basalt tiles - will this dry ok?

[Del W]

can i just say im quite amazed how many tilers are lurking around here on a sunday morning

If your builder was any good,he would have got a pro tiler for the job,and the maybe there would be one less tiler on here because he would be working on your floor. :smilewinkgrin:

 

[jay]

OMG

SPOT THE PROBLEM,

Builder are ment to build tilers are ment to tile .Think the builder has a bit of a problem there

 

[EverDon Tiling]

Just out of curiosity what substrate is it? from the pic it looks like ply and if you zoom in looks poor quality as if its 3 or 6 mill might just be me tho.

 

[technodad]

plywood but its pretty thick, about 10mm i think. they did a good job of getting everything ultra level etc, not so easy in a victorian house with 120 year old floors.

 

[EverDon Tiling]

if its 9mm its too thin anyway imo how solid is the floor?

 

[technodad]

if its 9mm its too thin anyway imo how solid is the floor?

9mm it is i think. why do you think it needs to be thicker?

the floor is very solid, i had a structural engineer check it to make sure it could hold the weight of the tiles. very thick joists close together. they knew how to build stuff those victorians.

 

[EverDon Tiling]

imo 12mm minimum screwed every 300mm centres and then overlay with cement board

 

[kilty55]

wrong fixing methods,wrong prep also...imo the entire job needs to come up im afraid

 

[Mike]

why have a builder to do the tiling? we hear the same problems week in week out on here unfortunately. i finished repairing a builders botched tiling job this morning, what a mess it was. :mad2:

 

[John Benton]

why have a builder to do the tiling? we hear the same problems week in week out on here unfortunately. i finished repairing a builders botched tiling job this morning, what a mess it was. :mad2:

Funny cos I never had a builder ring me and ask me to put a roof on an extension.

 

[White Room]

It was definitely rapid powdered adhesive the fixer used...

 

[technodad]

hmm, just realised nobody really answered my original question - about the stains. will they disappear?

because when we redo the job, the same thing will happen no? not in spots, but all over the tile. these tiles were sealed prior to laying, btw.

 

[nybor62]

can you clarify what adhesive was used , there are adhesives that are used specifically for that type of product , rapid setting , which virtually eliminates the chance of staining, ask your builder what he used and get back to us , he obviously knows nothing about tiling and even less about the right products to use for that type of instulation, if he had used solid bed method and back skimmed the tiles any variation in colour would have been uniformed , hope this makes sense

 

[kilty55]

hi again technodad,i think someone has already answered you and said they may dry out ...you could of course wait and see if this happens? even if they do though i beleive the install will at some point in the future fail due to fixing methods...not good news i know

if a pro tiler is employed who knows what hes doing and uses corrct fixing methods and materials including substrate prep you will have no issues,you can use the im looking for a tiler section on hee if thats the route you wish to choose

hope you get it sorted its an expensive mistake

 

[hillhead]

Why Why Why let a builder tile??
More and more think they know it all, lets start laying blocks lads.

 

[judge]

been replacing a travertine bathroom floor last week which was installed 3 months ago onto 6mm ply screwed every 40mm (approx) onto floorboards.!!!!
:yikes:

 

[Mike]

every 40 mm :yikes:

 

[White Room]

been replacing a travertine bathroom floor last week which was installed 3 months ago onto 6mm ply screwed every 40mm (approx) onto floorboards.!!!!:yikes:

I've seen one like that..

 

[technodad]

this experience has left me dubious about the wisdom of putting such porous tiles on a kitchen floor at all.

will a couple of coats of sealer really stop basalt tiles becoming stained from spillages of cooking oil/teabags/food etc?

 

[jay]

A professional tiler would of advised you with what tile is best for your area also in regards for sealing ,something that your builder also missed out on

 

[technodad]

the stone company that sold me the tiles advises you need to seal the back of them, this sounds pretty bonkers to me and i've never heard of anyone else doing this - anyone? my understanding is sealing is to prevent staining from spillages etc, and also from grouting. so why would you seal the back?

also: when laying basalt tiles is it normal for lots of water to seep to the surface and leave deposits which you must clean off? would appreciate advice from those with experience.

it is rapid set adhesive btw. but it's been quite cold and theres no heating in the room, so that would slow the setting process down i imagine.

 

[Stone Store UK]

Hi,
It is interesting to see it like this.
How thick are the tiles. Is this real basalt or lavastone (tuff). Lava stone have lot more micro holes. But fine quality basalt or Diabase (underwater basalt ) should be fine and there water absorbtion is almost none. We have done 3 large contract with Diabas slabs for 5 star hotels. I never seen problem like this.
StoneStoreUK

 

[technodad]

it is basalt, 15mm thick. i do suspect it wasnt sealed enough tho. tile company really keen on sealing back of tiles...

 

[Stone Store UK]

You don't need to seal the back of the tiles ever. You need to do full bedding adhesive and seal the surface. If Stone company advising " seal the back of the tiles ". then these tiles are not fit to sell for a floor tiles. Some andesite stone tiles sold as a basalt tiles which they are very very porous.
Basalt is very dense hard wearing stone, some of them harder than granite. You are unlucky to have these slabs, you need to wait until dry, you may be lucky.

 

[Stewart]

it is basalt, 15mm thick. i do suspect it wasnt sealed enough tho. tile company really keen on sealing back of tiles...

Technodad... your problem is solely down to incorrect fixing methods by the builder..... Has he been informed of this and what was his reply?