Drying walls from a leak

[Ahaiane]

Hi,

We are currently renovating our bathroom and have discovered that one of the walls is wet due to a broken waterproofing layer.

After removing the existing tiles, should we scrape the wall back to the brick to ensure proper drying? Or can we effectively dry the wall by simply using fans after tile removal?

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Ahaiane. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about drying a wall.

Were the tiles directly adhered to the brick, or was there a plaster or cement sheet on top of the bricks?

I'm unable to determine how severe the leak was and what would need to be removed in order to dry out the substrate. However, if your waterproofing membrane has been breached, then you are looking at a significant process to reinstate it. Waterproofing membranes typically can't be patched, so you'd be looking at at least removing all the tiles and starting from bricks again.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell