The tilers themselves have respectively well over 30 yrs and 15 yrs of tiling experience. The senior one is a plumber. It's these tiles they haven't used before, which is why they respected the suppliers' advice (and the boss has been dealing with that reputable firm for over 30 yrs).
In order to create as straight a rectangle as possible in an old flat, the walls were first lined with marine ply, which I was told was the correct substrate for a shower room, part of which was to be tiled. The suppliers agree with this.
The dispute can be boiled down to simple points:
- Were the tiles fit for use in a shower room? Suppliers say Yes, without having to be sealed. Possibly conflicting views here, as it has been suggested they are too porous, and anyway need sealing. I'd like an expert opinion on both those points.
- Is Rapidset Flexible the right adhesive for these large tiles on ply? Suppliers say Yes, and that therefore the fault must lie with the tilers' initial application. However, more confusion as at an earlier point suppliers also said No, they were wrong, and adhesive suppliers told tilers to use instead epoxy grout, which resulted in grout haze. Adhesive chaps then said that was irremovable without damaging the tiles. Any advice on cleaning up the tiles? That would at least enable the bathroom to be finished.
- A couple of so far anonymous comments on the way through from adhesive suppliers recommending steering clear of these tiles altogether - any info gratefully received on this point! Also, comments from other tilers that epoxy grout is not normally used as, first, a tile adhesive and, secondly, in a domestic setting as opposed to eg an industrial kitchen.
- A comment that when these tiles dry out, presumably if stored too long(?), they can 'blow' and come away from the wall. Anyone know of that? The original adhesive hardly stuck to the tiles at all, despite having been applied both to them and the wall (to which it stuck fiercely!).
- Now a suggestion that these tiles are far too heavy to be on ply walls so shouldn't have been used in the first place, which might explain the first adhesive being wrong. Evidence on that would also be helpful to me.
I am a feisty old bat but am now very weary and considerably poorer. I would be eternally grateful for any advice to guide me through this mess. Everyone involved of course has a vested interest, so it's very difficult to get at the truth, hence my postings in the hope of getting independent advice.
Thank you, all of you, for your patience and help.
Sue
