discoloured tiles

[saintdom]

morning folks,

popped round to a job i did a few months back now to find the bottom row of tiles have turned a grey shade.

the silicone seemed flawless and the tiles were super cheap and when i was fixing they seemed to bruise in places, somehing i have never seen before.

does anyone know waht this could be , its only 4 tiles on the bottom other 4 are fine, the grout is not stained and there is no evidence of water getting behind.

i was at a loss to explain really

thanks in advance

[timeless john]

I always handle tiles with kid gloves - I would hate to 'bruise' them!. Not a term I would normally associate with tiles but you are talking about a discolouration resembling a bruise I assume.
Did you mark the back of the tile with a felt tip - ie to number them 1-4 etc. This can bleed through soft biscuit tiles.
There could be dampness from undried plaster getting into the back of the tile.
Just a couple of things

Timeless John.

[Sir Ramic]

I would go with damp behind the tiles soaking upwards slightly on a thinly glazed tile.

[jay]

hi if you have a spare tile put it in a bucket of water so half tile stays dry leave aprox 10 mins and remove does the wet part of tile change color grey like your shower

[tommyzooom]

Are the tiles in the shower?
if so water is seeping into the back of the tile
More noticable on red bodied ceramics with light coloured glaze.

[saintdom]

cheers fellas , the tiles are the bottom layer in a shower. very strange to see and had no idea the reasoning. was worried the silicone was not fitted properly but seems water tight to us all so was wondering if wate was seeping into tile .

thanks again

dom

[Dave]

The water soaks in through the joints...Ingression is the terminolgy..

[beanz]

its only 4 tiles on the bottom other 4 are fine

Are these 4 all together, or is it just a random 4? If all together, i'd go with water getting behind the tile. If random, have a good look at the glaze, any cracks/scratches?

[Alpha Omega]

If only the bottom row is showing signs of damp, unlikely to be ingress, more likely silicone is breaking away when the weight is in it and sucking up.
Does it dry out between showers ?

Are they showering both at the same time naughty people.

[tileexperts]

ah! i saw something before like this, water getting in behind the glaze. it would get in at the grout joint.
was it a cheap tile???
cause the only tiles i have seen this happen is in a cheap tile here.