Fixing a tiling disaster

[Lynseymac]

I bought my flat four years ago, ripped out the old bathroom and wanted to get the bathroom tiled. I opted for large white brick tiles for the bathrooom walls but wanted a splash of colour around the bath and picked some blue mosaic tiles for that area. I had no idea that you should never put mosaics around the bath and my tiler just took my money and ran. I guess he saw a single female and thought he'd take advantage. He padded out the area will a lot of extra adhesive (this was also down to the fact that my cowboy plasterer didn't plaster all the way down to the bath which left a gap) and the finished result looked ok at the time.

Not long after the bottom row of mosaics started falling off. The adhesive had never set. I had another tiler out who tried to fix it by removing the bottom row and putting a white trim around the bath. The adhesive still didn't set This now has all began to rot.

I've had no money to do anything about this for the last couple of years but I had a nice tiler round today who decribed it as a nightmare and said he'd never seen anything like it in 30 years. I want the mosaics taken off and replaced with proper tiles. He said he'll rip the mosaics off but might need to do a bit of work to the wall before he can re-tile.

I was hoping that somebody could advise me on a suitable size/type of tile to replace the mosaics with. The tiler said he wasn't keen on the brick effect of the white tiles : ( and I'm worried about picking something that will look ok. I'd really appreciate some help as I don't have anybody to ask and have had some really bad luck with tradesmen every time I've tried to renovate/decorate.

Many thanks

Edit by Mod 2 to include pictures for future reference

[royaloakcarpentry]

If you have a tiler to do this, then why ask us for advice. surely the tiler would be the man to trust, unless you do not trust him????

Replace with mosaic if that is what you want. Whoever imparted the information that you can't have mosaic around a bath is talking out of there ar5e.

You can have mosaic where ever you want them.

[Lynseymac]

I forgot to ask about the replacement tiles when he was over. I do trust him but can't phone him over the weekend and just wanted to have a think about it.

The mosaic tiles were the kind with a mesh backing. Three different tilers that have given me quotes it have said you should never have those around a bath with heavier tiles above. I don't know anything about tiling I'm just going by what I've been told.

[aeromech3]

Most likely he needs to repair and seal the wall; yes thick adhesive can stay soft under a tile especially if you do not leave the new tiles a good five days to set before using the bath, even with the best brand water-proof adhesive and grouts. Mesh backing is common for mosaic. I did once put a contrast thicker tile around a bath, it overhung the bath edge and overlapped the original tiles; this worked well but would not suit the aesthetics of everybody, get some samples and try them against your brick whites, most tile stores will allow that service for a small deposit.

[Colour Republic]

The mosaic tiles were the kind with a mesh backing. Three different tilers that have given me quotes it have said you should never have those around a bath with heavier tiles above. I don't know anything about tiling I'm just going by what I've been told.

Then that's 3 tilers who have no idea what they are talking about As ROC says you can have mosaic anywhere you want. The tiles above have no bearing what so ever.

The reason you have had problems is because of the type of adhesive used. They have used a ready mixed dispersion adhesive which is not suitable for large format tiles or having the adhesive any thicker than 4mm (hence why the adhesive never set). There is an issue between the thickness of the tiles above and the mosaics but this does not stop you from having mosaics. The mosaics in this case are thinner and for them to be flush with the tiles above, the adhesive bed needs to be thicker. This of course can not be done with a ready mixed dispersion adhesive and needs to be done with a cement based adhesive that sets by chemical reaction not by drying by dispersion. Most professional tilers would fit the larger thicker tiles first, then bed out the wall where the mosaics will go with cement based adhesive.
Leaving just enough room for some more adhesive and the mosaic tiles themself, let this dry then fix the mosaic in place.

If none of your tilers have mentioned the above then I suggest you keep looking for one that really is a professional tiler. I'm surprised your current tiler has not mentioned you can still have mosaics, this might be because he doesn't like fitting them? If he was the one that told you you can't have mosaics because the tile above is heavier then again i'd look for a different tiler.

[Colour Republic]

Most likely he needs to repair and seal the wall; yes thick adhesive can stay soft under a tile especially if you do not leave the new tiles a good five days to set before using the bath, even with the best brand water-proof adhesive and grouts. Mesh backing is common for mosaic. I did once put a contrast thicker tile around a bath, it overhung the bath edge and overlapped the original tiles; this worked well but would not suit the aesthetics of everybody, get some samples and try them against your brick whites, most tile stores will allow that service for a small deposit.

I understand you are trying to help and from your experiance this has been the case but it simply isn't true. There are different types of adhesives to work in different situations and with different types of tile. You will not find this full range in a DIY store and as such some people may not be aware of what you should use.

[royaloakcarpentry]

Lynsemac.......................go to a proper tile shop and ask for a recommendation for 3 'proper' tilers.

It seems that all you have had around to quote so far, are 'bathroom bashers'. As my tiler refers to them lol.

[tictic]

op
mosiac are fine to fix where you want,as for the wall this will need to be flat as possible or you will se every bump in it.
to fix them he will/should use a mosiac adhesive(white) using a 3mm ribbed/serater and pat them flat using a grout float,then grout..then seal with a good quality silicone around the bath(fill bath with water at least half full) and leave for 12hrs then pull the plug,if any kids in the house just make sure they dont go into bathroom alone....

mosaic are good tiles,only thing about fixing them to a floor,you need to be aware off the point loading off them,.usually min 50mmx50mm..depedant of floor substrate(not in yout case but just a foot note...)...

[Simon Site Manager]

I've never heard of not having mosaics anywhere, I've seen loads of showers done with them!

SSM