Thread: Some tiling advice please.

I think the 'tradie' way to do it these days would probably be to fill the hole up with silicone sealant then use more silicone to stick the tiles back on the wall. Matching the grout will be the challenge.

Originally Posted by Fuzzie

I think the 'tradie' way to do it these days would probably be to fill the hole up with silicone sealant then use more silicone to stick the tiles back on the wall. Matching the grout will be the challenge.

If you use silicon, you will have problems getting the ground to stick to the silicon.
Silicon sticker to most stuff[emoji3064], most stuff doesn’t stick to silicon.

If you are certain they have just come loose from age, and know other issues(water leak?)
Just re attach them with tile adhesive and grout.
But make sure you clean the wall well,
You could use an expanding foam in the hole if it needs it first too.

Cheers Matt.

That looks like the start of full bathroom renovation to me, but you never know you might get away with a patch up for a few years yet. The concern would be what damage is being done that you can't see that will lead to big expense later.

I'd be inclined to take the full bottom row of tiles off, patch any holes with builders bog, paint with an acrylic waterproofing agent ensuring that you use a fabric that covers the joint between the wall and the top of the shower base (I assume that's a shower base I'm seeing?) and then tile and grout over that. If the grouting above that bottom row of tiles is in good order this fix should be good for quite a few years.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but its a fools errand to try and repair that, water has been getting behind there for some time and I will almost guarantee that there is significant damage to the wall framing. Is this wall an external wall or a wall between another room?
If you don't have a few hundred dollars and skills to spare to redo the whole shower recess yourself or about $2000 min for the appropriate trades then as a temporary measure use a piece of fibreglass fly screen mesh and apply a coat of sikaflex to the wall sheeting, place mesh over this ensuring the mesh sits down OVER the recess of the shower tray, then apply beads of sikaflex as adhesive on the back of tiles, fit then seal joints with silicon. This will buy you time until your can afford a proper job.
I would be very concerned that if there is in fact NO waterproofing apparent then there is the possibility that there may be more substantial problems which have and are developing behind the tiles/wall sheeting. Your 2nd photo indicates some bigger problems.

If that's a stud that you can see in the pic's it actually looks pretty good, certainly not what I'd expect to see if it is a water damaged stud. Although happy to acknowledge that Ray may well be right I wouldn't unconditionally agree with him without an onsite inspection. Most of us have experience with cement sheet boards, but I for one don't have any experience with 'Aquachek'. As already stated the problem has been created by the breakdown of the joint between the tiles and the shower base. The water gets into the joint and is drawn through capillary action up between the tiles and the wall sheet. If 'Aquachek' is as moisture resistant (both faces and the core) as the manufacturer claims then there may be very little damage to the frame. You should be able to determine this with a proper inspection Grumpy.

The other problem to consider is that the moisture will most certainly attract termites so I would try to open the wall from the other side to check that they are not already there.

I would be heading along the lines of what Ray said.
Aqua Check is not up to the task in showers without having a membrane over it. I only use it for splashback areas in kitchens. In bathrooms I only use villaboard

You can buy yourself a bit if time doing a patch repair or reline and tile just the shower recess with a contrasting tile to save a full re tile

Beardy is correct, aqua check is recommended to be used as splash back base for tiles although indications are your house could have been built late 80's up to late 90's but I could be wrong.
Are the tap handles and shower rose on the same wall, if they are, remove the handles and dress rim and I will 99.999% guarantee that the tap bodies have not been sealed with silicon around the penetration, this is also a common area for water to wick in behind the tiles and run down between the tile and sheet and also down behind the sheet (framework side of sheet.
Also, is that a ground floor concrete slab or bearers and joist or first floor shower in which case termites could be a definite issue or even a very soggy wet substrate if a timber floor.
That brown spot doesn't look like a stud to me, more like mud....... stick a screwdriver into it, that will give an almost definitive answer.

Thank you everyone that has replied, there are some really good suggestions, so thanks again.

I plan on opening the cavity a little bit more so that I can see if there is any sign of long term damage, I will post a pic when I do.

To answer some of the questions that have been asked, in no particular order.

This is an inside wall.
Ground floor, on a concrete slab.
House built 1997.
The taps are on an adjacent wall and sealed with silicone.


We purchased the house in February 2018 and prior to purchasing we had a building inspection carried out and there was no sign of water damage then. Also no sign of termite infestation.

A couple more photo's to give you all a better idea of what's going on.
No signs of rot, or termites. No mud either

Tiles 4.jpg

Tiles 3.jpg

Right, time to play your get out of gaol free card!

Good news, clean well with either acetone or powerful bleach to kill any mould spores, leave for 48 hrs to air and then use preferred method of repair from those suggested.
Tha'ts not aquacheck, it is villaboard. If you can get a piece, cut to size and fit making sure to seal the joints before tiling, Ordinary Hardiflex will do if you have that just means a thicker bed of tile glue'

Originally Posted by rwbuild

Good news, clean well with either acetone or powerful bleach to kill any mould spores, leave for 48 hrs to air and then use preferred method of repair from those suggested.
Tha'ts not aquacheck, it is villaboard. If you can get a piece, cut to size and fit making sure to seal the joints before tiling, Ordinary Hardiflex will do if you have that just means a thicker bed of tile glue'

Not villaboard mate, definitely plaster.

Tiles 5.jpg

I don't think villaboard writes like chalk on concrete, but I could be wrong.
Tiles 6.jpg

Ok, from the last photo it looked like villaboard, my bad