Solution to site problems

1. Solution to site problems

2. Discolouration of wall grout

3. What does it look like? Light coloured grout will go yellow or brown

4. What is the cause • Can be caused by shampoo or house hold cleaners • Biggest cause is moisture trapped in the substrate • The moisture slowly evaporates through the grout

5. What is the cause • Best option is to remove the grout • Once the substrate has dried the joints can be re-grouted • If it is not possible to wait weber.joint pro should be used

6. Dot and dab incorrect application

7. What does it look like • The tile backs and substrate will have four or five rounded columns of adhesive with substantial air voids in between

8. What does it look like • Spots of adhesive can be seen through the tile

9. What does it look like? • Tiles crack in areas that are unsupported due to point loads such as heels or furniture

10. What is the cause • Poor preparation • Background is very uneven • Puts to much pressure on the adhesive • Voids cause various problems

11. What is the remedy? • Difficult to remove the tiles and adhesive without damaging the background • If floor prime background and old adhesive with PR360 • Cover floor with weber.floor flex • For walls it can be easier to replace the boards

12. No movement joints

13. What does it look like? • Tiles can crack in many different patterns, become loose or in extreme cases form a bridge • Often cracking will be noticed originating from stress points such as corners and doorways

14. What is the cause? • Tiles can expand with heat and press against walls etc • In large areas pressure can develop between substrate and tile • 2 Different substrates meet

15. What is the cause? • All damaged tiles should be replaced and suitable movement joints fitted as stated in BS 5385 • In extreme cases it may be necessary to remove all the tiles and replace with adequate provision for movement joints

16. What is the cause? • Flexible movement joints should be incorporated: • Where tiling meets other materials (e.g. flooring perimeters) • Along all internal corners — vertically and horizontally

17. What is the cause? • Where flexing is likely on suspended floors (e.g. over supporting beams) • Over existing movement joints or changes in background material

18. What is the remedy • Dividing large tiled areas into bays (3 — 4.5m on walls, 8 — 10m on floors) • Note: Heated floors should be split into bays not greater than 40m² with an edge length no greater than 8m. • More sensitive tiles should be split into bays of 25m2

19. De-bonding on anhydrite screeds

20. What does it look like • The adhesive will come away from the substrate and often a layer of laitance will still be adhered to the adhesive. In extreme cases the adhesive will become very crumbly

21. What is the cause • Failure in removing the weak layer of laitance that forms on the surface of the screed.

22. What is the cause • Insufficient priming • Cement and calcium sulphate cause ettringite • Ettringite is weak and can cause a failure between the screed and adhesive • It can also grow into the adhesive and cause it to crumble

23. What is the remedy? • Remove tiles • Remove laitance • Prime with 2 coats of PR360 • Tile with weber.set rapid SPF

24. Cracked tiles on wood

25. What does it look like? • Tiles are cracked but are well stuck • Cracks are in straight lines • Floors have a noticable bounce

26. What is the cause • The cracking is caused by excessive deflection in the floor. If cracking is localised, it is most likely due to an unsupported board joint

27. What is the remedy • Floors need reinforcing • Minimum 18mm WBP plywood or suitable tile backer board • If still noticeable deflection another layer is needed • Weber.set pro lite rapid will give extra protection.

28. What is the remedy • Alternative solution is prime with PR360 and cover with 10mm of weber.floor flex

29. De-bonding on plaster/plaster board walls

30. What does it look like? • The adhesive will come away from the substrate and often a layer of laitance/dust will still be adhered to the adhesive. • In extreme cases, when cement-based products are used direct onto plaster/plasterboard, the adhesive will become very crumbly

31. What is the cause • If there is a layer of dust on the back of the adhesive this is the reason for failure. • If cement based adhesive is used insufficient priming can cause ettringite to form

32. What is the remedy/ • Remove tiles, if dusty wash clean • Prime background with 2 coats of PR360

33. Patchy grout

34. What does it look like • Once dry, the grout will look patchy and uneven in colour. • On some occasions the whole wall and floor can be quite even in colour but much lighter than expected

35. What is the cause • There are two common causes • A natural phenomenon known as efflorescence where soluble salts within in the cement are left on the surface of the grout after the grout has dried • Using too much water in the grout mix or leaving pools of water on the grout surface when cleaning the tiles can increase the risk

36. What is the cause • Efflorescence is common to all instances where cement is used and can often be seen on the mortar joints of houses and walls. • Often a thin slurry of fines can be deposited on some areas of the floor but not others leaving a patchy surface.

37. What is the remedy • One or two applications of an acidic grout cleaner will remove efflorescence. • In extreme cases, it can be easier to remove 2-3mm of the grout surface using a grout rake and then replace with fresh grout taking care not to use too much water

38. Incorrect Adhesive Coverage

39. What does it look like? • Tiles de-bond and/or crack and the adhesive coverage below is less than recommended. • For floors and wet areas, the contact area should be 100% with no voids. • For walls not subject to wetting the coverage should be at least 70%

40. What does it look like? • By not achieving the recommended coverage, the bond to the tile is reduced. • For instance, if a floor tile only has 50% of adhesive in contact with it’s back, the bond strength is only half the recommendation and much more likely to de-bond

41. What does it look like? • In addition a floor tile that is not fully supported is more likely to crack • On heated floors, air pockets between the adhesive ribs expand and contract and this can weaken the bond to the adhesive over time

42. What is the cause • Not enough adhesive has been used • The wrong notched trowel has been used • The tiles have not been bedded correctly

43. What is the remedy • Walls – Remove tiles and adhesive (replace wall boards if necessary) and re-apply adhesive ensuring a good application technique is used • Floors – Remove tiles and any loose adhesive and prime with weber PR360. • Overlay with weber.floor flex to cover the remaining adhesive and allow to set. • Re-apply the tiles

44. Questions