by Donato Pompo, CTC, CMR, CSI, CDT, MBA

– The Construction Specifier, Volume 59, Number 4 – April 2006 –

Glass tile, stone tile and ceramic tile finishes can provide a luxurious look for restrooms in hospitality environments.  However, water intrusion is the result of tile bathroom failures that is generally caused by tile installation failures of showers and bathtubs. Water damage in showers usually leads to microbial growth and damages that include mold in showers and in bathroom floors and walls.  New hotels and new condominiums sometimes have major shower tile failures because they are not constructed or installed correctly.  Often the architects cut and paste tile specifications and don’t give clear guidelines on how to properly construct showers to make sure there are no water damages and tile failures.  To avoid ceramic tile shower failures, glass tile shower failures, stone shower failures and to avoid mold in showers it is critical that there are quality controls, good installation methods, and that there is knowledge of the tile installation standards.  Qualified quality control tile inspectors should monitor high risk tile shower installations where it is critical that the tile is installed correctly.   Click here for article.