Help! Tiled wetroom floor looks perfect but grout doesn't dry out!

[p4ulo]

Phew.....nice one Paula....who could have imagined that grouting a shower tray properly would be so important??!! (lol)

 

[Paula]

Phew.....nice one Paula....who could have imagined that grouting a shower tray properly would be so important??!! (lol)

It does seem so (although apart from a few bits of grout missing around the drain, you wouldn't really have been able say that it was done badly). I'm convinced that changing the grout to epoxy has had just as much of an effect....given that normal grout ALWAYS lets water through, why would you want to use anything else?

 

[Paul72]

Hi. I'm new here and have read this thread and could really do with some advice.

I've had a large extension built and now have 2 wetrooms to complete. I have used AKW tuff form and AKW tri form trays.

I'm at the tiling stage now and have been looking at the Mapei Kerapoxy CQ grout. (I have tanked the wet areas with mapei gum and tape) but I was drawn to the kerapoxy due to it being impermeable.

I called mapei tech and they said it has no flexibility once cured do was just wondering if it would be OK to use on the wetrooms floors as one guy states that he uses it on all his wetrooms and has never had any problems.

I'd also be interested to see if Paula's epoxy grout has withstood the test of time since sorting out the problem.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

Thanks.

Paul

 

[Paula]

Hi, I don't know whether anyone is still referring to this (very long!) thread, and I'm sure it's too late for Paul, above, but I have some information I thought I should share with you.

I too was told by the technical people at Mapei that epoxy was not as flexible as cementitious grout, but that, unless there was constant movement in the floor, then it should be ok to use it on our tiles which are laid on a suspended timber floor. As there was not a huge amount of movement on our floor, and encouraged by comments on this forum by others who said they usually use epoxy in wet rooms, we went ahead.

About 16 months after the epoxy was applied, I started to notice dark lines along a couple of the grout lines which surround the two tiles we tend to stand on when we shower. Over the following months these lines have got bigger, and they are now full blown cracks. However, they are confined to the area where we stand to shower, so most of the grouting in the shower area is still intact.

Our builder has come to look, and contacted Mapei who have said that there is no flexibility in epoxy, but that the cracking could be to do with any of the following:

- excessive movement in the suspended timber floor under the tray (ply not screwed down properly)
- failure of the Impey tanking
-water/moisture seeping to the ply in the flooring and making it swell

We haven't noticed any leaking in the ceiling below so would be surprised if the Impey tanking had failed.

He is asking what I want to do, but is suggesting that the epoxy is almost impossible to remove without damaging the tiles.

I'm really not sure what to say! Obviously I'm disappointed that the epoxy has failed, given that it seemed like the perfect solution to our problems for over a year, but I still consider the bathroom "new", so am not happy that the shower area has large cracks. Long term, I don't imagine it's a good idea to let water soak down these cracks, even if there is intact membrane underneath?

Any ideas anyone? Should I push for removing the epoxy and replacing it with normal grout, given that we eventually worked out that the original problem (permanently wet grout) was down to the tiler leaving a void around the drain that filled up with water, and that has now been rectified? or do you think that we'll eventually end up with cracked grout, whichever is used, as there is obviously movement in our floor?

 

[Bill]

By the time this gets resolved, your tiles will be out of fashion and you will want a 'new look' for your bathroom.........

 

[Italy]

I used a hot air gun.
To remove epoxy.
Pay attention to the wood below. It could burn.

 

[LM]

Bloody hell, just read this thread

 

[SJPurdy]

We haven't noticed any leaking in the ceiling below so would be surprised if the Impey tanking had failed.

I don't think it is at all likely to fail as a tanking barrier to stop water getting through, (I haven't tried the newer easier to use version so am assuming it is similar to the old). However it is my opinion that it remains slightly compressible under the tiles and this may be why the grout is cracking around the tiles that are stood on most.

 

[J Sid]

have you any spare tiles?
if so lift the tiles with the grout cracking, there will be water under them now so will need drying out. When you remove the tiles you will be able to investigate further to what's going on.

 

[Paula]

have you any spare tiles?
if so lift the tiles with the grout cracking, there will be water under them now so will need drying out. When you remove the tiles you will be able to investigate further to what's going on.

Thanks for that, Julian.

I'm just wondering how easy it will be to remove tiles? It's not like they're obviously wobbling about, and the epoxy grout looks well and truly stuck to at least some of the edges. Should we be worried about damaging the membrane in the process?