I recently had my tub surround redone do to a leaking shower pull assembly, about 6 weeks ago we noticed cracking and holes in grout lines and moisture coming out under the tub, we opened up a kitchen wall behind the new tile and there is moisture between the vapor barrier and the backside of the aqua board. The original tub surround only had vapor barrier and insulation part way down as it is a split level and the bathroom wall joins my kitchen wall about 4 feet down. Could the moisture be condensation from the hot showers?? what would cause this to happen?

Hi Leroy,

You kind of indicated what the problem is... ;)

Here, water/moisture got through the grout lines and got caught between the backside of the aquaboard and the vapor barrier... exactly what should have happened to a point!

Now, the vapor barrier should have been installed in such a way that the vapor barrier drapes into the tub (behind surround but over the lip of the tub) so that any moisture that gets behind the tub will drip back down and into the tub.

In your case, it doesn't sound like the vapor barrier falls into the tub.

With all that being said, if you remove any loose grout and regrout to a proper depth you shouldn't have any real big issues afterward. Heck, most homes don't have the vapor barrier at all and they don't have damage most of the time if the grouting/sealing was done right!

Finally, be sure to seal the floor well, especially at the corners where the tub meets the floor, as half of all leaky issues show up there with tubs.

More questions? Let us know, OK?

Mark

Thanks Mark for your info, after consulting with a plumber, a tile guy, 2 drywall people and another restoration company they all said exactly the same thing "THERE SHOULDN'T BE A VAPOR BEHIND THE AQUA BOARD ON AN INTERIOR WALL IT WILL TRAP MOISTURE AND SOAK YOUR AQUA BOARD FROM BEHIND" which is exactly what was happening since the vapor barrier was sealed in tight under the Aqua board there was zero breathing room and absorbing into the backside of the aqua board (it was literally dripping wet)... Fortunately this was an insurance job and the company warranties up to 2 yrs and has to fix it and we have decided since the Aqua board was soaking wet we are opting to have the tub surround redone, I just hope it doesn't take 36 days like the last time :o)This all leads back to a drywall installer this company contracted who by day 3 had done such a crappy job I was complaining almost daily about and they should have checked his work and didn't and refused to send someone else... now they can see he wasn't qualified and no longer use him but if they had listened they wouldn't be paying for this to be redone.