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How to fix cracked tile in upstairs shower?

I’ve accidentally dropped the split drain cover and caused a crack in the tile as pictured, which goes through to the other side. Just one tile is cracked, however as you can see it’s a tile around the split drain and a glass shower screen also sits on top of this particular tile.

It is an upstairs bathroom.

Today I had a contractor come out to look at it and said he’d remove the screen, replace the tile and put the screen back, and didn’t make it sound like a major drama.

A second contractor came out and said the job was too hard and I’d likely need to rip up the whole floor and start again as tiles can’t be removed without ruining the waterproofing! The bathroom renovation is quite newly done so I feel extremely worried now.

Then a third contractor has come out and said use either epoxy or waterproof silicon to fill the crack. This one also didn’t want to risk damaging the waterproof membrane by removing tiles.

What do you think? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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EricL

Hello @MiniLeo

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about a cracked tile in your shower.

I'm not sure how the first contractor is going to remove the tile without damaging the waterproofing membrane. The second contractor gave you the correct repair procedure, they knew that removing the tiles would damage the waterproofing membrane and it would need to be reapplied. The third contractor gave you the alternative solution and that is to use epoxy or waterproof silicone to fill the crack. This would be the least invasive solution for your damaged tile.

I propose looking at PC-11 56g White Epoxy Paste or Selleys 300g Off White Wet Area Waterproof Silicone Sealant to seal the crack in your tile.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Nailbag

Hi @MiniLeo

Wow those first two quotes were ridiculously over the top and completely unnecessary. The 3rd guy is much closer to the mark but would definitely nicely not use silicone on a flat surface in a shower. This will quickly develop mould underneath as it lifts out just from continuous water flow when showering.

I have sealed quite a few small crack tiles for clients using this ultra clear sealant. It's designed to waterproof grout and other masonry surfaces like tiles.

Follow the prep instructions on the can, but essentially don't use the shower the night before to help dry the areas out. Then clean the area with turps and a clean rag. Use a hair dryer on the crack to dry it out for a couple of minutes. Use a thin paint brush to apply a thing bead of sealant into the cracks. Then a thinner top layer feathering it out inwards of the shower walls. Allow 24hrs to fully cure.

An easy DIY solution for around $60

Nailbag

Dave-1

Good Morning @MiniLeo

Yeah I would also be flicking through the different quotes and reasonings as well.

In the back of my mind I would really not want to be damaging the underlying waterproofing and was thinking of what sealant could be used that would seal and not be raised.

@Nailbag tho has given a very good solution and has done repairs with it before. That pushes me towards that one and the product before going down the harder path of removal and fixing.

Is that tile that is cracked loose to the touch?

Dave

SunSet

Thank you. No it’s definitely not loose to touch.

SunSet

Thank you. I’m gathering that to seal the gap properly I would need to remove the glass screen?

SunSet

Thank you. It’s great to find this forum 🙂

JacobZ

Hi @MiniLeo,

It might not be necessary to remove the screen to use @Nailbag's approach.

It looks like the glass sits on top of the tiles with a bead of silicone at the base to seal them. If there is enough of a gap beneath the glass, you may be able to just cut out the silicone, then use a craft brush to apply the sealant to the crack beneath the glass.

Once the sealant has dried, you would just reseal the bottom edge of the glass with clear wet area silicone.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

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