Chimney breast tiles popping - help! - TilersForums.com

[Tony Cooper]

Hi All,

Could really do with some help here. A good pal of mine had a fireplace built with an inset fire and asked me to tile the surround from floor to ceiling. He supplied the tiles (purchased off the internet) which were a porcelain metalic 600 x 300. The fire company built the chimney breast with plasterboards fixed to a wooden frame. My pal wanted the tiles to sit perfectly flush with the face of the fire so we had to screw fix 6mm ply to the face of the chimney breast plasterboards (to pack it out to the right level) which meant that when the tiles were fixed there was no lip visible. The plasterboard and ply were sealed with BAL SBR primer and the tiles fixed with Weber.set spf, grout used was Mapei ultracolour plus.

2 months later and he's just rang to say that some of the tiles are popping off. I'm going to have a look tomorrow but I've never had a chimney breast tiling job fail before so I'm at a loss to explain why it's failed. I've attached a few pics so you can see what the finished job looked like.

Anybody had this happen before ? If so, why has it failed ? And the million dollar question, can it be saved without any major surgery ?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Tony

 

[nybor62]

the tiles that are popping are they the ones closest to the heat of the fire,how secure was the frame work , imo i would,nt have used ply either would have gone with cement board

 

[White Room]

The 6mm ply could be flexing with the heat from the fire or even the room, if it's popping the tiles then may need removing...

 

[hillhead]

The ply is too light i'd say, and it's a disaster to stick anything to lately as it's all chinese.
I'v seen the veneer come away and bubble galore.
Only last week i looked at a stone wall job which was lined with ply.
I told the i'd only mechanical fix the stone plus use a two part laticrete mix.
I'm taking no chances around an american fridge, microwave etc.

 

[Del W]

Was the fire in use before the addy had reached its full cured strength ?

 

[Tony Cooper]

Thanks for the quick replies fellas.

Del, The fire wasn't switched on at all during the installation, specific instructions from me not to do so to ensure the addy cured correctly.

nybor62, hillhead and whitebeam - the frame was solid and the ply was screwed at 300mm centres.

I'll view it this morning and discuss your feedback with my pal and let yopu know the outcome.

Will let you kow how it goes.....

 

[Perry]

6mm ply 300 centres heat :yikes: would never work take them down put the ply in the skip and start again what adhesive did you use ?

 

[Tony Cooper]

pjc - The plasterboard and ply were sealed with BAL SBR primer and the tiles fixed with Weber.set spf, grout used was Mapei ultracolour plus.

Just been back to the job and the tiles are solid on the face (not popping individually) but there is a small element of 'bounce' at the top (guess that's where it's hottest). That movement has caused the grout to crack down the full length of the vertical edges at the sides (where it meets the reveal) so it's got to be a problem of the ply moving. I'm gutted. Looks like the lot will have to come off and start again. It's going to be a very costly mistake.

Would hardibacker board have avoided this situation ?

 

[Perry]

pjc - The plasterboard and ply were sealed with BAL SBR primer and the tiles fixed with Weber.set spf, grout used was Mapei ultracolour plus.

Just been back to the job and the tiles are solid on the face (not popping individually) but there is a small element of 'bounce' at the top (guess that's where it's hottest). That movement has caused the grout to crack down the full length of the vertical edges at the sides (where it meets the reveal) so it's got to be a problem of the ply moving. I'm gutted. Looks like the lot will have to come off and start again. It's going to be a very costly mistake.

Would hardibacker board have avoided this situation ?

Never used hardy but yes sealed the back and edges of the ply not the front ? spf rapid ?

 

[Rich]

Ply is horrid stuff to bond to at the best of times and 6mm ply is about as good to tile onto as toilet paper. It just is not stable enough. A cement board would have been better but 6mm boards are not recommended for walls, you may have to go thicker.

What a kick in the back side. I hope your mate wasnt to upset about it.