Help! Tiled wetroom floor looks perfect but grout doesn't dry out! - TilersForums.com

[Paula]

Well, the tanking is meant to fall into the trap/drain. So the tiles then just become aesthetics to make it all look nice and easy to clean. They're not there stopping water getting anywhere sort of thing.

So it's usually okay for tiles to have cement-based grout, it get wet, water get behind the tiles and soak a bit into the cement-based adhesive, because the water that collects will fall into the drain, and the remaining water behind the tiles would disperse and dry out via the grout generally across the whole floor.

You'd get wet / darker grout using the shower, and a hour or so after, it'd dry out. Wouldn't stay patchy, but might be a bit patchy during drying out etc.

The epoxy has perhaps if anything stopped a bit of that and is pushing the moisture further into the bathroom maybe.

But the fact you're getting droplets of water and it's in quite a few grout lines, but then not others right next to it, would suggest as Deano's said, it's fresh water that's quickly gathering, and taking ages to dry out.

So I'm not sure what's going on around the drain. But it's okay for water to get there usually, as the drain would get rid of it (gravity) and the rest would disperse into the floor generally and evaporate once it's (evenly) reached the surface of the grout. But I've never seen droplets like the earlier images.

I don't think I've still answered you lol sorry. I just don't know what to say about it.

I'm with deano though, I'd have pulled a tile or two up around the drain by now.

JUST A THOUGHT.....


I'm loathe to do that as that will probably damage the membrane. From what you are saying, I just wonder whether the problem is arising with the shape of the shower tray? If you are now saying that it is normal for water to get under the tiles around the drain (I thought before everyone said that this shouldn't happen unless the adhesive was spread unevenly and there were lots of gaps?), but that is OK as gravity will cause it to fall into the drain down the slope, then maybe our slope is not steep enough?

That may have lead to more 'pooling' of water under the tiles than would normally be expected, and therefore it would take much longer for the water to evaporate through the grout, leading to permanent damp patches (which is what we had pre-epoxy). Now we have stopped evaporation through the epoxy, the water is just migrating to where there is normal grout, through which it can evaporate (this is how plants move water from their roots to their leaves, as evaporation takes place through pores in the leaves and leads to a difference in water potential from leaf to root, hence flow of water). So that's why we have damp patches beyond the shower tray.

How would I find out if anyone else has had this problem with an Impey tray? When I originally spoke to them, they said that I should not have any permanently wet patches and that it was a tiling problem!

 

[The D]

It is NOT ok to have water under the tiles it's a problem

 

[Dan]

If you have cement-based adhesive, and cement-based grout, and have tiled to a former, that runs into a trap, and you use a shower, you have water behind the tiles. As it's getting through the grout. That isn't water PROOF, just doesn't break down with water.

So it's going to fall into the trap.

Right?

Am I missing something?

 

[The D]

yes lots

 

[Dan]

Oh right.

Sort of renders tanking useless then if the tiles are the water barrier eh?

@Paula, listen to @deanotile, he's the tiler out of the two of us.

I don't want to tarnish the thread with a bad tone or anything so I'll stay out of it if I'm giving the wrong advice.

 

[The D]

tanking is a failsafe so that if there is a problem the water is contained and the background is not damaged the primary waterproofing is the tiling.

 

[Dan]

You're misunderstanding the word 'waterproof' if you think a tiled wall or floor is impervious to water, surely?

EVERY bathroom wall that's not tanked, fails eventually due to the substrate getting wet constantly when it hasn't been tanked. EVERY bathroom wall that's been tanked, and properly using tape onto the bath or shower tray, NEVER fails due to water ingress.

So the tiles are literally never protecting the substrate from water and are literally just there to take the brunt of the 'weathering' (term used loosely) and cleaning and to give the room an aesthetically pleasing look.

Not meant to come across argumentative BTW.

 

[The D]

if the job is done right the background should never get wet not even damp

 

[The D]

dan i have striped tiles that have been on commercial showers for twenty years and the background has never seen a drop of water and as a professional tiler i am telling you that the tiling is the primary waterproofing and the tanking is a secondary failsafe


this misconception of grout letting water pass through it like it's not there is just silly. if the grout is constantly submerged in water for long periods of time like months at a time then eventually the water will penetrate the grout and possibly come in contact with the background. but in a domesick shower with intermittent wetting the water will not fully penetrate the grout unless there are other problems such as cracks or pin holes

 

[Dan]

If you ask BAL technical which dispersion adhesive to use, they'll explain intermittent wetting will not affect their blue star, but regular wetting will (might be wrong on the colour, and I'm sure they don't make that even now?). So they're expecting water to get through. And they're celebrating 50 years of being a "leading brand" this year. So my email today said.

Formers are shaped to allow water to flow down to a trap.

Tanking is designed to allow water to fall into the bath.

There are umpteen products that are not just designed as a backup. They're literally designed to take the water somewhere. As the guys in the white suits know water IS getting through that cement, that's NOT going to stop it.

I appreciate you taking more time to write something decent in the thread though. And perhaps this subject is a matter for a different thread.

But water IS getting behind the tiles here. And due to the amount, I'd say its not just from use. It's from a pipe. The former and the trap are perhaps not doing their job in this case. But maybe they are and it's something else.