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Expert Answers
QUESTION
What is Causing the Rust Stains on the stone in my shower? I have a recently installed shower and my house is under a new home warranty. The shower has a natural stone wall where the fixtures are (dark brown) with a ceramic tile floor (lt grey) on the shower floor. As we have been using this shower over the last few months, the lower tiles have changed colour in places, and the ceramic tile at the foot of the wall have rust stains. It looks like rust is leaching out of the tiles in the lower 1/2 of the wall. The builder has come out to reseal the tiles, but the problem has not stopped. I do not know what sealer was used.We have city water, and no issues with rust in the water otherwise (and all of the pipes are brand new.)
The tile on the wall is also of varying depths. Have you heard of this? What is our best course of action?
ANSWER
ANSWER - We have seen this type of problem before and we have investigated several situations similar to yours. Generally speaking when the stone tile at the bottom rows of the shower wall darken it is due to water migrate up from the shower floor into the walls. If the shower was constructed properly the water would not migrate up the walls. There are a number of potential deficiencies that could cause this problem.If water rust stains are leaching out of the stone wall tile grout joints and on to the ceramic tile floor tiles leaving rust stains there are a number of reasons why that could be occurring. There could be a non-galvanized metal behind or within the tile assembly that is rusting and the wall may not be properly waterproofed, which is allowing the wall assembly to be subjected to excessive moisture. The natural stone you have could have a high level of pyrite content (iron sulfide) depending on the type of stone you are using. It is not uncommon for some stones to have pyrite content, but when the stone is subjected to excessive moisture it can lead to yellow/rust staining in those stones.
Chances are there are a number of deficiencies in how the shower was constructed, which results in compounded problems. The only way to fully understand the cause of the problem and how to remediate it is to perform a forensic intrusive inspection, and perform some laboratory testing. We need to determine the problem and treat it, and not just treat the symptom. The cost to hire an expert like ourselves to perform the inspection and testing could be well over $3,000 USD, which may or may not be practical for your situation. For more information on our Services.
