Vent: My dad swore by using tar paper behind shower tile - turns out he was right

I went with redguard on my bathroom reno last spring because everyone online said tar paper was outdated. After 8 months I got mold spots near the bottom row of tile. Anyone else have bad luck skipping the old school防水 methods?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.joseph2mo ago

Old school stuff gets a bad rap for no good reason. Everyone chases the newest thing without checking if it actually works better. Same thing with tools honestly people swap out a perfectly good hammer for some gimmicky one. If it ain't broke don't fix it. Redguard failed you because modern marketing beat out proven experience. Sometimes the old ways just last longer and work harder.

morgan_lewis182mo ago

Old school methods are ALMOST always worth a second look.

sandra_black4d ago

Hold up wait. That "ALMOST" in all caps is wild. Like you're saying it's not a guarantee? I need an example of when old school methods actually failed you because I'm sitting here trying to think of one and coming up empty. My dad still uses a level from the 80s with a bubble that's slightly off and I told him to get a new one for years. Then I actually tested it against my fancy digital level and you know what that old warped one was dead on every time. So what broke that trust for you?