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How to fix water damage and mould?

Hi,

I’m looking for a bit of guidance and would really appreciate your help. I’ve noticed some mould or dampness on the skirting and wall next to my shower screen (as shown in the attached image), and I’d like to fix it properly.

Could anyone kindly advise me on the minimum materials I’ll need for the job? Also, if there’s a helpful video or step-by-step guide you can recommend, that would be fantastic.

Thanks so much in advance for your support!

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MitchellMc

Hi @smhasnain,

It appears that water has made its way out of the shower and into the wall cavity. From what I can see, the skirting board and plasterboard have deteriorated due to ongoing moisture exposure, which usually points to a leak inside the shower recess.

In many cases like this, it's the grout or silicone inside the shower that's failed, particularly around the joints at the base (the hob). Normally, there’s a waterproofing membrane underneath the tiles that should catch any water and direct it safely to the drain—but if that membrane has also failed, water can seep into the wall cavity.

Before you replace the damaged skirting and plasterboard, you’ll need to fix the root cause of the leak. That may involve re-grouting, re-siliconing, or even re-waterproofing part of the shower. I’d also recommend opening up the wall to check whether the internal timber framing has been affected by rot or mould.

This is one of those situations where getting a licensed waterproofer or builder involved could save you a lot of time and headaches in the long run. It’s especially important if the waterproofing has failed, as that’ll need to be redone to Australian Standards to avoid repeat issues.

If you'd like to DIY some of the repair work, you could certainly replace the plasterboard and skirting. But I’d definitely make sure the leak is fully resolved first to avoid having to re-do it all again down the track.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

smhasnain

Hi Mitchell

Thank you so much for your helpful advice!

As you can see in the attached image, there aren’t any tiles at the base of the shower screen. I completely understand your point about water possibly seeping through the wall tile grout—makes a lot of sense.

For now, I’d like to try a bit of DIY just to improve the appearance. Could you please guide me on how much of the plasterboard I need to cut out and replace? I’ve never done this kind of skirting and plasterboard

repair before, so I’d really appreciate a step-by-step guide along with a list of materials I’ll need to get the job done.

Thanks again—I really appreciate your support!

Kind regards,

MitchellMc

It's great that you have a shower tray as that's like not the point of the leak @smhasnain. However, it might indicate the leak is at the drain and water has migrating across underneath. Also, just check the grout/silicone between the top of the tray and the tiles in that corner and then the silicone between the shower door frame and the wall; that needs silicone too.

For the plasterboard, you only need to cut out the damaged section on the lower part of the wall, say 250mm up from the skirting board. I'd take the skirting board off first and check the plasterboard. You only need to remove enough to remove the damaged section and inspect the timbers behind.

Mitchell

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