I went and removed 3 ft of tiles from the side of the bath tub starting at the bottom. The tiles had the cement on it so it came off the wall exposing the wood the to the house and i saw the water damage to the wood. How do i patch up the wall? Do I use plywood and than cement it and than add the new tiles?
If I understand the problem correctly, it sounds like you have water damage inside you wall. You first need to find out what caused that damage. If you repair the wall without finding the water leak, it will happen again. If the area was dry rot and it didn't sem like there was currently water there, then it is likely safe to fix. Carefully remove tiles until you no longer see any water damage to the wood. I'm not sure what wood is there. If its plywood, replace it with a like thickness (most of the time today, they use drywall, but its a special kind that is usually green that's made for bathrooms and moist areas). Before replacing the tiles, clean them up and remove any old grout from the edges. Be careful as the tile are very brittle and break easy. There are a number of bathroom tile type caulks that can adhere the tile to the wood. I suggest going to somewhere like Lowe's or Home Depot or a similar store and ask someone in the plumbing dept or the paint dept what kind of caulk to use to attach tile to wood. Apply the tile to the wall using the caulk. Now you need to re-grout the seams. Buy grout and apply it in all the seams. Let it completely dry (read the box but most say at least 24 to 48 hrs to completely cure) then after its cured, apply grout sealer over the top of the grout seams.
