I need help fast on loose floor tiles please?

Discussion in 'Tilers' Talk' started by ben1974, Sep 28, 2008.

  1. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    I have a problem with porcelain glazed floor tiles.the tiler used thin ply about 5 mm ish on top of floor boards,screwed every few cm's the bal flexible adhesive,sorry pva on top of ply,and flexible bal ivory grout.now a week or so later,there are a few moving ever so slightly,a few mm on the corners,and make slight noise when walked on.im gutted to say the least after spending hundreds on the job.the grout is cracking on about 10 tiles and crimbling.can i get away with regrouting it? or cani make good of the SLIGHT loose tiles by re adhesiving them etc? i cant face taking them all up and doubling up the 6mm ply,please advise?
    cheers
    ben
     
  2. SLIM JIM...

    SLIM JIM... Member

    Get tiler back to Re-Do Whole floor. If floor is even AND adhesive applied properly it should last foryears.
     
  3. Ghost-1

    Ghost-1 Active Member

    Get tiler back.........rip the lot up. Also the ply was nowhere near thick enough.

    At least 12mm.......then, and only then is it ready to tile
     
  4. As these guys have said, no quick fix. The only solution is to tear it all up.

    If you try to fix it, all that will happen is that you will be constantly refixing tiles and re-grouting.

    Ideal solution would be to rip it all up and the floor boards and replace with 18 or 25mm ply.

    Next best option is to rip it all up including the 5mm ply and over board wilth atleast 12mm ply that is screwed down to the floorboards every 150mm, also checking that any loose floor are securely fixed.

    Which ever option you select the tiles need fixing down with a flexible powder (cement) based grout that is compatable with porcelain.

    Grouting should also be a flexible powder based system.

    You can if you wish use a rapid set adhesive on the tiles.

    Probably not what you weanted to hear.

    If your original tiler won't comeback, I'm fairly certain you won' want him back, he should atleast put you back to the state you were in before he started.

    You may need to go to small claims court for the costs of making good.

    To find a reputable tiler go to your local kitchen studios or tile retailers and ask for some recommendations, it is likley to cost more than your original guy charged.

    Good luck.
     
  5. debit cruncher

    debit cruncher New Member

    I am afraid there is only one way out, as ex-K.F said, but if the guy only used 6mm ply that is his negligence, and he should have know better.
    What did his estimate say he would be doing, did he state he would overboard with 6mm ply or 18mm? If so you may have a case for getting your money back.
    At the end of the day, they need to come up, and next time be fixed properly onto the right background. :(
     
  6. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    hi and thanks for the excellnt advice.tiler wont reply to my messages tc.im going to fix the loosetiles bak down and regrout,and see if that works first as most are ok,just 10 are loose and only slightly.also cant double up the ply or take it up asn he used hundreds of screws every couple inches so is like a pin cushion of screws.Im gonna geta quoteto fix it,just hped threre was an easier way
    ben
     
  7. jockster

    jockster New Member

    Sorry mate but your tiles are gonna keep coming loose. Best bet is to lift all the tiles using hammer & roughing chisel. No need to lift the ply if you are careful it won't be damaged. The existing 6mm ply can be overlaid with 12/18 or 25mm & retiled.

    Try & get someone who's recommended by family or friends. Ask for some examples of previous work. I've only ever been asked once by a potential customer to provide some customer referees (he'd had a big extension f*ed up, esp finishings) I didn't have a problem with it.

    It really sounds like you had a complete bodger do this job in the first place.

    Best of Luck
     
  8. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    cheers for the advice,gonna get a good tiler around and see if it can be fixed,dont wanna take em all up if just a few are loose surly not? most are fixed a1,if i have to take em all up,gonna get someone else to do it.cheers
    ben
     
  9. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    the thing is,the floor had tiles on floorboards before i got em up and they were well stuck down,so floor might be solid enough,just adhesive has gone in a few places,they did walk on it after an hour or so,seeing if they could grout it the first day!! then they went and came back next day to grout it.
    hope i can just re adhesive it and grout,im praying
    ben
     
  10. blueassedfly!

    blueassedfly! New Member

    "No need to lift the ply if you are careful it won't be damaged. The existing 6mm ply can be overlaid with 12/18 or 25mm & retiled." Jockster

    Then all you need to do is install a staircase to be able to get over the high edge of the floor! :)
     
  11. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    cant go any higher as washing machine etc just scrapes under the worktop,gonna repair and hope
    ben
     
  12. blueassedfly!

    blueassedfly! New Member

    aha you never said it was in a kitchen! does the 6mm and tile go under base units?
     
  13. ben1974

    ben1974 Member

    yes mate,does this make a difference? i cant make the feet on the dishwasher etc go lower than it is,and the old tiles i took up off the pine floor boards were buggers to get up.but same few were loose thats loose now!
    ben
     
  14. jizzard_of_oz

    jizzard_of_oz New Member

    rip it up and start afresh. hard bullet to swollow but your problems will be to the power of a hundred down the line in a few months time.

    The tiler has clearly fecked up here and if it was me I would get onto trading standards and try and get some kind of money back.

    trust me 2 tiles will become all tiles that are walked on in time. take heed of the previous regarding overboarding floor boards/ 25mm wpb play over joists and you wont go wrong.

    ****.
     
  15. GKU

    GKU New Member

    In a nutshell **** , me old shady , could'nt have put it better meself , <u>please take note (and advice)</u> ben1974
     
  16. blueassedfly!

    blueassedfly! New Member

    BEN you need to remove you under counter appliances and plinths, then remove all the tlies and 6mm board, then remove floorboards as far as the legs on base units noggin between joist so you have a fixing egde for your 25mm ply( fix @150mm intervals on each joist) that will replace the floorboards youve removed.
    then and only then will yu have trouble free tiling and if your not up to DIY, find a tiler who knows what theyre up to, use friends and nieghbours for a reccomendation HTH :)
     
  17. GADGETADE

    GADGETADE New Member

    I had the same problem with loose tiles in my kitchen, There is a product I used called FixaFloor which is specifically for this problem. You drill holes in the grout around the tile then fill the void with the special Fix a Floor bonding solution which solidifies over 24 hours. once done you just put a little bit of grout into the holes you drilled and no one will ever see that you did anything to your floor!! It solved my problem and now my Kitchen tiles don't move any more! : ) Have a look at the videos on http://www.fixafloor.co.uk they show you how this works
     
  18. Big Dunk

    Big Dunk Active Member

    Part of your problem is probably due to them walking on them after an hour, even with fast set adhesive its only recommended for light traffic after 3 hours. Sounds to me like they know nothing about tiling or the products they used. Probably mixed the adhesive too dry and never back buttered the tiles either.
     
  19. joinerjohn1

    joinerjohn1 Screwfix Select

    Did no one notice, the tiler applied pva . Bloody definite no, no (and from the OP, sounds like the tiler has used pva to stick the tiles with) Hope it isn't.
     
  20. Big Dunk

    Big Dunk Active Member

    I did but forgot to mention it in my reply, should have used sbr but pva is cheaper innit :rolleyes:
     

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