Bathroom Tiles

the watchman

Hi Guys. Well the subject is ‘bathroom tiles’. I have to say now that I’m not a big ‘do it yourselfer’ but I do have a go at small jobs. That said I have never put a tile on a wall or floor. I hate the thought of it for reasons I won’t go in to here.

I have all white standard tiles in bathroom. House is 6years old. No shower. My suspicion is that the first row of tiles along the edge of the bath are getting damp behind them and I think they will start to come away soon. If I tap each one along that row with my finger it sounds weirdly hollowish behind them. However if I tap all other tiles in bathroom they sound rock solid. Only this first row sounds weird. The sealant looks like it has shrunk to allow water past. Also if I press a little on some you can see the slightest of movement on the top part of tile where the grouting is starting to disintegrate.

Is this first row going to fall off at some point.

You can see the mirror at one end on a different wall. I cut away tiles there and erected the mirror about 3 years ago so I am a little handy although I did not like doing it. Incidently all tiles on that wall are rock solid.
Any comments greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Joey the lips

No tbh I dont think they are going to fall off. That seal you have looks like the seal that tucks in under the tile. The black is mould.

But then again its hard to tell without being there.

Is there silicone where the bath meets the wall. Can you just replace this.

Blizzard

Why don't you try to re-grout the tiles and refill the silicone where needed? This might solve the problem without pulling down (and possibly breaking) tiles unnecessarily.

the watchman

Hi guys, thanks for that, the dark areas is not mould it is just dark shadows..these are the gaps where I believe water splashes are getting in.

If I go down the road of re sealing and grouting is it possible for that plastic strip to be removed without removing tiles or should it be left alone.?

Blizzard

Not sure about that. I think you'd have to be the judge of it but if you say its only shadows in the photos and are only gaps then refilling the silicone should work.

the watchman

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your thoughts.
And heres what I went with.... Came across some Duck Tape virtual colour match and thought 'I wonder'.
So stripped out old sealant and put the tape on.
A little tricky to get it to 'form' the way you want it to but I'm quite pleased with the result. How long it will last or untill it discolours I don't know but we'll see

Ps note on 'see tiles' pic I covered the grouting along top between tiles 2 and 3, with a 1/4 inch strip, you would never know lol.

tiocimarla

If your still looking for an answer to the hollow sound, then the bath may have been fitted before the slabs were put in. I did a whole block of appartments like this. The bath fit snug to the stud wall then the plasterboard sat onto the bath. Then the tiles onto the plasterboard. You will hear a hollow sound towards the bottom of the wall above the bath for this reason. They should have put grounds into catch the slab at the bottom.

the watchman

tiocimarla wrote: »

If your still looking for an answer to the hollow sound, then the bath may have been fitted before the slabs were put in. I did a whole block of appartments like this. The bath fit snug to the stud wall then the plasterboard sat onto the bath. Then the tiles onto the plasterboard. You will hear a hollow sound towards the bottom of the wall above the bath for this reason. They should have put grounds into catch the slab at the bottom.

Thanks for that. I am not sure how bathroom was built but I think the hollow sound has been gradually working its way along the bottom row of tiles starting where the gap in silicone was appearing first. If my guess is right that damp had got in I hope I may have cured it by removing the silicon 3 days ago and not use water in there and then taping it up today, hopiing that its now dry behind there and the tiles won't come away. (they did in my identical neighbors house 'starting at the top and coming away as a whole sheet of them !!).Thats all sorted now though.
Thanks again Tiocimarla

sullzz

have seen situations lots of times where a gap started to appear around the bath seal , and then the bottom row of tiles became loose and eventually started to fall off ,usually because the bath had not been fitted correctly at the start, the gap usually starts because the bath sinks either the legs not tightend or brackets not fitted , the ideal way to fit a bath is to fit a length of timber around the underside of the bath to take the weight and to prevent any chance of it sinking in the future , plus it makes it handy for getting it level.
i think you caught it in time so you shouldnt have to go to any drastic measures like taking the bath out to refit , with a bit of luck your tape trick will do the job .

GreeBo

if its been leaking for a while even if you have stopped it now the plasterboard is probably all moldy on the back....not great to be living with.

You might have to get all Holmes on it and take it all down...are you due a bathroom renovation anytime soon?

the watchman

GreeBo wrote: »

if its been leaking for a while even if you have stopped it now the plasterboard is probably all moldy on the back....not great to be living with.

You might have to get all Holmes on it and take it all down...are you due a bathroom renovation anytime soon?

Greebow, stop giving me nightmares:eek: lol.
Interesting thought though but I'm certainly 'not' due a refit anytime soon.
It looks good, is sealed and I can't smell anything so that will do for me right now.:).
But for the rest of my life I shall be gently tapping away while taking a bath..people will think I've really lost it now:):):).

I now declare this thread officially closed. 'cause I got a front garden to landscape:(