Urgent Travertine Dilema!

[DIYdolly]

Hi There,
Last weekend my boyfriend and I were adding the final touches to our bathroom project from hell! After nearly eight months of toil we were putting on the final bath panel and noticed to our horror that the aquaboard underneath the level of the bath was damp in a couple of patches. We put up aquaboard and then tiled it with homebase travertine 10cmx10cm tiles quite a while ago and have merrily using the shower, unaware of what was going on!
We sealed the tiles with homebase own brand sealer twice before grouting and then another coat afterwards. We assumed that the adhesive on the back of the tiles would stop any water getting through the holes of the tiles and reaching the aquaboard.
Last weekend we went back to homebase to ask for advice,as we are both feeling sick at the prospect of soggy aquaboard and tiles coming off the wall. The lady was a bit "computer says no!!" and said she didnt have any ideas and we should consult a specialist. We looked at some damp proofing liquid for bricks/concrete which supposed to stop absorbsion of water. We thought this might work, but it said it was for external stone/brick etc so were were not sure.
On the way home we stopped off at a Topps tiles to ask more advice. She asked us if we had "back buttered" the tiles,to which we replied "no, what is that!" She mentioned getting a resin to fill in the gaps, and to try fired earth, natural stone company etc etc, or to try and fill the gaps with grout. There are literally millions of holes, ranging from 2mm-7mm so were not keen to re-grout!
We passed yet another company and stopped for more advice. We were told that there is no resin/clear glaze we could use, but that our only option is to smear grout all over the tiles and then wash off the residue.
Both of use feel totally disheartened at the thought of having to slop messy white grout all over the walls, and inevitably the new bath, taps, shower screen etc!. We are woried that the tiles are going to look crap with hundreds of white dots on them. Please, please, please if anybody has any advice on an alternative to regrouting I would be so grateful. Would a better sealant like Lithofin be better?
Sorry for writing an essay
Many thanks.

[Dave]

If you have not grouted the holes in the travertine and this is in a shower then you will get water ingression through these points and into the adhesives bed this will then wet up the aqua panel...even if you had back buttered the water would still get in..If you had grouted these holes then it would have stopped the water from getting directly to the substrate as the grout would have wet up and then dried before your next shower...i personally don't leave the holes ungrouted but this up to the individual...so i would advise you grout these points in.. it wont take that long really and will help the water to just run off the tiles rather than collect in the holes if you see what i mean...If it is a good grade of aqua panel the water wont destroy it but its not advisable to let this continue to happen..good luck and let us know how you get on.....


Oh!!! and welcome to forums as well...

[sweaty sock]

Look at the seal gard spray on the web page - it will seal tiles and grout in place - pricey though at £30 a pop.

[Holohana]

what about using grout to match the tile colour?

[Dan]

Firstly, well done for the effort. And welcome to the forum.

Just a couple of things I could do with knowing before I stick my 2 cents in:-

1. What make aquaboard did you use?
2. What make adhesive did you use?
3. What make grout did you use?

Generally, an adhesive and grout that is cement-based (powder) can say waterproof on the bag but it actually isn't. The term that shoul be used it water resistant, not proof. As it will allow water to pass through it an not break it back own or loose its form in anyway and still holds your tiles on. Although the background / substrate, in your case your aquaboard would stop the water going back to the real wall ... plaster or plasterboard, which is what you're protecting with your aquaboard.

If you aquaboard is wet and your tiles haven't come loose or fell off then it is doing its job. But to stop the water dripping off the bottom of the aquaboard an landing on the floor you would have needed to use a tanking system which then makes a solid waterPROOF surface so your water would sort of do this....

Soak through the cement based grout, soak through the waterRESISTANT adhesive, gather and form enough water to cause a drip at the bottom of the board, and then fall back into the bath or shower. As a tanking system you 'paint' onto the board and on the bath / showertray edge so it would cause no problem.

If you stuck aquaboard just on the top half of the room, or not fully to the floor, those drips will drop to the floor, so make sure that's not going to get damaged by it.

If you did put the board all the way to the floor, then the damp you see is simply the caused by the board doing its job.

As for the sealer. It's usually only from a cosmetic point of view that you'd seal a tile. If you're relying on it acting as a long-term waterPROOFing system then DO NOT! As many can't do that. At least not for power showers and the likes.

If you can give us more info you'll get more of an accurate response. And then maybe a solution. But I need to know what board, adhesive an grout you used.

STOP BUYING FROM B&Q FOR TILE RELATED STUFF! IT IS CHEAPER THAN A TILE RETAILER BECAUSE ITS JUST NOT THE SAME - AND THE TERMS USED ON THE BAGS ARE MISSLEADING!

[Robski]

Hi,

We're thinking of purchasing Travertine tiles (from Homebase as the original raiser of this thread) and would like to know if the problem being discussed above is specific to this kind of tile (i.e. one with holes in it) or more to do with the method that the tile has been applied.

I'm getting a local and recommended tiler to do the install - but don't want to go and buy certain tile if it will cause me issues down the line.

Thanks for any considered help

Rob

[TilingLogistics]

Originally Posted by Robski

Hi,

We're thinking of purchasing Travertine tiles (from Homebase as the original raiser of this thread) and would like to know if the problem being discussed above is specific to this kind of tile (i.e. one with holes in it) or more to do with the method that the tile has been applied.

I'm getting a local and recommended tiler to do the install - but don't want to go and buy certain tile if it will cause me issues down the line.

Thanks for any considered help

Rob

Unfilled travertine is only suitable in a shower area if it is back skimmed, grouted on the face and sealed with a premium sealer. The shower area should always be tanked as well IMO but not everyone agrees with me on that. Your local recommended tiler should be aware of all this information though! Why not ask him, to check he is aware and to satisfy yourself?
Welcome to the Forums by the way

Kev

[bigandy]

I'm with kev (tilinglogistics) on this. Better to be safe than sorry

[Robski]

thanks for the update... been bitten before with some trades (not tilers ) and always look to check things out to make sure job will be a good 'un...