Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice needed

[Angela_B]

Hi,

Two months ago we got our bathroom completely revamped. We have the impey wet room system, and travertine tiles. In the shower area we have travertine mosaics on the floor. Everything was fine for about three weeks, then small patches of the grout appeared darker. Eventually the dark patches spread. The tiler came back and set it is damp grout. He scraped out the grout, left it a few days to dry out, also used a hairdryer to speed the process up. He regrouted, then a day later sealed the tiles again. We left it a good three days before we used it even though he said it would be ok the next day. Straight away after using the shower, some grout lines were darker than others, however by then end of the day the grout appeared to have dried and everything was back to how it should be. However, over the next three of four days, the grout took longer to return to its original colour and now it just stays dark. I'm getting the tiler back today, but could really do with some expert advice as to what might be causing this. I'm thinking maybe the tiles haven't been sealed properly? Any advice gratefully received, also if anyone has any tips on a plan of action, that would also be gratefully received.

 

[AliGage]

Hi Angela and welcome to the forum.
Can you post a few pictures of the area in its current state?

 

[Angela_B]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

Hi, thank you for the reply, how do I add photo's? It says as a guest attachments aren't allowed?

 

[Angela_B]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

I don't know if this will work, but here is a link to a file on dropbox

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/77f41os0mog0p6s/wrHqKNMcoB

 

[AliGage]

What grout was used?

In what i think was the furthest corner of your tray there is a large area of unaffected grouting. Can you run some tests on this area. See if water will stain the grout?

 

[Angela_B]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

I have put quite a bit of water on that bit as I have a hand shower that I use all over to make sure no soap residue sits on the tiles. The top area doesn't seem to be affected, although it doesn't get anywhere near as much of a soaking as the rest. The odd thing is in the fourth picture, there is one grout line that has gone dark and this is where the slope of the system starts. From what I remember there was a second layer of membrane on that part and the edge of that piece of membrane starts at that point. It seems odd that there are small normal patches of grout in the worst affected area. I don't know what grout was used but will ask the tiler when he comes round later. Someone suggested that the tiles haven't been sealed enough and water is being trapped inside the stone and seeping into the grout. Someone else suggested that maybe the walls haven't been sealed enough and water is coming down behind the walls and under the tiles. The tiler was good about redoing it the first time, but he said if what he did didn't fix it then he's at a loss as to what's causing the problem. The other interesting thing is that it was perfectly fine for about three weeks before the dark patches appeared.

 

[DHTiling]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

The sealer is designed to help in maintenance and to create a flash seal on your stone to prevent staining when spills etc occur , when a wetroom floor is tiled like yours , then you are going to get wet grout as the sealer is not designed to fully waterproof the grout... so IMO your tiler has done nothing wrong apart from maybe not applying to enough sealer evenly to the point of saturation , this will protect the grout for so long but the soap etc from showering will shorten the sealer life..

If you want your grout to remain the light colour then epoxy grout is the way to go..

 

[Chalker]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

You could use drop effect grout , I had a similar problem with trav on a walk in shower with a tanked out tray. It was poor Silicon letting water get under the tiles and was then seeping up. Try pulling at the Silicon or pushing your nail Down the back. It may have been siliconed too soon after sealant was applied or wrong Silicon.
hope this helps

 

[Angela_B]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

The tiler is really good and has just been round and thinks he can see where there were a few cracks in the grout where water could be getting in. He's redone those, and resealed round the edges as he said it didn't look as if the mastic had taken. He told me we can still use it, but that it will take a few weeks for the grout to come back to it's natural colour. So time will tell whether this has fixed it or not.

 

[Chalker]

Re: Problems with grout not drying on shower floor expert advice neede

The tiler is really good and has just been round and thinks he can see where there were a few cracks in the grout where water could be getting in. He's redone those, and resealed round the edges as he said it didn't look as if the mastic had taken. He told me we can still use it, but that it will take a few weeks for the grout to come back to it's natural colour. So time will tell whether this has fixed it or not.

if it was the Silicon and the same type has been used again, I'm afraid you will have the same problem again.

should be using this or a similar type
Silicon Sealants