B
beneedle67
Dear All,
I am sorry - I guess I'm looking for some friendly advice and I feel a bit stupid too. I am an amateur but have done quite a lot of tiling for myself, friends and family over the years.
I am re-doing the bathroom and I bought Mapei pro flexible cement based adhesive for the wall tiles. I haven't used cement based adhesive before but the guy in the shop said it was far better than ready mixed.
I read the instructions and it said use primer if going on to bare plaster. I just couldn't understand it 'Why' I thought - I've only used ready-mixed before when it is fine to go straight on to plaster so I didn't prime. Incredibly stupid but there it is!
Well now the bathroom is 3/4 tiled and now I know why you must prime - because the cement based adhesive reacts with the gypsum.
I thought 'Okay, you idiot, you've just made a big and costly mistake take them off and start again'
BUT these tiles are now really, really stuck on. I knocked off a couple today just to see and it will be a truly massive job to get them all off. Actually the adhesive bond to the plaster is greater than to the tile. There is no shifting the tiles and the adhesive without destroying them and the walls with it.
I am tempted to leave them, prime the rest and hope for the best. Does anyone out there have experience of this. How long does it take for the adhesive to react with the plaster? Weeks, months, years? What are my chances of getting away with it?
The walls are old backing plaster (1960's) + new skim to half way up the walls as the original skim came off with the old tiles which only went half way up). I only mention this because the plaster (except for a very thin skim) isn't brand new and maybe that makes a difference.
The tiles are Brtish Ceramic standard whites 148 x 148 + glass mosaics strips.
I know I've been an idiot but would really appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
Thank you. Sincerely, Ben :iamwithstupid:
I am sorry - I guess I'm looking for some friendly advice and I feel a bit stupid too. I am an amateur but have done quite a lot of tiling for myself, friends and family over the years.
I am re-doing the bathroom and I bought Mapei pro flexible cement based adhesive for the wall tiles. I haven't used cement based adhesive before but the guy in the shop said it was far better than ready mixed.
I read the instructions and it said use primer if going on to bare plaster. I just couldn't understand it 'Why' I thought - I've only used ready-mixed before when it is fine to go straight on to plaster so I didn't prime. Incredibly stupid but there it is!
Well now the bathroom is 3/4 tiled and now I know why you must prime - because the cement based adhesive reacts with the gypsum.
I thought 'Okay, you idiot, you've just made a big and costly mistake take them off and start again'
BUT these tiles are now really, really stuck on. I knocked off a couple today just to see and it will be a truly massive job to get them all off. Actually the adhesive bond to the plaster is greater than to the tile. There is no shifting the tiles and the adhesive without destroying them and the walls with it.
I am tempted to leave them, prime the rest and hope for the best. Does anyone out there have experience of this. How long does it take for the adhesive to react with the plaster? Weeks, months, years? What are my chances of getting away with it?
The walls are old backing plaster (1960's) + new skim to half way up the walls as the original skim came off with the old tiles which only went half way up). I only mention this because the plaster (except for a very thin skim) isn't brand new and maybe that makes a difference.
The tiles are Brtish Ceramic standard whites 148 x 148 + glass mosaics strips.
I know I've been an idiot but would really appreciate your thoughts and opinions.
Thank you. Sincerely, Ben :iamwithstupid: