Wet Floor Leaking

[Mr Tiler]

Run your finger nail down the internal corners mate if it fees like cement its either grout or sealent but if it feels rubbery its Silicon it sounds like it could be grout cracking on the internal joints or bad Silicon. Unless the natural stone hasn't been sealed but I can't comment there as I have no experience. Hope it helps ya bud shame cuz it looks really nice and I bet it wasn't cheap!

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

What type of tile are they?

 

[beanz]

Take a good look at the Silicon, maybe even take some photos. Even if they've siliconed the internal corners, I doubt they used a neutral curing Silicon, so it'll come away from the stone anyway.

Ash, Silicon is sealant.

 

[Sean SML Tiling]

I was just about to mention that beanz lol they do look like a stone tile.

 

[Mr Tiler]

Take a good look at the Silicon, maybe even take some photos. Even if they've siliconed the internal corners, I doubt they used a neutral curing Silicon, so it'll come away from the stone anyway.

Ash, Silicon is sealant.

Silicon is a sealent but sealent isn't a Silicon. I used sealent doesn't dry like Silicon its like half Silicon half grout.... And it doesn't work well lol

 

[Mr Tiler]

Well b&q all purpose water resistant sealant is not Silicon lol may be just as it would s there brand mate sorry if I'm wrong

 

[cam_low]

I think you need to get the guys in who installed this. Realistically they should be repairing this whole issue.

 

[cr0ft]

Doesn't stone need to be resealed every 6 months or so in a wetroom? From what I've read on the back of the sealer bottles before it says they have to be re-applied fairly regularly.

Also, check the sealant on internal joints carefully. It's quite possible when you get your head down to floor level that it may have come away from the bottom row of tiles, especially if there is any movement in the floor.

If the waste is watertight though then this is ultimately down to tanking failure. Even if water is getting behind the tiles the tanking should retain it in the room. With modern high pressure showers some water will always get through a cement grout. They are marketed as waterproof but all this means is that if you wet the grout with water it will dry off again without discolouration or damage. Cement grouts let water through pretty easily, hence the need for tanking.

One option may be to regrout the wetroom with an epoxy grout and reseal it with decent Silicon sealant, something like BAL Microban. This coupled with resealing the stone should sort the problem but will be a time consuming job.

 

[scotty9a9]

Good suggestion. I will reseal the tiles again and see what impact that has.

In terms of regrouting option I am going to show my ignorance here. What the best option for removing existing grout or do you just grout over the existing with a thin layer?

many thanks

 

[Chalker]

Can you post a picture of an internal corner.? As close as you can get. I bet that's where the problem lies.

 

[andy8758]

With respect to all the guys who are answering with suggestions, the waterproofing in the wet room needs to be underneath the tiles - Silicon and tile sealers are not designed to be waterproofing solutions - there is no problem in installing natural stone as a surface dressing in a wet room, natural stone tiles are not waterproof but many other tiles and nearly all grout is not waterproof either.

The amount of water damage indicates a significant waterproofing failure - hence suggestion on checking waste first (imho it is the commonest source of wet room leaks), and also supply pipes (were the fittings tested for water-tightness before panels and tiles installed?). If that is not the cause of the leaks then it is a failure of the tanking system (either good quality panels properly installed or a tanking solution system applied strictly to manufacturers instructions). If the tanking system is not correctly installed then the tiles have to come off and the room re-waterproofed.

The installer of your wetroom needs to take responsibility to locate the source of the leak and fix it. They should be conducting the tests to isolate the leak - if I was them I would be removing a section of the ceiling below, and replicating the water leak to identify the problem (ceiling removal in your case looks easiest option for identifying leak without causing expensive damage).

 

[kilty55]

what was the make up of the sub floor and was a wetroom shower tray fitted

 

[Thepipdoc]

The installer of your wetroom needs to take responsibility to locate the source of the leak and fix it. They should be conducting the tests to isolate the leak - if I was them I would be removing a section of the ceiling below, and replicating the water leak to identify the problem

,

Looks like the company that did the job has subsequently closed.

 

[afright]

I,ve had a problem like this before on a wet room that I had done,first thing poured water over the floor no leak,then poured water on to the walls no leak, it turned out to be the shower control,might be worth checking that.

 

[cr0ft]

Good suggestion. I will reseal the tiles again and see what impact that has.

In terms of regrouting option I am going to show my ignorance here. What the best option for removing existing grout or do you just grout over the existing with a thin layer?

many thanks

Please don't misunderstand me. You still have a tanking failure to deal with. It may always have been there and if it's been ages since the stone has been sealed more and more water is now getting through. It's a relatively cheap option to try resealing the stone and seeing what effect that has.

An epoxy grout will further reduce water wicking through the walls but this is definitely not a DIY job. Make sure whoever does the grouting thoroughly reseals the stone first to prevent it staining.

The old grout needs to come out completely really for a good job. A carefully used Fein Multimaster or similar tool makes relatively quick work of this horrible job.

If you want the job done properly though you need to start lifting tiles (carefully to avoid damaging tanking) around where the water is coming through the ceiling and inspect the tanking/repair as required. It is possible to avoid damaging tanking if you are very careful when lifting tiles. It's also possible to repair any damage to tanking as well.