Hi all
my partner and I have been redecorating our bathroom - she is a demon tiler - but are struggling with a couple of problems and are looking for advice.
We decided to build a wet zone walk-in shower and so had a chippy build us a platform out of water-resistant plywood and 2x4, then coated it in paint-on Bal waterproofing gunk. All good so far...
We then layered up some flexible waterproof adhesive - a selection to be honest, some Bal and some Unibond, both original mix-it-yourself powder form - in order to build up some height and a suitable run to the drain we had set in the floor. We let it set in open air for at least a week before attempting tiling on top using mosaic tiles.
We bought non-slip mosaics as this bathroom will ultimately be used by my elderly Mum and I don't want any accidents.
So, two problems have occurred which I am hoping someone can advise on!
#1 - we bought some Unibond read-mixed flexible waterproof tile adhesive at Focus DIY because it was a special, half-price-this-weekend-only offer and I needed some quickly and didn't want to have to keep mixing up batches of new adhesive, and we tiled the floor of the shower tray last Sunday. Here we are on Friday and... I can feel a slight softness underfoot still as I put my foot gingerly on the tiles and slowly transfer weight. You can hear the adhesive has not yet set, it crunches. So this is ready-mix, non-rapid-set flexible adhesive which is, in some places, fairly thickly laid down over a dry layer of mix-it-yourself, rapid-set flexible adhesive, which dried and took absolutely fine the weekend before. The carton on the ready-mix Unibond says 'up to 48h drying time' but we are at 96h+ and counting! Some of the tiles with a thinner layer of adhesive, closer to the drain, feel OK. We haven't yet grouted to try and get as much air down the edges of the tiles as possible.
Have we chosen the wrong product? Will it ever dry? Is this normal? Any advice gratefully received.
#2 - we have grouted other tiles laid on the floor using Unibond ready-mixed waterproof flexible grout, sadly in chocolate brown which is nice in theory but..... apart from being mosaic tiles, which are annoying in themselves, they are non-slip and the grout clings to the surface like a limpet. If we go over it with a wet sponge as we grout, we end up smearing chocolate grout all over the tiles and sucking it up from the cracks we have just grouted. Extremely frustrating! Having done the best we could, we now have a fine, dusty patina of chocolate grout all over the floor tiles that we grouted.
So... is there a clever way to avoid this in the first place? How do I get the grout off the tile surface now that it is dried to a powder?
Any recommendations and advice gratefully received, especially #2 which is extremely annoying!

Sorry but I bear bad news, the adhesive is rubbish, its too thick (max 4mm) and it will never dry, it all needs to come up matey.

i'm with the above,this stuf might take weeks todry out if it is too thick and will eventually shrink,you are best to take them up now and steep them in water to make them easy to clean

uni bond.start again! cement based flexi rapid set fofr these tiles . mix a small amount at a time .we do when doing these shower base wet floors . good luck. oh flexi grout as well. BAL

OK thanks - not looking good - what about the grout problem #2 I mention?

when grouting try and wash off the excess grout with a damp ponge without over-washing it usaully as you see the grout starting to go off,once the grout is dry use an old clean rag to buff the tiles removing the excess grout on the tiles,using a wet sponge again will only move it about and make it seem as if its gone until it dries again

Thanks for the advice (I like the house rabbit by the way, we have one too ) it's just that the tiles are non-slip and very grippy. Buffing them isn't easy! By way of contrast, we have conventional tiles on the walls which are a dream to grout and it just wipes/buffs right off. Are you sure this method works for non-slip tiles?

Thanks

Its a time honoured method, but I can relate to your concerns as the tiles have been fabricated for a non-slip surface. You just have to take your time and be patient when undertaking this.

Pebbs