Tiles changing colour

[Alan.P]

As Dave says, the tiles are going to have to come off so some investigative work will be looming, a good puzzle to solve though, no ideas apart from the obvious but then why only a tile here and there and not the grout.

Good luck.

 

[DHTiling]

Looking again at the pic.. and i would say the grout is wet.. it certainly looks that way..

 

[doug boardley]

I'm guessing now that the two obvious ones near the valve are taking the brunt of a leak, and as Dave says, water could then be tracking down the addy ribs, tracking along the bath and then possibly pooling in the corner and creeping back up the cut tiles.

 

[Stewart]

I would put my money on moisture getting into tile biscuit. With no Silicon down the internal corner, and it being the bottom tiles that get most of the water. Around the shower (which looks like a Mira Elements) water most probably getting into back-plate screw holes.

 

[Colour Republic]

OK just a guess here, is it possible that these tiles are from a different batch? Were the codes checked? Do you remember the order of fixing them? did you place the tiles where the shower mixer is as you went? or left them till the end?

As I say this is just a guess, but is it not possible that the tiles have always been a different colour (if from different batches) and that it was not noticed at the time of installation, as when they were fixed to the wall the wet adhesive made the all the tiles appear uniform in colour but as they have dried they have returned to there original colours?

just a guess???

Also, the tiles in question are the ones most at risk from getting water behind them. shower tails cut through the two full tiles and the two at in the corner which is where water will pool, it also looks like it is traveling up the wall in the corner. But you say they are bone dry so confused

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

and if the wall is tanked then the water can only go into the tile!!, i have seen this when showering in lot's of B&B 'when working around

 

[react0r]

Hi mate, can't help, but have seen the same problem with cheap tiles, I helped a friend by tiling his bathroom a couple of years ago. He had bought some cheap tiles from Focus, I thought the same as you that it was water getting behind the tile somehow, but have not been able to check it out as he lives a good distance away. The problem he has extends beyond the normal wet areas, but as he lets the walls get and stay very wet from condensation by not using the extractor fan, I still assumed water. Last time I was there for a quick visit. it looked like a chess board. Like you describe, the problem developed over time, there was no sign of it when it was first tiled. Be interested to see if others have seen the problem.

 

[doug boardley]

It'd be impossible to tell if they were dry behind without taking them off anyway, as the moisture won't permeate the glaze on the face from the biscuit.

 

[MIKETILER]

I think tomorrow I will remove one of the tiles and check if there is any moisture behind

 

[DHTiling]

Good move..

 

[Stewart]

Also if the pipe-work is copper and it's in a brick wall and not insulated, it can cause a lot of condensation on pipes and result in the same problem recurring.

 

[MIKETILER]

Thanks for your advice boys.I will let you know what conspires
Mike

 

[SomersetGirl]

I think tomorrow I will remove one of the tiles and check if there is any moisture behind

Hi Mike - this was obviously some time ago now, but did you manage to find a reason / solution for the problem ..? We have just had a shower tiled with ceramic tiles from Topps Tiles and had the same problem.

 

[MarkCF]

Hi Mike - this was obviously some time ago now, but did you manage to find a reason / solution for the problem ..? We have just had a shower tiled with ceramic tiles from Topps Tiles and had the same problem.

Hi, it's now October 2023 but I too, would be interested to hear if Mike got to the bottom of this problem.
Our bath and shower were tiled in 2018 with tiles from Betta Bathrooms. Just last week, four of them in a row turned a very pale blue. At first I thought that I had dyed them by using Viakal limescale remover, which is pale blue. But that's not it. Scrubbing with neat bleach doesn't touch it. And other tiles cleaned with this product are fine.
The grout and the Silicon sealant in the vicinity of these tiles is in perfect condition.

 

[MarkCF]

Hi Mike, it's now October 2023 but I too would love to know if you got to the bottom of this. My bath and shower were tiled in 2018 with tiles from Betta Bathrooms. Last week 4 tiles in a row took on a very pale blue colour.
At first I thought I had dyed them with Vaikal limescale remover (which is pale blue). But it's not the answer. Scrubbing with neat bleach doesn't touch it. Other tiles cleaned with Viakal are fine.
The grout and Silicon sealant in the vicinity of the tiles are perfect.
The wall was replastered prior to tiling.