Re-Fixing Tiles in Shower

[Mutley2003]

ok, I have never tiled, don't want to tile, don't have the money to employ a tiler or even to buy new tiles but SWMBO has stated that she does not like the tiles coming away from the wall in the shower recess, and I had better do something about it (re-fixing and painting will be deemed adequate). So, while I am afraid of tiling .. I guess it is the lesser fear.

The tiles appear to have been glued onto the concrete wall-this is an old house, over 120 years old, and the walls are of stone and rubble and concrete. The complete shower recess is tiled with 6" tiles on the wall, and those small fellas on the floor (they seem to be OK). There is no obvious leak in the plumbing, and it may just be general dampness propagating through the concrete that is the source of the problem.

So, I figured if I peeled the bad ones off carefully, then applied a bit of water proofing sealant, then reglued them where they were- everything should be OK.

Is that going to work?


Thanks for any advice

[magnet 12]

I think you may be applying a quick fix to the sympton rather than looking at the cause. Sure if the all tiles have been on for many years it may be a case of age, but over time the bond on all will probably weaken. The grout will always look patchy unless you match very skillfully and the waterproofing applied that way won't acheive much. Depends on how long you you want to keep the house and how much effort you want to put in. I'd be tempted to re-do all recess and make sure water not leaking through floor if you have timber bearers underneath.Even if no timber under floor, water will be seeping down walls via loose tiles and in time will weaken foor tiles.

[mic-d]

G'day Mutley, its an annoying but easily fixed problem. There could be several reasons for the tiles failing, but I *suspect* if they are old 6" tiles they might be the old Johnson type tiles and the spacer lugs on them. These butt up against each other and contribute to the failure. Of course it might just be old/crap adhesive-Does it seem to be a cement-based adhesive or something more rubbery and brown? Anyway, what I would do is lift away any tiles that you can and clean their backs with a diamond blade on an angle grinder (and if they have little spacer lugs on their sides it wouldn't hurt to grind these off too). Also grind any adhesive off your cement walls, in fact go back to fresh surface and just close enough to the remaining tiles so as not to damage them. Just clean off the area adjacent to the remaing tiles by hand with a scraper-no need to be too precious about this, just so the majority of the wall is clean. You don't need to apply a waterproofing, there wouldn't be one under the remaining tiles given the age, and it is likely that the wall is 1" thick mortar at the least. Just get yourself a bag of cement-based tile adhesive (one without rubber in it - there are many good brands- I myself use Mapei Keraflex or keraset), a cheap plastic 6mm notched trowel and a bag of red tile wedges (and some grout) and glue them back in, using the wedges to achieve an even spacing. Wait 24hrs and grout. That's about it. Good luck.

CHeers
Michael

[Mutley2003]

Thanks Michael, great advice.

I just had a closer look. The tiles are actually 6"x8" and the spacers are white plastic. The adhesive seems to be a cement based one, and it is very dry and crumbly and quite thin - I can scrape it off the wall with my fingernail. The wall itself feels dry enough.

So, I am going to go with the assumption that it is the adhesive that is failing and do what you suggested .. thanks for getting me started.

[mic-d]

Thanks Michael, great advice.

I just had a closer look. The tiles are actually 6"x8" and the spacers are white plastic. The adhesive seems to be a cement based one, and it is very dry and crumbly and quite thin - I can scrape it off the wall with my fingernail. The wall itself feels dry enough.

So, I am going to go with the assumption that it is the adhesive that is failing and do what you suggested .. thanks for getting me started.

Ahhah, so there is the problem, the adhesive but also the spacers were left in the joints. This is very bad. When you come to redo the tiling, don't push them into the joints like a "+" , but rather just push one tip in so that they can be removed when the adhesive sets.

Cheers
Michael