Help! Tiled whole bathroom with Tubbed adhesive only to find out it’s not showerproof

[Bbbecca7]

In a bit of a nightmare here

We recently spent a lot of money having our bathroom re-plastered (plaster board and skimmed) to make the walls smooth and square ready for tiling

My dad and husband have been tiling it and have done a lovely job! (My dad has done it a few times but it’s my husbands first time)

HOWEVER.. popped to b&q with my husband today to buy more adhesive and when I read the tub it said only suitable for areas of intermittent wetness.. not suitable for showers! (The b&q shelf label refers to it as waterproof and so dies the description on their website but the tub says otherwise)

We have rang the helpline and the guy said it is waterproof but not shower proof (eh!?) but that it should be fine if it is sealed and grouted properly. And that he has told others this and known it used.

The shower in question is an over bath shower so it won’t get as much water contact as a proper shower but I’m still concerned

Is there some kind of sealent/waterproofing membrane type thing I could apply between tiles before grouting?

What would you guys do in my position? It’s our first house and don’t want any disasters .. but also don’t want to make them pull the tiles off and have to potentially buy new ones at £200!

The tiles are very well stuck on and not able to be pulled off

Any help would be massively appreciated.. I’m trying not to act too annoyed at their mistake as they’ve done a brill job and worked very hard and I don’t want to be ungrateful but the mood isn’t great between us right now!

 

[WetSaw]

Tile adhesive and grout ( not epoxy grout) are not waterproof. Water resistant yes, in the fact that once cured aren't affected by water but that doesn't mean water won't pass through it. Tubbed adhesive dries by dispersion, air drying. If you don't want to take them all off again to tank ( waterproof) the walls then leave it a while before you grout to ensure the adhesive has set. Then use a good quality grout and silicone to finish.

 

[Bond]

You could use an epoxy grout, or a grout protector once grouted.

 

[Spare Tool]

As long as its well grouted (with a good make of grout) and sealed with a bead of silicone in corners and around bath it'll more than likely be fine. You could also spray the grout after its dried with LTP grout sealer, makes grout a lot more water resistant..

 

[Bbbecca7]

Thanks to both of you for your replies! It’s given me a bit of hope!

I’m definitely going to look in to the epoxy grout and the grout protector!

The tiles are very small (70mm x 100mm) so they’ve dried well and have been left for a week and a half and won’t be grouted until next week

 

[Waluigi]

provided the plasterboard was properly primed and not just sealed with a PVA and water solution it’ll probably be fine.

No professional in the industry can run a business on a ‘probably’ so it’s not ideal but you might get away with it as a DIYer.

Incidentally the way a professional Tiler would usually prepare a wall if it’s been newly plasterboarded is to never plaster it but tile straight on to the plasterboard in dry areas, in wet areas the plasterboard would be ‘tanked’ and then tiled. Tanking is a waterproof membrane which is either painted on as a paste or a kind of waterproof wallpaper is applied.

Tile adhesive wise I think most pros use powdered adhesive for pretty much everything.

I’d definitely consider epoxy if I was worried. Not easy to use and not cheap I’m afraid.

 

[Boggs]

Which one did you use?

 

[Dumbo]

To be honest that's how we used to do it years ago im sure you will not have a failure due to materials used if it fails it will probably down to workmanship and by that I mean grouting or siliconing .

 

[hmtiling]

Please don't get the grout from b&q. Epoxy may not be a good choice for DIY.
A decent brand of grout and silicone and i wouldn't worry at all

 

[Waluigi]

If you do use a standard grout (non epoxy) then it’s essential that you really push the grout into the joints with a proper grout float. After grouting is complete then seal the grout as per MI

As already mentioned it’s likely to be fine, the usual cause of failures is a silicone joint fail, grout joint fault or crack especially on the internal wall junction and any other abutments. Also shower valve seals where pipes pass through the wall or shower shrouds aren’t properly sealed.

 

[widler]

Sounds like you have used ceramic tiles, it will be fine as long as it’s solid, people in the tiling world are still ripping out bathrooms to this day from the 80s done the same way as you with no problems.
Don’t believe everything you read on the net

 

[Waluigi]

Let’s not kid ourselves though. It was still the wrong adhesive to use and the wall still should’ve been tanked. It might last many decades without issues, it might not.

 

[Bbbecca7]

Thankyou for all of your advice. It’s been really helpful! I fully accept it was the wrong adhesive, but they’ve done a great job and I’m loathe to ask them to pull them off and start over. As you can imagine with small tiles it’s taken a while and they look great. I am a massive worrier though!

My dad has always done his own bathrooms and he is no expert but he’s always done a good job .. (even if it is a case of “buy whatever’s in B&Q”) ..and they’ve always lasted

Personally I over-research everything I do and it would not have been my choice of adhesive but I am going to make sure they get a good quality grout from a professional tile shop and I’ll also get some grout sealer. Although we haven’t tanked so far I will make sure the remaining plaster (wall edges and around under bath) are tanked properly, although not ideal it’s better than nothing.

Thanks again though guys, it is what it is but I definitely feel a lot better about it now

 

[widler]

But what we did years ago was the right way ? You watch, in another decade or two everyone will be doing it wrong today.
And tanking, although its the right way now, no one heard of it until a few years ago, tile shops we not selling it a few years ago bever mind tilers using it

 

[Waluigi]

I’ve been tanking for 15 years plus

I’m not saying before that time it was wrong, just that it isn’t as good as the way we now do things.

 

[widler]

I never have seen tanking or ditra in any shop in burnley or the surrounding areas before ten years ago, my mate who has been In the tile industry for a few decades and opened his own shop about 7 years ago , never heard of matting or tanking before he opened his shop.
You must be one of a few who has been tanking domestic showers the past 15 years , cos nigh on every tiler I talk too are the same as me

I’ve been tanking for 15 years plus

I’m not saying before that time it was wrong, just that it isn’t as good as the way we now do

 

[Boggs]

Tanking? What’s tanking?

 

[Waluigi]

I never have seen tanking or ditra in any shop in burnley or the surrounding areas before ten years ago, my mate who has been In the tile industry for a few decades and opened his own shop about 7 years ago , never heard of matting or tanking before he opened his shop.
You must be one of a few who has been tanking domestic showers the past 15 years , cos nigh on every tiler I talk too are the same as me

Been doing it myself ever since I went self employed in 2002. Every single shower. Started off using Kerdi and WP1 and Homelux then Mapei and now Tilemaster. I’d say it’s been common for more than a ‘few’ years. I admit that I must’ve been an early adopter.

Kerdi has been around since the late 80’s.

Before tanking, we always used to fit Knauf Aquapanel. This was early 90’s.

Just saying how it was done round my way.

 

[Jacko]

9/10 of my customer ask if they can get away without tanking. Not too worried if the bathroom is downstairs, but, I highly recommend it upstairs.

I always use Powder based adhesives.
Only time I use tub adhesive is on Kitchen Splashbacks.

Back to the OP, you should be alright. I suggest not using the shower/ bath until you have completed the job (Grout and bead).

 

[Steve6690]

25 years ago a friend of mine (who was unemployed and needed the money) tiled my bathroom with Villeroy and Boch tiles, all four walls, floor to ceiling. He tiled directly on to painted plasterboard. From memory he used a tubbed(?) Bal "waterproof adhesive" and waterproof grout. I remember having a row about the adhesive because he had a mate who was supposedly a professional tiler and he'd told him you didn't need waterproof adhesive as long as you used waterproof grout. I bought the waterproof adhesive anyway.
I suspect he used the 5-spot method of applying the adhesive too.
Since about 3 years ago we fitted a shower and that's become its main use. Last month I ground out all the grout and trims, re-grouted and replaced trims. Point is, the tiles are still on and nowadays it would be considered a bodge job. It was probably a bodge job back then too, for all I know .
I think what I'm trying to say, completely unqualified, is that it'll probably be ok and if it were me, I wouldn't be ripping tiles off and re-doing it.

 

[Bbbecca7]

25 years ago a friend of mine ....

Yeah I get what you mean thanks!
They have coated the whole back of the tile not used dots so there’s that!
I know it’s not ideal but from what everyone has said I think I’m willing to take the risk as I think it is quite low
Still one row of tiles to go above the bath so will tank before that row .. for what it’s worth

 

[ttt tiling]

Sounds like you have used ceramic tiles, it will be fine as long as it’s solid, people in the tiling world are still ripping out bathrooms to this day from the 80s done the same way as you with no problems.
Don’t believe everything you read on the net

How very true , ok we do the belt and braces thing as a matter of course , but can't help thinking it's overkill sometimes.
I've been tiling since the mid eighties and only been tanking since the noughies and never knowingly had a failure!

 

[Spare Tool]

How very true , ok we do the belt and braces thing as a matter of course , but can't help thinking it's overkill sometimes.
I've been tiling since the mid eighties and only been tanking since the noughies and never knowingly had a failure!

Makes me wonder how many out of a hundred showers would fail (obviously not wetrooms) if tiled professionally without tanking, waterproof boards etc...

 

[widler]

Makes me wonder how many out of a hundred showers would fail (obviously not wetrooms) if tiled professionally without tanking, waterproof boards etc...

I will guarantee probably all of them would not fail .
As long as tiled properly, not dot and dabbed, probably none would fail in a domestic shower.
Let’s be honest, tanking in a domestic shower (not wetroom) is to protect the substrate, not to stop leaks ,silicons is to stop the leaks.
I’m not a fan of rapping the tanking tape over the shower base, which a few do,as tanking paste is much much easier to remove from a shower base than silicone.
I’m going to rip my en-suite out in the new year, it’s been in over a decade, no tanking, no leaks , with 3 girls using it , my youngest is in it for about half hour every night , wife in in morning and night , eldest in it morning and night(when she lived here) work out how many times that’s been used in all them years, that’s some luck I’ve had ?

Been doing it myself ever since I went self employed in 2002. Every single shower. Started off using Kerdi and WP1 and Homelux then Mapei and now Tilemaster. I’d say it’s been common for more than a ‘few’ years. I admit that I must’ve been an early adopter.

Kerdi has been around since the late 80’s.

Before tanking, we always used to fit Knauf Aquapanel. This was early 90’s.

Just saying how it was done round my way.

Another one which I’ve never heard of until recent years , the waterproof boards, don’t think I’ve ever used them , in wetrooms or showers,and I actually don’t see the point.
Sorry I do see the point, it makes the manufacturers a hell of a lot of money

 

[Andy Allen]

Still no tanking or cement boards in most new builds.....

 

[acaciaguy]

Still no tanking or cement boards in most new builds.....

In my own flat a new build of about 7 years the plasterboard around the shower cubicle wasn’t even MR.

 

[Waluigi]

All this anti tanking yet people who say it’s not worth it still have done it. Why?

If tanking is unnessary then they should never have tanked a shower in their whole career.

I’m not going to buy the argument that they were asked to tank. That’s a very rare occurance.

Widler- I just checked, you have said that you use the Tilemaster kit, I’m sorry but I don’t Understand why? It’s contradictory.

Oh yeah, when I was about 14/15, me and my Dad prepped and tiled a shower at home. We used OSB as it was the cheapest board possible, that was 20 years ago. Still fine. Let’s all use OSB in future.

 

[WetSaw]

I think the no tanking posts are in relation to the op and for them not to worry too much about the possibility of leaks. In the olden days when houses were made of things called "bricks" , even the internal walls, if a drop of water got onto the substrate it wasn't too much of a problem. Today's paper mache ( or papier mâché..) houses are rather more susceptible to water causing problems and in a short space of time.

 

[widler]

All this anti tanking yet people who say it’s not worth it still have done it. Why?

If tanking is unnessary then they should never have tanked a shower in their whole career.

I’m not going to buy the argument that they were asked to tank. That’s a very rare occurance.

Widler- I just checked, you have said that you use the Tilemaster kit, I’m sorry but I don’t Understand why? It’s contradictory.

Oh yeah, when I was about 14/15, me and my Dad prepped and tiled a shower at home. We used OSB as it was the cheapest board possible, that was 20 years ago. Still fine. Let’s all use OSB in future.

No idea where you get im anti tanking ?
Ive tanked every wetroom ive ever tiled ?
I just look at everything with a bit of common sense, for decades and decades showers and even swimming pools have never been tanked?
And not failed , thats due to correct tiling procedure.
Im a great believer of not ramming things down people throats about whats wrong because you have been on a tiling coarse somewhere when tilers have been doing it a different way , with bo problems for years.
Do i belive tanking is nessasery in a domestic shower , no, its not, its been proven for hundreds of years, will it bother me if it becomes law,nope.
Anyway back to the OP, enjoy your new bathroom, and don’t worry about it, if its done right, yiu will have no problems.

 

[Waluigi]

Ahh my mistake. Just weteooms then.

You don’t need tank domestic showers with a tray or Bath?