How to temporarily waterproof a shower wall missing tiles
Exposed wallboard absorbs water every time you shower, which causes structural damage and leaks into the ceiling below while you wait for contractors. A makeshift barrier like a taped garbage bag can buy time, but without a proper temporary seal, moisture will continue collecting behind the wall.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Hanging a garbage bag over the holeDid this help you?
- 2Hanging shower curtain liners over the broken sidesDid this help you?
- 3Using 100% silicone to glue fallen tiles back in place temporarily and seal the edgesDid this help you?
- 4Cover the wall with plastic or a shower liner and tape it in placeDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have some tiles that fell off my shower wall.”source ↗
“I've been talking to contractors to renovate the entire bathroom, but it's taking longer than I expected to hire one.”source ↗
“I've hung a garbage bag over the hole for a month now.”source ↗
“I feel like if I do some DIY job to keep water out of the wall, it would be better for the interim.”source ↗
“My bathtub tiles are leaking. Not quite ready for a bathroom remodel. Is there anything I can do to temporarily mitigate the issue?”source ↗
“Bathroom is as old as the house, no updates since the 70s. A remodel is in the plans just not this year.”source ↗
“Meanwhile I don’t really want water collecting behind the wall and soaking first floor ceiling.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 5Can you use silicone to seal gaps around a shower drain?
- 2Why are my bathroom walls wet and brown after a shower?
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- 4How to stop mold in a shower drain that pools water
- 5How to stop water from splashing out of sliding glass shower doors