did not correctly install tile in my bathroom. There is a thick grout line along the bathtub, and when I apply a good amount of pressure on a tile (full bodyweight), I can hear the grout grinding against the tub. I know the right thing to do is replace the tile but I have plenty of other home projects to do before we sell the house. Would it be acceptable to saw out the grout along the tub, refill it with new grout, then caulk? Would this at least fix the grinding noise I hear?

Answer:

I just found a bunch of videos on Youtube that has to do with that. It looked really easy.
Just get some flexible caulk and cut your tip thin. Apply it and then cram it down it the area between tub and tile then apply bead of caulking and let dry for 24 hours.
Heres a good tip...take some masking tape and stick to the tile in about 3 layers. mark onto the tape where you want to drill. Use a masonary bit that is compatable for use with tiles and start to drill really slow applying steady even pressure.Do not drill in at an angle as this will crack the glaze on the tile and then the whole tile eventually. Once you are through the tile speed up a little so you can drill into the masonary.When you have reached the depth you want slow down drilling,do not reverse the drill but slowly pull the drill bit out. Use a screw or nail to clean the debris out of the hole and then put your raw plug in.
DIY doc is correct, but I would add that if this condition has been there for a while, there is the possibility that the floor under the tub is rotted from getting wet everytime some took a shower. I recently had a simular problem in a kitchen of a friend. When I pulled up the tile the floor was so bad that I could stick a screw driver through it with little difficulty. Pulling up the rotted floor boards i discovered that the sub-floor was rotted also. After a little investigating I found a leak in a water line going under his dishwasher. His wife never told him because she thought she was using the dish washer incorrectly. (yes, she is blonde) We had to replace all the flooring in the kitchen
After installing thousands of square feet of tile and gallons of grout I suggest it isn't the fault of the grout or the tile install, but could well be some flex in the sub floor, and/or what supports it and in fact how that relates to what supports the tub and any conditions arising over time from leaks, etc. I can't judge the install, but you don't state the width of the grout line as it butts the tub, and anything more than 3/8 should have been done with a non sanded grout and certainly in a poly blend. You could create a shim if you wanted, though it might not be aesthetically pleasing and grout to the shim, then caulk to the tub. DOC

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