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Hi, hope you all had a good weekend. Mine went downhill yesterday afternoon, and not in the good MTB way
I finally got round to tackling some loose tiles around our shower bath area, the tiles were put up pretty poorly by the previous owner and were very loose and needed regrouting. So I wanted to restick the loosest ones and regrout, particularly round the shower splash area
However, one I took the loosest bottom ones off a few fell down. I didn't have enough adhesive to restick them and the old tiles had blobs of adhesive that I couldn't remove
So I bodged a cover and left it at that (see photo) as ran out of time
We don't have any spare tiles left so I'm stuck with what to do either
A. Retile whole bathroom (nuclear option)
B. Source some similar tiles and hope it's not to jarring
C. Stick some panels up, again jarring
Problem is the existing pattern is running bond so hard to get a nice demarcation line in order to get away with just retailing the 'shower' area
Ps all the missing tiles are now broken up
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I'm pretty sure the tiles were put up by previous owner around 20 yrs ago and cannot contact them. I'll try homebase and b&q first on the off chance they still make them
retile I'm afraid. Everything else will at best be a good bodge. I'd only do that if it was a stopgap to a bathroom refit in the future, and as you were refurbing I'm assuming that's not the case.
Not smashing up the matching tiles would probably step 1. Maybe too late for that now 🙂 Unless they broke when they fell they could've been re-used.
I'd go for option B. I'm sure get something close enough. Depends how fussy are though.
I've this coming too.
Bathroom fitted about 5 years ago, didn't notice that they hadn't sealed the shower tray properly until it was too late - couple of floor tiles lifting and cracks in the grout on the lower wall tiles.
I know once I take them off it's gonna be a pile of shite, I'm in denial at present.... 🙁
A rising diagonal line of new tiles starting from the bottom tile sticking out from the plastic and going up to the shower head?
It would jar but it would be a neat triangle and you could pretend it was a design feature.
Can't see to the right of the pic how the run ends.
Can. you (carefully this time and without breaking) remove a column of tiles and end the run there early, re-using those tile over the bath?
You will just need to patch in the plaster where you removed the tiles and relote the cut ones.
I had this issue and ended up fitting plastic panels over the shower portion. It looks shit, but the bathroom is getting completely redone at some point after the kids have buggered off to college.
I’ll try homebase and b&q first on the off chance they still make them
Go to a proper tile place, much more chance of a match/someone who knows what they're doing.
The tiles fell off and broke, the plaster behind the loosest tile was really damp so it needed doing. Just really bad timing with all the other plates I'm spinning at the moment.
Take all the tiles off and put some wetwall up.
If you avoid cheap and nasty panels then it'll look great for years and you'll never have to clean grout again.
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This is the wraparound tiles to give you an idea of the scale of retailing. Plus a pic of the deep gouge in the bath caused by falling tile
If it's an acrylic bath then there'll be a local Plastic Surgeon that can fix it, as long as it's not properly cracked / burst.
Squirt a load of expanding foam on it and smooth off with a teaspoon. Take pics.
Yeah, not been properly tanked by previous owner. Looks like tiles direct on plaster. I had an inkling which is why it was daft to start the job 2pm on a sunday
Take all the tiles off and put some wetwall up.
If you avoid cheap and nasty panels then it’ll look great for years and you’ll never have to clean grout again.
This is what I did. Previous owner went a bit tile crazy and tiled everything in sight. Took days to strip it all and re-plaster. New wet wall went up in no time and looks much better. As a bonus the next owner won't have to go though what I went through as it'll come down cleanly in a couple of hours.
Big job though, so I'd be looking at the quick fix/close match for now.
how badly broken are the tiles that fell off? I've re-used tiles like that in a non-obvious place (might allow you to swap them for whole tiles?)
I've just redone our shower room, main objective was to make it not leak, the grout had gone and soaked the plasterboard behind so the walls moved if you lent on them. We opted for plastic panels (igloosurfaces.com) looks ok, not quiet as good as tiles but doesn't leak and hopefully more robust. Easy to put up (glued in place and slotted into strips in the corners) and not that expensive.
If it makes you feel any better our shower/bath is leaking like a sieve in to the boiler room below, we're infested with carpet moths, all the windows need replacing, the woodwork on all the eaves is rotten and the whole interior and exterior of the house needs painting. DIY, don't you just love it?
how badly broken are the tiles that fell off? I’ve re-used tiles like that in a non-obvious place (might allow you to swap them for whole tiles?)
Broke into 2 or 3 pieces, and in a rubble sack on the driveway. I'll have a look. I'm going b&q at lunch as the do a same size tile in beige marble effect
Chances of matching enough to not offend wife are slim to none however
I'm with percypanther ...
As an absolute minimum I'd pull the bit round the bath and put in a proper wetwall... it's not even stuck down properly to what looks like plasterboard and the rest is going to fall off probably sooner rather than later? (Are they tiles or real travertine?? I'm guessing tiles but worth checking)
Maybe choose a completely different tile .. just do the bath area for now but buy enough tiles to finish the rest later.
If it makes you feel any better our shower/bath is leaking like a sieve in to the boiler room below, we’re infested with carpet moths, all the windows need replacing, the woodwork on all the eaves is rotten and the whole interior and exterior of the house needs painting. DIY, don’t you just love it
I can trump that. We have damp patches everywhere and a leak into kids bedroom which our builder thinks is ridge roof tiles that needs replacing. Plus faulty loose render. Fencing needs doing etc. This bathroom job was nothing and was meant to be a little job as the silicon needed replacing. #shouldvegotanewbuild
Pull the bath panel off and look underneath the bath, often trades leave excess tiles from the job under the bath in case spares are needed!
Waterproof telly innit. Should cover a few up.
I dropped a tile in the new bath when I tiled the bathroom, 13years on I still haven't got around to sorting it :-).
Unfortunately, I'm in the retile camp. Once water has got down the back it could have tracked a fair distance so you could do with removing the tiles and having a proper look behind to sort out.
Our bathroom and toilet are separate but tiled to match. I'm going to modify the toilet room as part of an extension so I'm trying to track down 13year tiles, but I suspect that I'll end up redoing both rooms....
Good luck!
Strip back and then Wetwall, no more yellowing/black grout.
Serious question, is there any wetwall that looks like it isn't in an old folks home/public swimming pool?.
#shouldvegotanewbuild
Dunno - another chap on here i know locally was of that opinion ... he did do the new build thing hes had similar issues to you - caused by builder ineptitude causing an invisible leak behind the tiles...... just out of warrenty the kitchen roof got wet. tiles out , replacing the shower outlet (the wrongly fitted part) new plasterboard, Tiles etc etc , Kitchen roof.
Thats just the more serious of his issues.
He is looking for his next house he wants an old shell to modernise again - His attitude now is - at least if it needs modernised itll be me causing the issues - not having the guess what someone else has bodged in.
+1 for wetwall BTW
Serious question, is there any wetwall that looks like it isn’t in an old folks home/public swimming pool?.
Of course there is.*
Can be spendy though
*Disclaimer - In the last year i've been involved in jobs where we've fitted out both an old peoples home and a swimming pool in wetwall....and toilets, bathrooms and kitchens. Haven't done a single job with wall tiling. It's too high maintenance.
Aye, I'm right up for using it, just haven't seen anything that isn't a bit meh tbh. Wouldn't mind it being a bit spendy, tiling is so much more expensive than tile costs.
Ta for replies
Because of the running bond existing tiles, anything like wet wall will mean a replaster job and I don't have stomach or money for a plasterer
Unless I just stick a beige wet wall panel over the existing mess which won't bother me for 12 months, until I can do the job properly but wife is another matter
the moron who tiles my bathroom bridged across from wall to door frame at teh edge of the bath. and left a 20mm gap between bottom of the tiles and the bath.
Everytime I flush the toilet i have prepare myself for a replacement bathroom.
redoing the silicone takes a WHOLE tube and last about 6 months 😀
Serious question, is there any wetwall that looks like it isn’t in an old folks home/public swimming pool?.
Definitely. The cheap cream/white stuff certainly looks a bit municipal but there are some very nice finishes out there if you spend a little more. Ours is slate effect, and looks pretty good and I am not usually a fan of materials trying to look like other things.
I'd hazard a guess more tiles in the damaged area are likely to fall off in the near future.
option D.
Remove all tiles around bath and shower, cut a neat vertical line up the tiles to the left of teh toilet and finish with edging, maybe replace plasterboard,
Put wet wall up behind shower as said above, or retile with a similar pattered but contrasting coloured tile.
I was going to post what @meatsupreme suggests. I found spare tiles a couple of times in the past under baths. It could be travertine which I think needs waterproofing when installed. If that wasn't done then it could explain the wet plaster behind. Wetwall it travertine pattern.
Option D, leave as is. It looks like a perfectly good repair that you have done with the sheeting.
Serious question, is there any wetwall that looks like it isn’t in an old folks home/public swimming pool?.
Yes. We've just had our bathrroms done including floor to ceiling all over in main bathroom. It was spendy though and a significant amount of labour cost as needed proper joinery work to get the finish needed. It looks awesome though and I'll never use tiles again
As a short term 'fix' just put the wetwall up over the tiles - it should have enough grip to stay up even in the tiles are not very firmly fixed to the wall?
Just leave the bags on it makes me feel less shit about mine...
It could be travertine which I think needs waterproofing when installed. If that wasn’t done then it could explain the wet plaster behind.
Drop some acid on one of the broken bits... or just try and scratch it with steel....
As a minimum dry the plaster and fix some proper cement board. If you did manage to tile over that you will just get rot and mould... and its only a matter of time before the rest start to fall off.
If it is travertine then I’d think you have a reasonable chance of getting matches. Some websites allow you to specify sizes and they order them direct from the quarry - this is how I did my kitchen with travertine and it was much cheaper than buying it from a major outlet.
Could you turn it into a recess to store shower gel etc? Use similar coloured tiles and they’ll be mainly hidden by the bottles.
If your tiles measure 400x250mm I’ve just found 3 tiles in the garage that look a good match?
Does the tiling extend to the 4th wall? If you're going to refurb in the medium term, I'd take all that off, plaster it, (or get it patched, wouldn't cost THAT much) and paint then use those to repair all needed around the bath.
I think i have a box of those tiles spare
Can you pleae measure ine and i will have a look see this afto
Marble version cresm to almost pink bit like dried plaster colour
And grout as well
I'd take down the tiles in the 'shower' bit, including where the shower head is. At least you create a visually understandable zone. Tank the wall as best you can.
https://www.toolstation.com/mapei-shower-waterproofing-kit/p71005
Then tile with a mosaic tile of similar tone.
https://www.toppstiles.co.uk/maha/maha-matt-white-mosaic-tile
It'll be a bit of a bodge but not too jarring.
Can't help with the tiling, but chips to enamel baths can be fixed... muppet builders fitted new bath, tiled it in, dropped a tile etc...
We used https://www.bathrescue.co.uk/ 2 years ago, no issues since, near-impossible to spot the repair! Local to us, but must be similar firms around the country,
@ sandboy , @ single-track mind
Thatd be amazing, I'm in clitheroe but obvs will travel.
Tiles are 398 x 246. That must be 400 x 250 standard size though
I've got 2 boxes of similar looking from b&q so fingers crossed. It'll be a bodge job as I think long term I'm going tasteful wet wall, and get rid of sea of tiles underneath the sink and put some skirting there
Thanks for replies, I'm being well looked after by STW. God bless you all
Create a shallow niche into the wall. Use existing tiles removed for the edges and have a contrasting back.
Elements board is what you need
It it's travertine and you've grouted (or used some adhesive/grout combo) and let it dry like that on the tile then you've just killed a bunch more.
Looks like paperfaced gypsum backer..and tile installed with mastic. Once wet it's ****ed and looses all strength
If you knock on each tile you'll hear which are loose.
Imo you'll need new backer where it's wet before trying to retile..I'd be looking at cutting out the tile and backer for the rest of those first 4 courses...valve side as well likely as that corner will have failed and been a point of ingress. Probably wet all round your valve fixing etc too.
Fingers crossed for a close match!
Bugger my tiles are 500 x 250 so thats a non starter
Shame
Aquaboard was designed for bathroom use, proofed gypsum iirc
Could you not mosaic in a pattern instead or buy a sheet of coloured gleass, tempered and overlay with that
Wetwall advocates - any links to the nice stuff please? I like the idea but everything I've seen (including the stuff in my dad's bathroom) reminds me of being in a Travelodge.
These are the ones that we generally fit for clients. Decent quality but probably still towards the more commercial end of the spectrum.
Something like the Iranian Travertine is pretty close to the look that the OP already has.
https://www.rearo.co.uk/bathroom/laminate-wall-panels/
Other more fancy and designery products are available.
Best bet is to go to a bathroom showroom where you can see it in the flesh. It's hard to gauge the look from t'internet.
i have a concrete grey travertine style in my bathroom on three walls the 4th wall is bright.
Certainly doesnt look like any travel lodge/swimming pool/ old persons home i've been in .
That was much more of an issue before when i had tiles because generally old people have tiled bathrooms because the bathrooms are generally old.
Go look - even the same colour looks very different in the flesh and even across brands.
Wetwall advocates – any links to the nice stuff please? I like the idea but everything I’ve seen (including the stuff in my dad’s bathroom) reminds me of being in a Travelodge.
We got Fibo panels through Plumbstore. They are an interlocking laminate. You genuinely cannot see the seam at all. The finish is excellent but for anything other than a simple flat wall, I would recommend getting a very good joiner to fit. You could waste a lot of money if the finish isn't perfect unless if you are very handy with tools.
Like you I always thought of Travel Lodge or YHA when I thought of wet wall, fortunately things have moved on a lot!
They look like Travertine stone tiles. You should be able to replace no problem if they are, just take the original to a decent tile merchant and they will match them and they can be oiled to darken if necessary.
Option J, take the course of tiles off above the bog round to the window (and opposite wall if it runs around that side as well).
Paint down to new level then you've got loads of tiles left just in case any more get broke.
Put the smashed tiles back on and then go at the rest with a toffee hammer to give it that shabby chic/crazy paving look.
So, how did it go in the end?
Hi mate, nothing yet. I can only DIY on Sunday and last Sunday was a write off as I'd wrecked my back.
I'm going to crack on this Sunday and just replace with similar tiles, ignoring all the kind advice to retile whole bathroom
I'll get some photos up 😉
Best of luck fella.
Ayup, I finally got round to finishing the tile job today. So, for the sake of a resolving this, here is the final job. Like i said, I went for the path of least resistance. Which does nt really solve the underlying problem of the plaster which I don't think is properly tanked. I put some waterproofing on it before adhesive but not a proper job really
All I did was go to b&q and get some similar tiles. The ones I got were not too bad, although were gloss whereas originals are Matt. Special thanks to sandboy for offering me some free tiles.anyway, thanks for any contributions and your interest
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You did take the bath panel off to check for spare tiles under it? Reasonably common to put a few spares under the bath
I'd be well happy with that - my DIY standards are fairly low, mind, so don't take that as an endorsement 🙂 Looks Bob on though given what you were working with.
Wet wallers, what do you put on the floor?
Can you hang stuff on it? If you need To put a loo or basin up does that squash the board?
Or behind the kitchen kick boards, I put spare tiles for my whole house under there 🙂
Lawn needs mowing, otherwise not bad 6.5/10
Or behind the kitchen kick boards, I put spare tiles for my whole house under there 🙂
Genius. This just freed up some shelf space in the garage!