Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tiler

[chrisvb]

Hi,

I'm a building contractor based in South East London. A bathroom that we recently installed has a problem which our tilers can't solve. I'm wondering if anyone here can help - or point me in the right direction for someone who can. We need help from a seasoned professional who has experience in problem solving / snagging...

Our client supplied some polished grey slate tiles, which >apparently< were not sealed. I preparation our tiler used 'Fila Grout Residue Remover'. This is a chemical used for cleaning stone tiles, including slate, prior to application of sealant. He then used 'Fila Colour Intensifier' which is a standard sealer for natural stone tiles. He was very careful to follow the manufacturer's instruction. The reason he used these products in particular is because he has used them on a significant proportion of all his jobs over the years, and has found them to be very reliable.

Unfortunately this had an adverse reaction with the tiles and caused streaking and an uneven sheen. Our tiler thinks that his tile sealer reacted with a sealer that was already on the tiles - however the client's suppliers have apparently stated that there was no sealer pre-applied to the tiles.

Our tiler then tried various remedies - notably using some gentle tile strippers like 'LTP Grimex' and 'LTP Power Stripper' all to no avail.

Can anyone point me in the right direction to a specialist that could advise? We need the tiles to be carefully stripped and re-sealed.

Many thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[DHTiling]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

Hi Chris and welcome.... any chance you can post some pics, so we can see what you do , try to take some of across the floor at a lower level as well as over head shots..

And can you run us through how the sealer was applied etc ..

 

[chrisvb]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

Hi Chris and welcome.... any chance you can post some pics, so we can see what you do , try to take some of across the floor at a lower level as well as over head shots..

And can you run us through how the sealer was applied etc ..

Cheers David - this forum won't let me send links to photos because I'm a new member and my ban for posting url's hasn't been lifted but...

The main problem is that the sheen or patina on the tiles (honed and polished flat slate with sharp straight edges like a porcelain tile is streaky and inconsistent. It all looked fine until the seal was applied as per the manufacturers instructions. The streaking marks overlap the tile edges and across onto the adjacent tiles so I know it's not the tiles themselves, but rather the seal. Also some trainer footprints appear to be "sealed in" to the tiles despite careful and extensive cleaning prior to the application of the seal.

I hope that helps to describe.

Cheers,

Chris

 

[Colour Republic]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

at a guess not enough time was left between washing and applying the sealer (8 hours) and then after the sealer was applied not enough time was left before somebody walked on it (8 hours). But hey that is a guess at this point

 

[jonnyc]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

sounds like the tiles make have had some moisture in them when sealed.

 

[White Room]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

I take it the tiles had been fixed and grouted before any sealer was applied....

 

[chrisvb]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

I take it the tiles had been fixed and grouted before any sealer was applied....

Yes, the tiles were laid and grouted before applying the sealant. Thanks for the diagnosis guys. You could be correct, perhaps there was too much moisture content in the tiles when sealed.

I'm still looking for an answer to my question - does anyone know anyone who might be able to help remedy the problem?

Many thanks,

Chris

 

[nybor62]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

the tiles should have been sealed before and after grouting

 

[stusgsx]

I always either seal all the tiles before I start or seal them all before grouting and then again after. My guess is they have been stained by grout then sealed over

 

[tommyzooom]

Re: Problem which needs (paid) help from experienced professional tile

Are you sure they are slate,
Black Limestone?