Travertine sealant in wet room

[Sally]

Hi, I am new to this and really need someone's help.

I have just had my bathroom wetroomed and used 60x60 travertine tiles on the floor. My builder has tanked the area and a drain is also in but we have now developed a leak through our bedroom selling from the room. My builder says that the tanking is fine so we are thinking it must be the grouting or the sealant/silicone. We have tried various new ones and removed all of the old grout etc but nothing seems to be sticking to the tiles and can jus be peeled off. Can anyone suggest a product that will work and finally stop this leak, oh and I need it to be champagne colour!!!!

Thanks :smilewinkgrin:

 

[DHTiling]

Hi Sally..

If you have a leak, then it will be 1 of 2 things... either the tanking is not water tight or there is a leak on the drain waste. grout or sealer will not waterproof.

 

[Saltire69]

How does the builder know the tankings fine as well.

 

[Sally]

Well I don't I just have to take his word. I am thinking that if the tanking isn't 100% then making sure there are no gaps in the tiles will ensure no water gets through. I have flooded the shower area and it's then that we get the leak.

 

[DHTiling]

Sally, grout will not stop leaks.. trust me..


The easiest way to find the leak is to cut a hole in the ceiling below the tray of the wetroom, big enough to get a good look at that area and then see where the leak is..but grouting etc will not stop it.

 

[Sally]

What if the leak is coming in from up higher than the tanking?

 

[DHTiling]

How high does the tanking go up the walls.?

 

[kilty55]

hi sally,are all floor to wall tile joints well siliconed and are all internals siliconed as well?

 

[ruairi mac]

Hi sally

Have to agree with Dave, cut a hole in the ceiling and check that its definitely not the waste. It could be as simple as just tightening it up. Test it by concentrating the flow from shower head on the waste first of all or better still pour a few jugs of water directly down the waste making sure the water doesn't spill around it, if you get what I mean.

If there are no signs of water then the problem is elsewhere. The walls should be tanked to at least head height, if not to the ceiling inside the shower cubicle and up 12 to 18 inches around the room. All internal wall corners should have been taped as well as the wall to floor joints. After tiling, these joints should have been siliconed and any grouted joints should be well packed with grout.

Even if the silicone or grout joints have failed the tanking should have retained the water and it would be more likely to find the adhesive under the tiles starting to de-bond.

Basically if the waste isn't leaking then the tanking has failed.

Sorry for the long-winded reply but hopefully you have a bit more info for discussing with your builder.

Best of luck.