sand strata tile repair work

[Daveyboy]

Somewhat spookily, the day after I read Dave's response to a guest thread where Dave gave the history of uncoupling membranes, I get a call asking to look at some sunken tiles around the leisure centre swimming pool. Haven't got a photo but around the pool is the edging tile, a gulley, a single row of tiles, an expansion joint (made of white tubular foam covered with a grey mastic), then more tiles. The failed tiles are in the single row of tiles. The leisure centre staff did an in-house repair some four years ago but it has failed again. I examined the rest of the tiles along the row and most of the grout had cracked and chunks of mastic were missing from the expansion joint.

When we lifted the tiles I found sand underneath!! I asked when the original tiling had been done and they said the early 60s, which ties in nicely with Dave's history lesson of when sand uncoupling membranes started to die out and be replaced with thin set adhesive. So, water is getting in through the cracks/missing mastic and washing away the sand, causing the tiles to sink and grout to crack.

My question after that long intro is, should I do the small repair using the modern uncoupling membrane as supplied by Wetdecs? I have told them the whole row needs lifting and replacing but they don't have the money in the budget for this so it's a case of small repairs as and when the tiles fail.

Any advice appreciated...

 

[Daveyboy]

Any suggestions?....anyone? What do you reckon Dave..Wetdec?

Will the membrane work if I do it in small sections. i.e. as the leisure centre's budget will allow... or do all the tiles need to be lifted and one complete membrane laid, to enable the membrane to function as an uncoupling....

 

[DHTiling]

Soz davey boy..been busy...

It needs to be a complete re-lift mate...

1 : you want it to work.

2 : You are guarantee'ng the work.

I think doing it in small sections will have zero benefit against the sand bed.

There is more to this than just a patch up i'm afraid..

 

[Daveyboy]

Cheers for that Dave... I thought that would be the way ahead but was hoping for a miracle solution that avoided it.. hope you being busy means loads of work for you