QUESTION

Kitchen Countertop Failing - We live in a house that is approximately 20 years old. We have been leasing it for approximately 3 years. Our kitchen has a simple countertop with white ceramic tile laid and joined together with grout. Over the years there have been cracks and staining in the grout (long before we arrived). And over the past few months there is seepage of water from the cracked grout circling the kitchen sink and now underneath the tiles immediately adjacent to the kitchen sink where I only occasionally leave freshly washed dishes. So much so that the wood underneath is soaked and smells mildewed. Is this more likely grout failure from poor grout composite, lack of using sealant in the grout, repetitive damage in the last three years, or regular wear and tear for a 20 some year house?

ANSWER

ANSWER - The description of your kitchen counter leads me to belief that they installed the tile directly to a wood top without a waterproof membrane on top of it. That is not a good installation. A proper tile installation should be preferably over a cementitious base. You can only install over a wood base if there is a waterproof membrane on top.

Tile countertop installations should last the life of the home if they are installed correctly. The fact that your grout has cracked and water has migrated to the wood base indicates it was not installed correctly. The only way to fix it is to redo the counter top correctly. Good Luck!