My husband fixed the faucet in the tub around two years ago. He cracked one of the tiles. We bandaged the area, but water has been getting behind the tiles. So, we have water damage. Plus, there is this weird white fungus looking stuff that is growing in some of the grout lines. I don't want to just put a liner over this mess. I would like to pull all the tile off and put cement board up (the house is old and it has sheet rock behind the tile), so i can start fresh. Will the liner hold up the same if it is glued to cement board rather than tile?
You def need to see what is behind that tile so you cannot just cover it, as you suspected. There should never have been dry wall there in the first place. You need green board. Take everything down...let it dry back there for 3 days even using fans if necessary. Then put up green board, then the wall liner.
There is an adhesive product that you can buy that should be somewhere near the floor tiles. You will need to use this if you want good cohesion between the concrete and the tile. I tried to apply a peel and stick tile to concrete without this product and the edges came up after a day or two. When I used this product, although a bit more time consuming, it really did the job.
Rip out all the tile and drywall. Tear out insulation if it got wet. Spray framing with clorox and water and let dry. Install new insulation and 15 lb.felt on any wall that is an outside wall. Install cement backerboard. There are some special ways to tile on cement backerboard so check back when you are ready to tile. Greenboard is a no no in a tub area. It is no longer being used in tubs and showers where there is water. Good Luck!
Tear out all the tile AND the drywall. Like some said above remove and replace any wet insulation and spray area with bleach water to kill mold. Consider getting a tub liner that can be attached directly to the framing around the tub then you don't have to worry about cement board. Make sure your husband caulks well so no more leaks (or hire a professional) That's what I did in our bath room. They are very easy to install. You then have the option of finishing around the top and sides of the liner with greenboard that you can paint, or I installed cement board and am tiling.
I'd remove the tile, the fungus could be mold or mildew and you don't want to trap or seal that in the walls. I the wall board behind is moldy or in bad shape, replace that too with greenboard (water/mildew resistant backerboard)
