I recently bought a house, and the previous owner added a DIY shower in the upstairs bathroom about a decade ago. While replacing the shower door, I discovered that they seemed to have tiled directly over painted drywall instead of using cement board. Right now, there are no signs of leaks or moisture issues, but my wife and I are a bit tight on budget. Should we address this problem now, or can we safely wait for 6-12 months before making any changes?
2 Answers
I'd say it's wiser to fix it now rather than putting it off. If you wait six months, you might just keep delaying it until something goes wrong. Once it starts leaking, you'll face a much bigger problem, and it'll become urgent. Better to tackle it while you can!
You could go for a budget-friendly fix by using shower panels for now and plan to upgrade to a properly waterproofed tiled shower later. Also, if the walls aren't waterproofed, it’s worth checking the condition of the shower pan too since it could be an issue.
The shower pan is actually a single fiberglass unit. The previous owner used a tub-sized fiberglass pan in the old tub space, so at least that's not a worry!