The creeping crud that lies behind…

This evening I entered the bathroom armed with hammer and screwdriver– a regular head.  I also had a plastic grocery bag and strip of painter’s tape. It was time for me to remove the funky tile job the previous owner installed in the shower. They mounted the tile so that it sloped like the side of a pyramid away from the window. However, their design also created a small trough at the top that would catch water, and I suspected, funnel it behind the tile.

It wasn’t difficult to remove the top decorative tiles to find… a SECOND layer of tiles with lots of black on them. Once I pulled off the second layer I was looking at the definitely not-so-dry wall. The drywall crumbled off the wall very easily. By the way, the point of the bag and tape was that I taped the bag to the wall below my work area so it caught all the bits and pieces of tile, caulk, grout and drywall falling as I worked.

Beneath the drywall was dark, wet, mushy wood. Most places you could poke the screwdriver through it with no resistance. Other places that still had an ounce of structure, you’d press it and see the gloss of water come to the surface. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy.

I texted Troy, “Houston, we have a problem. Add the bathroom wall to your list.” I know when I’m over my head. I see studs that need replacing and quite possibly, the shower will have to be entirely retiled. Ah yes, THIS is precisely why I overlapped rental and ownership a month. I still have a place to shower and be warm while working on my house.