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hi good morning,my first time here.i think I have made a big expensive mess up!im in the processs of retiling my shower room and thinking I know it all went ahead and retiled the lot.Now ive been told I shold have used waterproof adhesive and grout!!!silly me for not knowing a thing like that,anyway is there a seal or something I can get without ripping the whole lot down and starting again??input is very very welcome.thanks.

I should think the first thing everyone will ask is which make etc of tile adhesive and grout have you used?

hi thanks stevi.i used unibond wall tile adhesive for bathrooms and kitchens.

How big were the tiles?

hi,the size are quite big 33cmx25cmx7.8mm thick bought them from b&q.thanks.

The long and the short of it is that the adhesive you've bought is a fairly poor one. but it is not fatal.

The size of the tile is getting on the large size for a tubbed dispersion adhesive but again not fatal, I would advise you leave it ungrouted for as long as possible (4 days+ if poss) to give it the best chance to dry and cure. Hopefully you didn't use the adhesive too thick?

With regards to 'waterproof' adhesive. Despite what it may say on the tub or bag, not many of them are.

Epoxy adhesive - This is waterproof but only used in exceptional circumstances and you won't get it in B&Q!

Bagged cement based adhesive - This is what most tilers use in wet areas and on tiles of your size. It is not 'waterproof' but it does not break down when it comes in to contact with water. You can also use it with large format tiles as it drys and cures by chemical reaction and not air dried.

Tubbed dispesion adhesive (What you've used) - This again is not waterproof but it DOES break down when it becomes wet and can fail. You also can't use it on large format tiles as it takes too long to dry or in some cases, never drys.

Basically grout is not waterproof (with the exception again of expoxy grout), every time you use the shower small amounts of moisture can soak past the grout and in to the adhesive, so over time (normally a very long time 4/5/6+ years) poor quality adhesives (like tubbed adhesives) can fail.

Really only time will tell if you've got a problem or not

Good reply CR I am sure that has put Mexidon's mind at rest. I have seen some tiling on plasterboard where, on rip out, you can see where water has penetrated the grout and got into the plasterboard behind. Having said this the adjacent tiles were still well stuck on despite this so I feel you should not worry unduly.

DWD

Hi thanks for the info very helpful,i will just go with it and hope for the best!!