Hi All,
Here is my concern. I tiled a semi-covered front porch on Friday. Tiles are set on a concrete slab. It is now Sunday night (60 hours later) and we are in the middle of one doozy of a thunderstorm with torrential rain. The tile is covered with a tarp, but the rain is so hard that the gutters/downspouts are overflowing and water is backing up under the tarps. What effect is this going to have on the mortar? (no grout yet)Is the 60 hours enough time that it has sufficiently set and I am out of the woods? Or is this something that I am going to notice the effects of this winter after the first freeze? (It’s in Montana) What do you say? Can I sleep well tonight and tomorrow or am I just waiting for problems? The mortar was mixed with latex additive, not water, since it is outside.
Thanks,
Brad.
Replies
Read the thinset bag. It probably says that you should stay off the tiles for 24 hrs, and then you can grout. So ... I would assume that after 24 hrs it is cured enough to be unaffected by rain. Freezing rain would be a different story, cuz the freezing water could expand and pop the tiles off.
Once it stops raining, let it dry out ... wet vac if necessary ... you want to get ALL the water out before grouting ... damp is ok.
Whenever you are asked if you can do a job, tell'em "Certainly, I can!" Then get busy and find out how to do it. T. Roosevelt
You're fine. Let the patio dry out before grouting. As Ed stated, damp it okay. You would wet the joints anyway prior to grouting so as not to absorb the moisture out of the grout too quickly.
F.
Thanks to you both, I'll rest a little easier.
Brad
The thinset is ruined, and the whole patio should be ripped up. You screwed up big time.
Seriously, as long as the tiles did not get wet, you are fine. The damp conditions may extend the cure time.
I would wait until everything is clear and dry, then grout.Regards,
Boris
"Sir, I may be drunk, but you're crazy, and I'll be sober tomorrow" -- WC Fields, "Its a Gift" 1934