Help! Tiled wetroom floor looks perfect but grout doesn't dry out!

[Dave]

Are you 100% sure water isn't getting under the screen ?

 

[Paula]

Are you 100% sure water isn't getting under the screen ?

Well, all I know is that the tiler scraped out all the grout on the wet side of the screen and replaced it with epoxy, which still looks intact, then we put a large amount of clear Silicon where the metal frame of the screen meets the tiles. So I would say it was almost impossible for water to get under the screen from on top of the tiles. Strangely, the grout does not get wet on the 'dry' side until a couple of inches away from the screen!

 

[Dave]

Well, all I know is that the tiler scraped out all the grout on the wet side of the screen and replaced it with epoxy, which still looks intact, then we put a large amount of clear Silicon where the metal frame of the screen meets the tiles. So I would say it was almost impossible for water to get under the screen from on top of the tiles. Strangely, the grout does not get wet on the 'dry' side until a couple of inches away from the screen!

It seems it could be creeping in the adhesive bed... How is the drain sealed at the tile edges ?

 

[Paula]

Is there a chance there's a leak somewhere? Maybe?

Hi Dan

Do you mean from a pipe or something?

 

[Paula]

It seems it could be creeping in the adhesive bed... How is the drain sealed at the tile edges ?

The tiler didn't leave much room between the tile and the metal drain edge, but the tiny gaps were originally sealed with ordinary Bal grout, and now Mapei epoxy (although I can't guarantee that he was able to scrape out every tiny bit of original grout....

 

[Paula]

I've just tried to take some photos of the wet patches of grout on the 'dry' side of the screen (12 hours after last shower!). Used a low quality image as I had trouble uploading photos before, but I can try higher resolution if you can't see anything!

 

[Dan]

That grout doesn't look to clever.

You sure it's not adhesive showing through?

 

[Qwerty]

Pics are a bit inconclusive but as @Dan says, it doesn't look too clever. You sure it's damp?

 

[Dan]

It possibly just needs regrouting and some care going into making sure it's mixed and she's off properly with not too much water.

 

[The D]

That's very interesting, deanotile! So where exactly was the water coming from in the shower? Do you mean from somewhere in the tray? And, more importantly, how did you fix it?

one was a leak from the shower control where the plumber had not compressed the olive enough and the water was soaking throgh the adhesive and coming out in the grout joints on the floor and the other was a badly sealed wall jet and the effect was much the same as the first one. the plumer fixed the leak and the problem was solved

 

[Paula]

View attachment 74095

That grout doesn't look to clever.

You sure it's not adhesive showing through?

No, I don't think that's adhesive: the dark patches are damp (the dark patch furthest away from the wall you can actually see beads of moisture) plus nearest the wall there is efflorescence, where (I assume) the water has evaporated from the grout and left a deposit. The grout was perfect until a few weeks into using the shower, but then we had problems in the shower tray with damp grout (now fixed by re-grouting with epoxy). Since then, the damp patches outside the shower have become worse.

 

[Paula]

Pics are a bit inconclusive but as @Dan says, it doesn't look too clever. You sure it's damp?

Yes, it's definitely damp: you can see beads of moisture on one patch after a shower, plus if you put a piece of tissue paper over and press you can see that the paper is damp. We had exactly the same problem in the shower tray (discussed at length earlier in this thread!) and when the dark patches were tested with a damp meter they were shown to be damp.

 

[Paula]

one was a leak from the shower control where the plumber had not compressed the olive enough and the water was soaking throgh the adhesive and coming out in the grout joints on the floor and the other was a badly sealed wall jet and the effect was much the same as the first one. the plumer fixed the leak and the problem was solved

I must admit I hadn't thought that water could be coming from the walls...but if it was wouldn't we be seeing damp patches on the wall grout, too? These have not been replaced with epoxy, but dry out very quickly

 

[Dan]

If it's 100% not a leak then the solution is the same no matter what the cause. Put it down as one of life's mysteries. But then grout with epoxy?

 

[Paula]

If it's 100% not a leak then the solution is the same no matter what the cause. Put it down as one of life's mysteries. But then grout with epoxy?

Well, we'll certainly check out the leak theory. But if we can't find one, then are you saying that it's ok to just keep covering with epoxy? I can't help thinking that we are only masking the problem, and that there shouldn't really be any water under the tiles at all. Long term, is it ok then to have water trapped under tiles?