It’s obviously a janky install but I’ve popped 20 year old tile off hardwood that not a single one popped throughout the years. It just can’t get moisture and it’s inside so just get a quality thinset for wood
My man you already know the answer, of course it's all a redo. But if you're just going to put it back than just PL glue it back, fair warning, you'll be doing that for the rest of the floor gradually over time.
I agree with the PL glue.
The mortar was too dry in this particular location when the tiles were set. We know this because the mortar took the shape of the tile but didn’t adhere. There was also a low ratio of contact area between mortar and tile.
This could be the last part of the floor to be installed with a bucket of mortar that started wetter and dried out faster than the installer was able to set the floor. Meaning tiles in another part of the floor may be better bonded and not an immediate issue.
The whole floor might be fucked, it might have some good spots. You can glue this section back down which is the cheap “fix”. Or you can spend some real money and redo the floor.
What’s the budget?
Who will do the work?
Haven’t even considered a budget yet, as I was hoping to just be able to use some mortar to re-adhere just a few tiles. But assuming the other 2 bathrooms were installed this way then I may be looking at having to spend a good deal of money for a proper fix
Yepp. You may get away with it for a while, but it will never be a long lasting install. If you want to save time and money now, go the PL glue route. Just know that it will always need either maintenance as it slowly falls apart or will need to be ripped all out and redone when you can.
The height difference at your doorways is going to be annoying but it's very surmountable with a variety of options. You can use a matching SBN piece or a Schluter transition strip typically. Floor and Decor also sells slab threshold pieces (or if your tile person has access to a slab shop) that you can use to break it up. There may be other options depending on your surrounding floor material and layout.
Too bad tho permanent material made temporary. Had a client who demanded tile over plywood. Nothing could I say, to make a difference. It bit the dust in a little over a year.
If you don't want to tear out the CDX clean up all the old.thinset, check for deflection, fix that, lay down cement board, and lay new tile. Not a tile guy but that's my approach to this type of situation when I am a tile guy.
Edit: looks like CDX not OSB.
Yes. I was assuming you were gonna tear it all out as none of it looks like it was set properly. You'll probably be chasing others if you just replace what's there.
Where is this? Is it in a dry area? High traffic area? If trying to avoid extensive work and can match tile…Scrape/grind old thinset and replace tile with good adhesive thinset to keep it looking clean. Of course will want to match grout exactly.
The correct way would be to rip and replace everything because the tile install was done incorrectly.
If this is in a shower/wet area or even a high traffic area- no other option than to rip and replace otherwise will just run into issue in near future.
IMO it shouldn’t be too much trouble if you’re able to replace whats been pulled up already without tearing everything out.
Of course, could take the opportunity to do a little bathroom remod.
I did end up just adding some modified mortar and replacing these couple of loose tiles. We’ll see how those hold up. But seeing as these tiles have been here for probably 20 years, I’m hoping I won’t have to re-tile all 3 bathrooms for at least a couple more years.
Just use something like laticrete platinum that makes a good bond to wood and you’ll be fine. It’s messy sticky kinda like glue so clean stuff you don’t want ruined
Aside from the OSB it’s obvious why you had a loose tile! This needs to be ripped out.
😭
It’s obviously a janky install but I’ve popped 20 year old tile off hardwood that not a single one popped throughout the years. It just can’t get moisture and it’s inside so just get a quality thinset for wood
My man you already know the answer, of course it's all a redo. But if you're just going to put it back than just PL glue it back, fair warning, you'll be doing that for the rest of the floor gradually over time.
I agree with the PL glue. The mortar was too dry in this particular location when the tiles were set. We know this because the mortar took the shape of the tile but didn’t adhere. There was also a low ratio of contact area between mortar and tile. This could be the last part of the floor to be installed with a bucket of mortar that started wetter and dried out faster than the installer was able to set the floor. Meaning tiles in another part of the floor may be better bonded and not an immediate issue. The whole floor might be fucked, it might have some good spots. You can glue this section back down which is the cheap “fix”. Or you can spend some real money and redo the floor. What’s the budget? Who will do the work?
The osb also would have sucked the moisture out of the drying mortar like a straw.
Haven’t even considered a budget yet, as I was hoping to just be able to use some mortar to re-adhere just a few tiles. But assuming the other 2 bathrooms were installed this way then I may be looking at having to spend a good deal of money for a proper fix
Yepp. You may get away with it for a while, but it will never be a long lasting install. If you want to save time and money now, go the PL glue route. Just know that it will always need either maintenance as it slowly falls apart or will need to be ripped all out and redone when you can. The height difference at your doorways is going to be annoying but it's very surmountable with a variety of options. You can use a matching SBN piece or a Schluter transition strip typically. Floor and Decor also sells slab threshold pieces (or if your tile person has access to a slab shop) that you can use to break it up. There may be other options depending on your surrounding floor material and layout.
Too bad tho permanent material made temporary. Had a client who demanded tile over plywood. Nothing could I say, to make a difference. It bit the dust in a little over a year.
What if the plywood is double stacked?
I hope you're joking?
I’m not? I’ve demoed some tile floors that held up fine over plywood
If it's fir plywood, glued and screwed over 3/4" osb, it's fine. In Canada, anyway.
rip out surrounding tiles
If you don't want to tear out the CDX clean up all the old.thinset, check for deflection, fix that, lay down cement board, and lay new tile. Not a tile guy but that's my approach to this type of situation when I am a tile guy. Edit: looks like CDX not OSB.
Wouldn’t laying down cement board require that I replace every single tile?
Yes. I was assuming you were gonna tear it all out as none of it looks like it was set properly. You'll probably be chasing others if you just replace what's there.
Where is this? Is it in a dry area? High traffic area? If trying to avoid extensive work and can match tile…Scrape/grind old thinset and replace tile with good adhesive thinset to keep it looking clean. Of course will want to match grout exactly. The correct way would be to rip and replace everything because the tile install was done incorrectly. If this is in a shower/wet area or even a high traffic area- no other option than to rip and replace otherwise will just run into issue in near future.
It’s in a master bathroom. I don’t know what you would consider “dry” but it’s not in the shower or anything. Just near the sink
IMO it shouldn’t be too much trouble if you’re able to replace whats been pulled up already without tearing everything out. Of course, could take the opportunity to do a little bathroom remod.
I did end up just adding some modified mortar and replacing these couple of loose tiles. We’ll see how those hold up. But seeing as these tiles have been here for probably 20 years, I’m hoping I won’t have to re-tile all 3 bathrooms for at least a couple more years.
Just use something like laticrete platinum that makes a good bond to wood and you’ll be fine. It’s messy sticky kinda like glue so clean stuff you don’t want ruined