Tiles in window recess not sticking

[boogalou]

My husband has just fitted new bathroom and tiled it all but the tiles in the window recess have just fallen off and smashed the new basin! he has used unibond tile adhesive for the whole room which I know isn't great stuff but they have stuck so that's ok but the ones in the top of the recess fell off even after being propped in place with timber, he wants to just use no more nails for these 2 tiles will that be ok? please help

[GirlRacerRed]

what size of tiles are you trying to fix? and are they ceramic or porcelain or stone?

[Stewart]

What type of tiles are they, what is the substrate and did he prime the substrate?

[aph257]

NO to no more nails, a, its rubbish and b, prob' wont work. BTW unibond is also rubbish stuff.
I assume if you look at the back of the tiles the adhesive is still wet in the middle but dry around the outside.
BTW what size are the tiles?

[boogalou]

They are ceramic tiles, 25cm x 15cm, he just removed the old tiles sanded down and stuck new ones on? the ones that came off the adhesive was just soft(chalky) not wet or dry in any particular areas.

[Rich]

That would be the dust left on the surface by sanding. Get yourself some rapid setting powder adhesive, clean the substrate off really well, prime and then replace the tiles.

[boogalou]

can you recommend a powder adhesive that comes in small packets and a primer please

[Rich]

Of course, do you have a Tile Giant near by?

Did you say what the substrate that is being tiled onto was? Is it render, plasterboard or is it painted?

[Aspect Tiling]

Not sure if Tile Giant do small bags, someone else may be able to advise. Screwfix sell small bags of Mapei Keraquick though for under £10, along with Primer G.

[Rich]

Tile Giant do small bags although they may not keep many in stock.

[akinsontiles]

Try getting in contact with a local tiler who may have some that would be enough for two tiles.

But don't go using no more nails as it will only happen again when you replace the broken basin in a week or two and probably in the middle of the night and scare the life out of everyone.

[Bolter]

can you recommend a powder adhesive that comes in small packets and a primer please

Where abouts are you? If you are near me, I'll do it for you. No cost.

[boogalou]

aww bless you that's a kind offer but I live in North yorkshire :-(

[boogalou]

I'm now worried about all the other tiles! they are firm to the touch and have been up a week but sound hollw when tapped, should they be left or taken off and re-done?

[Dave]

If hubs used a ready mixed adhesive, then the bed depth should not exceed 3mm and if he has blob fixed them, then i think you might fall out with him if we tell you what to do now..

[kevin67]

it may be best to try and take 1 or 2 off to see how easily they come off then you'll know if they all need re-doing.

[boogalou]

some walls seemed unlevel so I guess he put more than 3mm on to get it to grip he didn't dab it on but he did spread it onto the tile not the wall. I'm not sure I want to hear more replys!? but go ahead anyway, our day can't get much worse!

[kevin67]

without seeing it it sounds like there's dust still left on the back of the tile after they were sanded. as i said if you remove 1 or 2 it will let you see how easily they come off. also was it grouted in the same day? as with tubbed addy you have to leave it to set 24 hours minimum

[Brinkley]

i feel your pain why ready mixed adhesive are sold in this country is a joke .
its expensive
its not waterproof ie it breaks down in water
and tile companies are still happy to sell it .
eay money for them.
what you need is a good brand like mapei or bal if i were in your position i would go to a tile giant near youand purchase a 1 ltr bottle of mapei primer g (once the tiles are off if it goes this Way).
prime the hole room , them use a cement cased adhesive such as kerraquick to fix your tiles .
unibond is no good as others have said for packing out uneven alls saying that no ready mixed adhesive is suitable for packing out tiles .
hope you sort it out .

[Brinkley]

just read that back spelling mistakes soz my buttons aint working

[tfs]

You may find that your adhesive can take as long as 4 days to set, this is not unheard of with ready mixed adhesive. If the wall were painted then the adhesive can soften they paint and make it almost wet again (to the extent that you could remove the paint and adhesive with the flat side of a trowel) it may be a case that your husband removed the props just a little to early when the adhesive had not fully set.

I have to agree that ready mixed was not the best choice in this case but its done now and hopefully your tiles will be fine. As suggested try to remove a few tiles to see how easy they come off. I would however give the tiles a few more days to give the adhesive a better chance to fully cure.

Tile giant do sell small bags and I would reccomend using Kerraquick which come in quantities as little as 5kg which would be ideal for your repair on window reveal.

Good luck and dont panic too much just yet, give a few more days. Im sure you will learn that the easiest way is not the best when it comes to tiling so mix it yourself next time

I hope you get it sorted

[Rich]

Now there is a question

What is the substrate, what did your husband tile onto?

Did he use any primer?

What trowel did he use?

Was the entirer room sanded down and then tiled?

[Rich]

Im not sure how but I missed all the replies on the second page of this thread, sorry guys

[boogalou]

I see screwfix sell kerraquick tile adhesive will this be ok on its own or do we have to use the primer stuff first?

[Rich]

No you will need to prime the substrate first, all the instructions will be on the bottle of primer and on the bag of adhesive.

You will need to make sure that the substrate is completely clean from dust and adhesive before priming.

[tfs]

depends on the substrate

[boogalou]

plaster

[tfs]

plaster will need primed (bare plasterboard would have been fine though)

[boogalou]

Typical! Thank you for all the advice

[kevin67]

i always prime plasterboard too