How to retile kitchen, bathroom and shower?

[rosharch]

Hi,

Need to some advice for a novice.

A tenant let our granny flat fall into disrepair:

• kitchen splashback tiles have completely fallen off.
• Some tiles in the shower have broken/come off and underlay has been worn away
• Three tiles on the bathroom floor have come out

The bathroom floor seems like the easiest fix, but I wanted to get trusted advice and these boards have never let me down yet.

What equipment/products will I need and what's the best way to approach it all, please?

Thanks in advance

[MitchellMc · Accepted solution]

Hi @rosharch,

From the appearance of the tiles, it looks like they are coming to the end of their functional life. Your tile adhesive and grout are so aged that this disrepair is a good indication that you are nearing the time of a complete retile from scratch. This means all the tiles should be removed and replaced. I can understand that you'd like to repair the loose tiles, and that's fine, but be aware that they will continue to fail as time goes on, and there's nothing you or the tenant can do to prevent that.

Replacing the loose tiles is as easy as cleaning any debris from the sub-structure and using an adhesive to fix them back in position. You can then grout around them. Before you do so, I'd encourage you to check the surrounding tiles to see if they are well adhered. I presume once you start inspecting, you'll find quite a few more that also need to be re-adhered. Dunlop 250g White Ready To Go Tile Adhesive And Grout works both as an adhesive and a grout.

Here are a couple of helpful guides: How to lay floor tiles and How to grout wall tiles.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[Jewelleryrescue]

Hi @rosharch 

@MitchellMc  is right that  whole tile area could use a refresh as under glue is failing but it you clean all the goop (white glue of the face and  edges) of the tiles you can  re glue them  with  Mitchells  product  he listed. 

The trouble is once you start renovating one spot it  will lead to the  whole  house I think  many can atest too.  Which is a good thing.

Tip for you @rosharch  why dont you get in a renter whos very handy and charge them less rent in exchange for certain agreed to flat improvments within a certain time frame. Also  agree  who pays for materials.  

[rosharch]

Thanks Mitchell!

You're absolutely on the money about what needs to be done with the tiles eventually, but the situation we're in right now doesn't make that an easy option...so a stop gap solution is what I'm going for at the moment.

Appreciate the tips and recommendations...I'll be tackling it in a couple of weeks so will let you know how it goes.

[rosharch]

You speak much wisdom, but the situation with the tenant is a complicated one otherwise, I'd definitely look into that option.

Hopefully this will do for now.

Thank you!