problem with tiles

ronboy

Hello all,
I have underfloor heating and I tiled my bathroom floor about 2 months ago. The tiles are a marble-porcelain tile 60x30. The marble is about 4mm thick stuck onto about 8mm of porcelain . A kind of semi-solid.
My problem is that most of the tiles have bowed along their lenght.:mad::mad: They were stuck down with flexible adhesive. The floor just looks terrible now and the misses is about to blow a gasket. They were bought from a reputable retail outlet who are nationwide and the tiles were expensive.
I'm wondering have I a leg to stand on here or what..???

ronboy

Can anybody help me here as to what I can do..??

tomred1N

hi ronboy

looking at tiling myself at the moment and using a large rectangular porcelin tile.

Just wondering are your tiles laid in a brick design?

I'm very reluctant to doing this even though it look nice.

I put a spirit level on the tile and there is a slight bow on the tile. this is beacuse it is 1 metre long and you would expect some variance. However this could lead to a bulge in the middel of the tile when laid and a height difference when laid in brick efffect.

FunnyStuff

I'm confused here.... did you lay marble on top of a porcelain tile that was previously down, or are they some weird amalgam put together?!?!? And i'm hoping to god that its not the latter!!! Anyway, is it a concrete floor or timber floor? And the adhesive, there are many brands of flexible adhesive, but in my experience (9 years) i'd have to say there are only 2 or 3 brands i'd trust.

As for the tile, its not that uncommon for tiles of that shape to be bowed, but it should never be obviously so. Do the tiles feel like they are coming up? Was the heating turned off when the tiles were being layed? Was the heating turned back on too soon and too high a temperature after they were layed? Was a primer used in preparing the floor? These are all situations that could affect the final outcome of the job. Get on to the guy who fitted them and ask him to have a look.

ronboy

tomred1N wrote: »

hi ronboy

looking at tiling myself at the moment and using a large rectangular porcelin tile.

Just wondering are your tiles laid in a brick design?

I'm very reluctant to doing this even though it look nice.

I put a spirit level on the tile and there is a slight bow on the tile. this is beacuse it is 1 metre long and you would expect some variance. However this could lead to a bulge in the middel of the tile when laid and a height difference when laid in brick efffect.

Yes they were laid in brick effect and looked great when put down. I think myself it's the construction of the tile itself thats making them bow. I have a porcelin tile on the floor in another bathroom,,done in brick aswell and they are spot on. These were laid the same time.

ronboy

FunnyStuff wrote: »

I'm confused here.... did you lay marble on top of a porcelain tile that was previously down, or are they some weird amalgam put together?!?!? And i'm hoping to god that its not the latter!!! Anyway, is it a concrete floor or timber floor? And the adhesive, there are many brands of flexible adhesive, but in my experience (9 years) i'd have to say there are only 2 or 3 brands i'd trust.

As for the tile, its not that uncommon for tiles of that shape to be bowed, but it should never be obviously so. Do the tiles feel like they are coming up? Was the heating turned off when the tiles were being layed? Was the heating turned back on too soon and too high a temperature after they were layed? Was a primer used in preparing the floor? These are all situations that could affect the final outcome of the job. Get on to the guy who fitted them and ask him to have a look.

Yes it's the latter and I bought them that way. I had no heating on either and when it was put on it was set low just to dry out house. It was then brought up a degree or two every few weeks. I cant rem the name of the adhesive. It was a brown and navy bag. The floor is concrete and there was levelling compound put down because I wasn't happy with the floor...

soldsold

FunnyStuff wrote: »

in my experience (9 years) i'd have to say there are only 2 or 3 brands i'd trust.

Will be tiling soon and would really like to hear the names of the 3 adhesives you think are good...by PM if necessary

Ditto for levelling compound if you have experience using it...

thankS!

Steve

FunnyStuff

ronboy wrote: »

Yes it's the latter and I bought them that way. I had no heating on either and when it was put on it was set low just to dry out house. It was then brought up a degree or two every few weeks. I cant rem the name of the adhesive. It was a brown and navy bag. The floor is concrete and there was levelling compound put down because I wasn't happy with the floor...

I wouldnt have touched them tiles with a 40 foot pole. You've got two different substances stuck together, one natural, one unnatural, the porcelain being a practically non porous substance, almost like glass, and the marble, a soft natural substance prone to slight change due to temperature variations etc.

If you have underfloor heating or anything i wouldnt bet on them lasting too long to be honest.

ronboy

FunnyStuff wrote: »

I wouldnt have touched them tiles with a 40 foot pole. You've got two different substances stuck together, one natural, one unnatural, the porcelain being a practically non porous substance, almost like glass, and the marble, a soft natural substance prone to slight change due to temperature variations etc.

If you have underfloor heating or anything i wouldnt bet on them lasting too long to be honest.

So what do you suggest I do..

CJhaughey

OP sorry to hear of your woes but likely one of these would be the best thing, and try and get some kind of deal from the place you bought them from.
They seemingly are not fit for purpose, unless they specified that they were not suitable for UFH.

ronboy

CJhaughey wrote: »

OP sorry to hear of your woes but likely one of these would be the best thing, and try and get some kind of deal from the place you bought them from.
They seemingly are not fit for purpose, unless they specified that they were not suitable for UFH.

thanks cj..:D:D funny man cj

FunnyStuff

To be honest go back to the store you bought them from, tell them you're not happy and try work some kind of deal from them as the last poster said. It a combination that should never be sold to be honest and was always likely to lead to trouble. The guy who fitted them should have told you the same.

You've obviously paid alot of money for these and are entitled to get your money's worth out of them, let the store know you are serious and want to have it sorted, if they value your custom and their business name, they will accomodate you.

Joey the lips

I am guessing that because they are bowing and layed in a brick effect you have whats called rectified tiles. The tiler would have noticed this and should have known that rectified tiles should not be layed on a floor in brick effect.

ronboy

Joey the lips wrote: »

I am guessing that because they are bowing and layed in a brick effect you have whats called rectified tiles. The tiler would have noticed this and should have known that rectified tiles should not be layed on a floor in brick effect.

Whats a rectified tile????

FunnyStuff

Joey the lips wrote: »

I am guessing that because they are bowing and layed in a brick effect you have whats called rectified tiles. The tiler would have noticed this and should have known that rectified tiles should not be layed on a floor in brick effect.

Absolutely nothing to do with it. A rectified tile is a tile that has been been cut to size after the firing process is finished, thereby enabling a tighter finish and finer grout joint between tiles.

Bowing in porcelain tiles is more prevalent simply because of the structure of the tile. Porcelain needs to be cooled very slowly, if it dries too fast, it warps, plain and simple.

Joey the lips

FunnyStuff wrote: »

Absolutely nothing to do with it. A rectified tile is a tile that has been been cut to size after the firing process is finished, thereby enabling a tighter finish and finer grout joint between tiles.

Bowing in porcelain tiles is more prevalent simply because of the structure of the tile. Porcelain needs to be cooled very slowly, if it dries too fast, it warps, plain and simple.

I know how a rectified tile is produced most porc is prone to bowing at some stage and I find when its rectified this shows more. This is why a rectified tile should not be laid in brick effect because the bowing shows. I find that if the tile was not rectified it would not be noticable

I would also stage my two cents that due to the description they are rectified and SHOULD NOT have been laid in a brick effect.

Dr. Nick

the whole UFH thing is a minefield, just ONE of the reasond I kept well away...

CJhaughey

YNWA wrote: »

the whole UFH thing is a minefield, just ONE of the reasond I kept well away...

I have UFH and Porcelain tiles and have never had a problem.
UFH is a perfectly good method of heating, but it does need to be understood by all concerned.