Advice on fixing "professional" tile job

Hello, I'm just a home owner who doesn't have much experience with tiling but I'm looking for advice on fixing a few problems that a professional left me with. He of course has not responded to any messages.

Basically it turns out that he used the dot and dab method when retiling my bathroom last summer. I think this is the reason why two tiles have developed hairline cracks and one fell off the wall completely. I put the tile back on using a cheap "fix and grout" because I didn't want to buy a whole bag of regular tile adhesive, and I had some grout left over from the original job.

However I discovered that between the bathtub and the wall there is spray foam in the gap, topped with grout, and then Silicon over that. I cut away the Silicon and the grout where the tile fell off but I'm not sure if I can now just put Silicon in the gap, or whether I should strip the whole wall and replace the Silicon.

I don't really have the means or desire to redo the whole thing (that is why I hired someone after all) but I would like some advice on making it as good as I can and not have water seeping into the wall.

Welcome to the forum.

One thing to note with bathroom or shower tiling, is the water (whether condensing on the tiles or literally being sprayed on them) get into the back of the tiles by running down the tile face, then soaking into the incredibly porous grout, and then soaks into the adhesive (just as porous) then the plaster or plasterboard.

This then over time gets pulled by gravity to the bottom, and then it can 'blow' the adhesive on the bottom row of tiles because it has nowhere else to go.

So I'm afraid you'd be better pulling all the tiles off and using PVC sheeting if you're really tight on a budget. Or pull the tiles off, let it dry out and plasterboard, then tanking 'paint' (rubber/acrylic type not PVA-based anything!!) applying, a couple of layers of that. Then tile with cement-based adhesive, and cement-based grout. Then a 6mm bead of masking-tape-guided Silicon just to finish off, for looks, it doesn't hold any water anywhere or stop any water getting anywhere (very common misconception).

That aside, it looks like you've got dispersion adhesive there so that'll keep getting re-wet by the above process.

You may try pulling the loose bottom couple of rows and use a cement-based adhesive and cement-based grout. It doesn't matter if that gets wet then. Although the water being there can be a problem long-term (damp and mold and that kinda stuff).

ps just reread your post and you've used tile and grout, which is neither good as a grout or adhesive, I don't know why manufacturers who lead the market in adhesive, still make such a product knowing it causes so many problems in wet areas.

This was literally only tiled in July so I don't think it has failed because it got wet over time. Only one tile was loose. Hence why I used the tiny tub of allegedly all purpose stuff. I know it's not great stuff but I used it to replace some tiles years ago, and they lasted until I decided to get the whole thing redone last year.

Given what you've said about porous grout, though, is there any kind of sealant I should put over the top?

No don't seal over it all, you want your grout to dry out, and dry the back of the tiles, which are dry biscuit so also soak in and hold moisture.

Use a cement based adhesive, small bag. Cement based grout, smallest bag. And save the bags under the bath behind the bath panel and they are there then for when the next ones blow. And they will.

But you do you matey. 😀

P.s. just zoomed in on that plasterboard and water ingress has taken place so that's lost its strength. Really could be a dangerous situation if the paper face on the plasterboard comes off with a big sheet of tiles and all the weight of the adhesive etc.

Be careful.

The tile to the left isn't fixed any more.

But I zoomed in to see if I'm seeing cement based adhesive (that's wet). But it could be plasterboard. (Thats wet).

You sure a pipe isn't leaking behind there somewhere?

Wilbur said:

Hello, I'm just a home owner who doesn't have much experience with tiling but I'm looking for advice on fixing a few problems that a professional left me with. He of course has not responded to any messages.

Basically it turns out that he used the dot and dab method when retiling my bathroom last summer. I think this is the reason why two tiles have developed hairline cracks and one fell off the wall completely. I put the tile back on using a cheap "fix and grout" because I didn't want to buy a whole bag of regular tile adhesive, and I had some grout left over from the original job.

However I discovered that between the bathtub and the wall there is spray foam in the gap, topped with grout, and then Silicon over that. I cut away the Silicon and the grout where the tile fell off but I'm not sure if I can now just put Silicon in the gap, or whether I should strip the whole wall and replace the Silicon.

I don't really have the means or desire to redo the whole thing (that is why I hired someone after all) but I would like some advice on making it as good as I can and not have water seeping into the wall.

Click to expand...

Pull it all off and start over , fill it up wi epoxy resin and tank the damaged plaster board with it , then stick ur tile back on with same stuff , pretty good even used it to fixx an old brick chimney back together
Those walls should of been plastered or something the bath being a mile off the wall

It isn't plasterboard underneath, or at least it isn't plain regular plasterboard. There are no pipes in that wall. It was fully retiled in July 2023. It was not at all wet when I took the loose tile off.

The bath was my fault as I didn't realise that I'd gain that much space by taking that wall back to brick. I didn't think the longer bath would fit as the room was only 1645mm before the old tiles were taken off.

This is what the wall looks like under the current tiles. The back wall where the windows are was also done with plasterboard, but that part doesn't get wet.

Wilbur said:

It isn't plasterboard underneath, or at least it isn't plain regular plasterboard. There are no pipes in that wall. It was fully retiled in July 2023. It was not at all wet when I took the loose tile off.

The bath was my fault as I didn't realise that I'd gain that much space by taking that wall back to brick. I didn't think the longer bath would fit as the room was only 1645mm before the old tiles were taken off.

This is what the wall looks like under the current tiles. The back wall where the windows are was also done with plasterboard, but that part doesn't get wet.

Click to expand...

As you have learned the gap was to wide for the tiler who ended up dotting which in turn failed , should of boarded the walls back to the plaster line .
Bond it porcelain the stuff in tubes is waterproof and like glue , but they only make it in grey atm .
Used correctly these kind of products are going to all but end these kind of failures , could put an half inch bead of bondit round the bath edge , and had done

In order to cover the gap he built a wood frame and tiled over that to meet the back edge of the bathtub. The only tile that was loose was on the other wall though.

How are you getting on with the problem? Have you managed to get it fixed?

Thank you for following up

I have just got the tile covered with plastic wrap at the moment because I am annoyed by the whole thing. But it seems to be well stuck on with the fix and grout stuff so I am mainly pondering whether to remove the rest of the Silicon along that edge and redo it, or just the bit where the tile came off.

What did you decide to do in the end?

I just stuck it back on with the cheap adhesive, put some of the leftover grout on, and re-did the Silicon bead on the whole wall. I didn't do the neatest job but at least it's not hanging off the wall.