Make life easy, search the forum.

Discuss Help! Tiled wetroom floor looks perfect but grout doesn't dry out! in the Tiling News; Tile News area at TilersForums. USA and UK Tiling Forum

Please checkout the following advertisement.
We had a wet room installed about 8 months ago. The floor is tiled with large 60x60cm porcelain tiles laid on Impey Waterguard membrane and the shower tray is Impey Aquadec Easyfit with the membrane laid over the top. It is a new-build first floor bathroom (new extension on older house) with a suspended timber floor. The tiles appear to be laid well and there has been no obvious movement or cracking of grout (Bal Micromax). However, almost immediately we noticed that in the shower area some areas of grout (which is light grey) did not dry out, and over time about 50% of the grout lines were permanently dark, even when the shower was not used for a few days. I searched tile forums and became concerned that the tiles had been laid on an incomplete layer of https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/, and that water was pooling underneath them, leading to permanently wet grout, but could not see any evidence of the tiles coming up or moving about, which usually seems to happen with problems like this.

Our builder called back the tiler who swore that he had used the correct amount and type of https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/, and said that if he had not done so then the grout would have cracked on the floor. Bal, the grout and https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ manufacturers, were called, but their "expert" tried to claim that the dark patches were not, in fact, wet, but possibly mould or even dirt! He agreed that it looked like the tiles had been correctly laid and suggested leaving the floor to dry and then replacing the grout and then using a sealer to stop water soaking through the grout. When I mentioned the possibility of https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ not covering the back of the tiles, he agreed with the builder that it was very difficult to achieve a completely flat bed of https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/, suggesting that it was almost inevitable that some pooling of water under the tiles would occur, leading to patches of wet grout.

We agreed to wait for the floor to dry out. We are now on week 5 (in a warm room with underfloor heating in the rest of the floor away from the shower tray!) and there is still a small wet patch, but most is back to the normal light grey colour. It took about 3 weeks for most of the moisture to go and the dark patches to disappear, so we have now discounted the mould/dirt theories, but are concerned that there must have been quite a lot of water sitting under the tiles for them to remain wet so long! The builder now just wants to seal the dried grout, and not re-grout at all. He is refusing to do anything else.

I have talked to most of the manufacturers of grout sealers, and they all say that their products will not completely waterproof grout, so I cannot see that this will be a long-term solution (also, don't fancy waiting for the floor to dry out each time it needs re-applying!). Epoxy grout seems like a good idea, but the builder seems to think that it would eventually crack if used on a timber floor (although when I spoke to Mapei about Kerapoxy they said that it should be fine as long as the floor is not bouncing around a lot, which it is not).

What I'd really like advice on is:

- is it normal to have permanently wet patches in grout on wet room floors even if the floor appears to be well laid?

- if we leave the floor as it is, will we be storing up trouble for the future? Am I being too fussy??!

- Is it possible to lay tiles in a pre-formed shower tray on a completely flat bed of https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/, or will there always be gaps for water to collect in?

- Should we consider a grout sealer or epoxy grout to solve the problem or do the tiles need taking up and re-laying? (massive Job I imagine as
there is a huge glass shower screen resting on one grout joint and the membrane may be damaged in the process?)

It does feel like I am being fobbed off by the builder and the tiler, but admittedly the wet grout patches are the only problems so far. It would be great to hear from anyone who has had similar problems. I can't quite see the point of having tiled shower trays if they always look different to the rest of the tiled floor!

Thanks!




 
Last edited by a moderator:
OP
P

Paula

thanks, Bob. We have now sprayed on a sealer, but to be honest I chose porcelain rather than natural stone tiles to avoid maintenance, so it's disappointing to hear that I will now have to seal the grout at regular intervals! If there is any way of avoiding this, I would rather do that…unless you are saying that everyone who has a tiled shower tray should seal the grout regularly? This is certainly not publicised by bathroom designers or tilers in general: perhaps it should be, then?
 
OP
P

Paula

Thanks, Cam, but why do you say to re-grout: do you also think that the darker lines are cracking? They just look like lines of darker pigment to me. I know I'm going to have an uphill battle to convince the tiler and builder on this, as they have both stared and it and declared that there is no cracking at all (as did the BAL "expert"!). I need some ammunition if I'm going to go down this route!

Is it worth you uploading any of the other photos I sent you?

thanks again,

Paula
 

John Benton

TF
Arms
Reaction score
2,214
If you could try and upload closer photos of the grout joints just to be 100%, It did look like fine cracks.
 
OP
P

Paula

DashJ, would you recommend this on a suspended timber floor? Builder seems to think this would be a no-no for us, even though there is no obvious movement of tiles/floor at the moment
 
OP
P

Paula

Can't seem to upload anything: all my pictures are too large, apparently. Any tips?

Paula
 
OP
D

Dash J

All day long for me Paula
As long as it's solid enough,will be fine
Epoxy is a lot more giving than standard grout
Hope that helps
 
OP
D

Dash J

Re reading the posts,if there is water under the tiles,is that not a major cause for concern?water should not be under the tiles,if that's the case there is something wrong somewhere
 
OP
P

Paula

Really? They all seem to think that epoxy has no flex at all, so if there is any movement then it will just crack and then will be impossible to remove. It does sound a lot better than cement grout, though: I wonder why it's not more popular in wet room applications?

Paula
 
OP
P

Paula

Hi Cam

I think I did send via email larger versions of the ones you have posted earlier this evening?

Paula
 

cam_low

TF
Reaction score
193
if you could post close ups of the grout lines that are dark, use a digicam if you have one or a good phone camera like on the z3
 
OP
D

Dash J

It's more giving than standard grout
It's as close to waterproof as you are going to get with grout
And it's more hygienic
I have grouted many a swimming pool with it
 

Reply to Help! Tiled wetroom floor looks perfect but grout doesn't dry out! in the Tiling News; Tile News area at TilersForums.com

Or checkout our tile training advice or the Tile Standards

This website is hosted and managed by www.untoldmedia.co.uk. Creating content since 2001.

New Tiling Questions

UK Tiling Forum Stats

Threads
66,600
Messages
866,701
Members
9,510
Latest member
BIG_AL
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock