Anybody experienced tiles loosening on a shower wall with water leaking between back of tiles & Durock? One tile installer claims that a water vapour barrier (6 mil. plastic) should not have been installed behind Durock. I think there was a problem with the grout, adhesive or both in the application.
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Replies
Was it adhesive (mastic) or thinset?
The tiles were applied with adhesive, the durock jointed with fiber mesh & thinset.
The tile store I use, plus the advice I've seen here, all seem to say the same thing. In a wet area, use thinset and not adhesive. The adhesive will get wet and either fail or breed bacteria or both. Grout will not keep it from getting wet unless perhaps it's epoxy grout.
Hidden cloud pretty much summed it up.
Take a loose tile off the wall and put it in a bucket of water overnight.
If you can scrape the adhesive off easily with a putty knife I think you can guess what the problem is.
I tile all wet areas with thinset only.
It'd probably be a real hoot to hear the theory behind the vapor barrier causing the failure.
The theory according to the tile guy was that the vapour barrier directly behind the Durock doesn't allow the wall to 'breathe'. Any moisture that penetrates the grout, adhesive and Durock has nowhere to go but cause deterioration in the wall surface. Nice theory, but I still don't think it was the problem in this particular application. The theorist also goes with using thinset to reinstall the tiles.
tell the guy to use thinset and he won't have to worry about all that trapped moisture unglueing things ...
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
If there were no vapor barrier behind the cement board, then the wooden structure of the house would become wet, breeding mold and mildew. Ask the tile contractor to see HIS TCA handbook and show you how he installed the tile according to tried and proven standards.
Then, tell him to look at Schluter,s Kerdi membrane for a more waterproof shower system.
Bryan Klakamp"Objects in mirror appear closer than they are."
Klakamp Construction, Findlay, Ohio
Thanks for the input.
Where is Boris or who ever our in house Tile expert is?
Do a google for the TCA handbook? It sounds like you have problems with your install and installer. If you are attempting to make him eat $omething then you will need to thoroughly educate yourself and be armed with the correct information.
Good luck,
Eric