Shower Stains In Tumbled White Marble Mosaic

by Lizzy
(London)

QUESTION:

I have installed a white tumbled marble mosaic in the shower room. After four months installed various discolorations seem to show in various places (on the wall and on the floor.) We thought water had seeped in from the back due to a water problem but the tile doesn’t seem to dry out or at least the discoloration seem to stay. It also seem strange to me the discoloration is grouped in various patches without a logical explanation why it happens in these places and not in others.

What would be a solution to restore the original colour and prevent this from happening in the future? I have included a picture. Many thanks. Lizzy

ANSWER:

Thanks for the picture Lizzy... that really helps.

Unfortunately you have water behind your tiles. Water is coming in through cracks and gaps (possibly not too obvious) in the grout, thus the random distribution. It could be a plumbing problem as well, but much more likely a faulty installation. Notice how the "stains" are all below the shower head and where the falling water hits on the ground.

This is not a sealing issue. Water is seeping in and getting trapped behind the tiles creating an area of constant moisture that discolors the tiles.

Definitely get your installer back to correct the problem. It's their fault. It may be solved by re-grouting the problem areas, but since it is occurring in multiple places, you may have to rip it all out and start over.

This is one of the most frustrating problems encountered because there's no simple (even if expensive) solution. I hope you get it worked out.

Good Luck,
Ryan