I am in the process of having my shower tiled. The plumber has left for the day so i have been to see how it was looking. The tiles we have chosen are quite big and looking into the gap between the wall and the tile i can see the adhesive has been applied in about 6 blobs to each tile. I was under the impression it would need to cover the whole of the rear of the tile. there are large gaps where there is no adhesive and i am concerned that the only thing keeping water out is the grout. surely if the grout were to work loose water would run down between the wall and the tile?

if you register (it's free!) you'll get answers a lot quicker as your posts then won't need approving

Dot and dab, bad code of practice. Grout is not waterproof, just water resistant ( unless epoxy) I would advise you to, register as Doug sugests and post some pics if poss

Dot & Dab is a BIG no no

100% coverage in showers

Why is it a big no no. Will it leak?

Tanking is also advisable but maybe its too late now.

I think its too late now. I was suprised they didnt but they assured me it didnt need doing. I didnt know anything about tiling and took their word for it. Im obviously quite concerned now that we might be storing up trouble for the future. Am in the process of speaking to the builder who brought him in to finish our extension

Spot and dab is not the correct way

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I think its too late now. I was suprised they didnt but they assured me it didnt need doing. I didnt know anything about tiling and took their word for it. Im obviously quite concerned now that we might be storing up trouble for the future. Am in the process of speaking to the builder who brought him in to finish our extension

Please register (free and takes minutes) and post some pictures

As Diamond above, register and get some pics on. You will get top advice for free, the members on this site are passionate about tiling. We hate to see bad working practice, It tars the whole industry with the same brush. This guy is no tiler, and should be stopped now

What adhesive was used, tubbed or powder, not that it makes any difference though

tubbed

Water will soften the adhesive, stop him from proceeding.

very important you stop him from continuing. As you correctly assumed, if water gets through the grout there is nothing to stop it going where it wants. Tubbed addy is only good for 3/4 mm thick otherwise it stays soft. I have found addy thats been on for months and still soft.
Please register and we can help you further

The tiles could be too large for tubbed adhesive too.

Sorry for this, know it has been seen before.
Not trying to advertise myself,but thought this would be fitting for the thread..
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNi5Le6hze0]YouTube - How not to tile[/ame]

as above,,dot and dabbed with tubbed addy,this will fail stop him now and you may save your tiles as well as that addy wont have set yet

Get tiler to bring a bowl of hot melted chocolate, make him dip his "marshmallows" into the chocolate & eat em'

Follow the well placed advice,first register to the website then you'll have top notch professionals walk you through your job pointing out the do's and dont's of tiling,like everyone has told you,stop this guy right away,it's going to cost you money now and more down the road when you have to rip your walls out,demand the builder bring someone in to do it properly.your paying for the adhesive so tell him not to skimp, that you want full coverage on your tile,if they take down the tile that's already up I would suggest paying the extra money and having your shower tanked,you can't put a price on peace of mind,good luck

dot and dab against British Standards for one thing, and just think about it logically- how much of the area of the tile is actually in contact with the adhesive? Do not let him proceed and employ a professional tiler who owns a trowel!

as all the above, this guy dont have a clue stop hom now please , or you will have major probs