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Ripped out my kitchen backsplash from 2019 last weekend and found mold behind 3 tiles
I was swapping out old subway tile for something lighter and noticed water damage behind the tiles near the sink area. Turns out the grout had a hairline crack I never saw when I installed it back in 2019. Spent Sunday ripping out drywall and treating the studs with bleach. Anyone else found hidden surprises years after a DIY job?
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drewgonzalez21d ago
Check the angle of your countertop drip edge while you're at it. In my experience, water sneaks in from splashback bouncing off the counter long before grout cracks show up.
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adamthompson21d ago
Dude, you're totally right about that splashback thing. I had a similar issue in my own kitchen where the countertop angle was just slightly off (maybe a degree or two) and every time I washed dishes, water would pool up and then just run right underneath the backsplash. It drove me nuts for months until I finally grabbed a level and saw the counter was actually tilting toward the wall a tiny bit. Fixed it with some shims under the counter and it stopped the water migration problem completely. Nobody talks about that kind of subtle movement, but that's where 90% of the hidden damage starts in my book.
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susan_wright3421d ago
Read something from a builder once who said water damage is basically a game of millimeters. A tiny slope in the wrong direction or a gap you can barely see will cause way more trouble than something obviously off. Did you have to pull the counter up much to get those shims in there?
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