ᐅ Bathroom / Water Damage

Hello everyone,
we recently experienced a severe water damage in our house. Our house is an old farmhouse that we have been renovating gradually by ourselves.
Due to this water damage, the grout in the bathroom has come loose and is now gradually breaking apart. From the beginning, we had some issues with our bathroom floor because an old house is always shifting slightly. Cracks quickly formed in the grout, and we have already replaced grout once before.
Does anyone recognize this problem and have experience with it? Is a tiled floor even a good choice in our case? Are there any alternatives to tiled flooring in the bathroom? Maybe wood? I would be grateful for ideas or experiences. Thank you.

Especially if the problem has already occurred, I see little point in installing the floor in the same way again. A good PVC flooring could be another option. In that case, just lay it down without fixing it permanently so it has enough room to move. Alternatively, you could try cork, which is a natural material but not very moisture-resistant; however, it might adapt to the floor movements.

If there is already water damage present, in my opinion it would make sense to do a complete renovation here. This means removing the old flooring and installing new liquid screed. It is important to apply a barrier on the clay subfloor or even create a proper base layer with gravel and sand. This way, nothing will shift anymore, and then you can lay new tiles on the screed.

Do everything completely new and do not rely on the old structure. Remove the entire floor and install screed. As described before, the subfloor is very important. This can be done with gravel and sand. After that, tiles can be laid on the screed.

However, it’s always a matter of money, which is why some people just let the old concrete dry again and then tile over it. That wouldn’t be my choice, because there could be mold that has formed and slowly reappears.

That’s why some people just let the old concrete dry again and then tile over it.

It is true that everything is a question of money. But after damage like this, I would remove everything and install a new floor. The mold growth that can develop should not be underestimated. A flowing screed is a good option.