Grout on Floor Tiles in Bathroom Crumbling!

branners69

Hi,

the grouting on the floor tiles in the bathroom are crumbling, I picked up a bucket of grouting but I was wondering do I need to apply adhesive underneath the tiles?

I had planned on cleaning the old grouting off the tiles and applying the new grouting but I reckon this wouldnt hold too long!

Any advice appreciated!!

Branners

Buford T Justice

If the grout is crumbling then its a sign that the tiles are moving and are no longer stuck to the floor. These will need to be re-laid before you grout the floor, or else it will crumble again.

harry21

Fingers McGee wrote: »

If the grout is crumbling then its a sign that the tiles are moving and are no longer stuck to the floor. These will need to be re-laid before you grout the floor, or else it will crumble again.

Agree with Fingers. How long is the grout & adhesive down?

branners69

Fingers McGee wrote: »

If the grout is crumbling then its a sign that the tiles are moving and are no longer stuck to the floor. These will need to be re-laid before you grout the floor, or else it will crumble again.

I thought so, is the relaying a case of lifting, removing all grouting from the tile and replacing one by one?

@ harry 21 - We moved into the house 5 years ago, the bathroom was pretty new when we first moved in, the kitchen and the bathroom were the main selling points.

Thanks for the replies!

harry21

Ya take them up one at a time. Remove all the grout first if you can. It is almost impossible not to crack one so is there any spares? (unlikely if you moved in anf they were in-situ)

Maybe you could just regrout and maybe it will last another five years before the grout crumbles?

Taking up tiles is a pain in the neck at the best of times, but considering yours are loose it might be ok.

Best of luck anyway...

Joey the lips

There is a chance the wrong grout was used originally...

What i would do is buy grount(flexi) and add some addmix to give it extra flex. I would then put it down and see if it holds..

Tiles never come up perfectly...They will break

JMSE

just in case you do lift them and its a wooden floor they're on, screw down 18mm marine ply to the floor

branners69

Thanks for all the replies, I will attempt it at the weekend!

antiskeptic

branners69 wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies, I will attempt it at the weekend!

What's the extent of the problem? Is it all over the place or localised?

If the floor underneath is wooden floor then a flexible tile adhesive AND a flexible grout should have been used in the original fitment. It may be that flexible adhesive was used but not flexible grout - in which case the grout would crumble due to floor flexing - whilst the tiles might be still fixed okay.

You'll know a poorly fixed tile by tapping on it and surrounding tiles with the handle of a steel knife or the like: a loose tile (or the loose part of a tile if only part unstuck) will sound distinctly hollow compared to the rest. There's a decent chance that your problem involves just the grout parting company with a tile and not the tile from the floor.

If you have the odd loose tile - but one that isn't so loose that it can be easily removed - you could consider a patch repair which involves removing the grout/adhesive from around the tile periphery down to floor level and packing fresh adhesive back into the gap all the way around. Wipe away the adhesive to sufficient depth to just allow a skim of grout later, then place a weight on the tile so that it dries in the contacting-the-surface-beneath position. There should be enough contact with this new peripheral-grip to keep the tile from moving around again.


Don't be tempted to try to prise part-loose tiles (if any) free of the floor. You're sure to snap them. If you have a genuinely loose tile then avoid trying to chip old adhesive off - you'll only end up breaking it. A good way to remove old adhesive is with an angle grinder or with a rotating sanding disc (with very coarse grit) attached to a drill. Either way, make sure you've the tile clamped gently but firmly in a vice, don't attempt to hold it in your hand whilst operating power tools with the other.

branners69

antiskeptic wrote: »

What's the extent of the problem? Is it all over the place or localised?

If the floor underneath is wooden floor then a flexible tile adhesive AND a flexible grout should have been used in the original fitment. It may be that flexible adhesive was used but not flexible grout - in which case the grout would crumble due to floor flexing - whilst the tiles might be still fixed okay.

You'll know a poorly fixed tile by tapping on it and surrounding tiles with the handle of a steel knife or the like: a loose tile (or the loose part of a tile if only part unstuck) will sound distinctly hollow compared to the rest. There's a decent chance that your problem involves just the grout parting company with a tile and not the tile from the floor.

If you have the odd loose tile - but one that isn't so loose that it can be easily removed - you could consider a patch repair which involves removing the grout/adhesive from around the tile periphery down to floor level and packing fresh adhesive back into the gap all the way around. Wipe away the adhesive to sufficient depth to just allow a skim of grout later, then place a weight on the tile so that it dries in the contacting-the-surface-beneath position. There should be enough contact with this new peripheral-grip to keep the tile from moving around again.


Don't be tempted to try to prise part-loose tiles (if any) free of the floor. You're sure to snap them. If you have a genuinely loose tile then avoid trying to chip old adhesive off - you'll only end up breaking it. A good way to remove old adhesive is with an angle grinder or with a rotating sanding disc (with very coarse grit) attached to a drill. Either way, make sure you've the tile clamped gently but firmly in a vice, don't attempt to hold it in your hand whilst operating power tools with the other.

Thanks for the reply, the tiles with the crumbling grouting are around the sink mainly. I have no idea what is under the tiles. I dont think I will try and lift any tiles on this occassion, I don't fancy snapping any as I dont have spares!

Thanks again!

Branners