Faulty Mosaic Tiles

[Tilequery]

Hi Guys,

I had some mosaics installed the other week and seeing some very odd discoloration on them - has anyone seen anything like this or know what it is?

On the mirrored tiles they have this red colour forming and on the textured tiles, the finish has started to disappear!

The adhesive was white so very odd!

I've spoken to the retailer (very well known one) who have said they will cover the cost of the tiles, but will only reimburse the cost of removal / reinstallation when/if the manufacturer deems them a product fault, and we know who this result will favor...

The mosaics had no warning as to what adhesive/grout needs to be used, and both were well known brands.

Do you have any advice how to proceed?

Another question is also how much damage will it cause having them removed and replaced?

Just for reference I did see almost identical tiles at wickes having the same issues, but no red tarnishing.

Wickes Mirror Glass Mosaic Tile Sheet - 298 x 298mm | Wickes.co.uk

Wickes Mirror Glass Mosaic Tile Sheet - 298 x 298mm

www.wickes.co.uk

I forgot to mention all but what looks like one sheet is in perfect condition and I have three sheets left over. With the same adhesive and grout being used throughout, I've asked the vendor to try these to see if they can replicate, but they don't seem to want to entertain this.

Thanks!

 

[JordTheTileMan]

Hi,
I had this same issue about 8 years ago and it was a foil backed mosaic as you have here! It turned out the pink colour was from a “sealer” type product that the manufacturer painted or dipped onto the back of the foil to protect. I spent a long time trying to figure it out and the only thing I managed to come up with along with help from tile manufacturers and also adhesive manufacturers was the alkaline in the tile adhesive was attacking the foil and basically dissolving it and then you can see the pink come through.
This was on a wet room floor and sporadic around the main wet area.
The client couldn’t get their head around it and I don’t think really wanted to either so my only option as they didn’t want to change the tile choice was to retile the whole floor using white epoxy to stick them down and also grout. This fully encapsulated the tile and never had a failure after that so can only think it was the adhesive mixed with the tanking and nowhere for the moisture to go easily to dry out due to it being glass.

 

[Tilequery]

Hi,

Thanks for the feedback!

It's very odd - the shop said this is down to moisture but the shower was not even completed before this happened so I'm not convinced as the only moisture which has touched these was from the adhesive and grout - it was only a day or two after the tiles were put in that they started to discolour. I have put some of the better tiles in a cup of water to disprove the moisture theory and as you can guess, and based on what you experienced, they have not changed colour in the slightest.

I have removed all the mosaics now as we couldn't keep them and didn't want to risk it getting the same ones again, so now the dance is happening between the shop and manufacturer as to what is at fault.

I do have some chemicals from my hot-tub and will give them a go too, to see if I can replicate 🙂

Thanks again!

 

[Tilequery]

So I had the mosaics in water for over 2 weeks and didn't see a change. Two days after adding some alkaline, like the tiles which were installed, the backing started to fade and turn black.

The mirror mosaics haven't turned red like some of the others, but it's a start I guess.

@JordTheTileMan, in your case, how did this work out with the manufacturer of the tiles and adhesive? I had to pay for another tiler to come in and remove and re-lay the tiles so wondering how this was sorted?

There is nothing on the back of the mosaics to say this should/shouldn't be used and the tilers I used have been doing this for years, so clearly know what they are doing.