Bathroom Floor tiles coming loose. Advice Please.

[Tony73]

yes than , adhesive should be ok, and UFH mesh dosn't stop from good bond with floor. I would spread adhesive with flat side of trowel on to UFH and then with notched side, or use SLC first, then DITRA MATT and then tile.
Maby other members will know why adhesive didn't bond with the floor.

 

[AliGage]

So at what point after tiling your floor did you use the UFH?

 

[ptoddy26]

Hi AliGage - After the adhesive I gave it 2 days before grouting then gave it another 2 days before turning the UFH on. Only turned it on for 10 minutes just to make sure it was still ok. Haven't put it back on since.

 

[AliGage]

How long does that primer take to dry, and how long did it have to dry before tiling.

To be honest i agree with Whitebeam to bury the mat first, then tile as you would and back butter. But it looks to me like the bed wasn't substantial enough the UFH was prehaps left on a little longer than 10 minutes. Or have you got VH pipes directly under the floor at your heatings been on?

 

[ptoddy26]

AliGage - I think i gave the primer 2 days to dry also. I have got central heating pipes under the floor and looking at it the tiles that are coming loose are the ones in that area. should i have turned off the heating for a couple of days?

 

[Tony73]

i'd say much longer than 2 days

 

[lukeb]

Lukeb - Ok could well be. But can you explain why and what I should of done? It's fine telling me it's faulty installation but I need to learn why.

macten - I don't think the mat is upside down as the sticky side of the tape is stuck to the floor. But even if it's upside down the only difference is the sticky tape is up instead of down.

- maybe adhesive was mixed wrong consistency-too dry or let too long and skin formed???????
- i would "back butter" tiles for improved adhesion(especially porcelain) is your tile porcelain?
- from the photo it does not look like solid bedding to me(should be)
- SLC over matting(better adhesion and you wont damage the wire+you can use Ditra(if u want spend few quid extra)

That is only my opinion but I`m pretty sure a lot of tilers will agree:smilewinkgrin: ALL THE BEST!!!

 

[ptoddy26]

Lukeb - Tiles are ceramic. Thanks for the advice. Think i'll look into the Ditra and put some SLC down to make sure after i've taken the tiles up. Luckily it's only a small room hence why I had a go.

 

[lukeb]

GOOD LUCK AND HOPE TILES WILL STAY IN PLACE POO HAPPENS SOMETIMES:smilewinkgrin:

 

[AliGage]

AliGage - I think i gave the primer 2 days to dry also. I have got central heating pipes under the floor and looking at it the tiles that are coming loose are the ones in that area. should i have turned off the heating for a couple of days?

I haven't looked it up but i believe the tech sheets (at least for the ones i've used) recommend 2 weeks before turning on your UFH, i would leave the heating off for a time around this. What i am anticipating has happenedis this:

You've replaced the floor with ply, primed and installed the matting.
You've then spread the adhesive over the matting and NOT the floor. With the heating being on there is a chance with the pipes being close to the surface is you've heated the ply. It's expanded slightly in that area and the matting has pushed the adhesive and the tile away from the substrate.

If you can get all the tiles up without damaging the matting do pretty much what people have suggested:

Make sure the heating and UFH is off!
Ensure the matting is flat, as much old adhesive has been removed.
Apply a small amount of SLC, make sure all the matting is covered.
Install ditra matting with single part flexible adhesive, and then tile on top of this. Back butter the tiles as well.

Follow the manufacturers guidelines for drying time. But i would say the heating pipes have caused this.

Good lucks and pics when complete please! 😉