Tile Failures and Problems

Public·31 members

August 25, 2025

Glass tile Issues

Hi folks,

First post. I work for a tile company. I'm not an installer, I work in product development. I'm being asked about issues with some round glass tiles installed on a curved wall. About half of the tiles have what appear to be air bubbles appearing under them (the client says that some of the bubble are actually getting larger over time, it has been about 10 days since the install was completed), additionally, a couple of the tiles have cracked though the space hasn't been used. The client said the installer used Laticrete 254 platinum thin set. I have attached pics. Any help on what could cause these issues would be much appreciated

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Sergio

Sep 09

I haven't been in contact with the archictect or designer, but, I've done some researching and I've come to think that what caused the voids/bubbles to appear behind the tile might just be stress from the angle of the curved wall being too sharp, causing too much tension since glass doesn't give much at all, and the bond between the thin set and tile failing under so much stress. What do you think of that hypothesis?

July 10, 2025

pot holes in mud pan

Had a hard time getting mud to have smooth surface. slops seam ok and staight but after drying there are some indentions. can I use non modified thin set to level these areas and let it dry before installing flofx membrane or will it cause adhesion problems?

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Isaac Ostrom

Jul 29

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Good idea! As long as the mud bed is sound and isn’t hollow or too crumbly.

Ryan

May 16, 2025

Whats going on with this tile?

Can anyone tell me whats going on with these clear tiles in this mosaic? This is in a recently remodeled shower. I am referring to the black spots & lines along the back corner of the tiles.

My installer is telling me that what I am seeing is the mesh behind the tile, and that its unavoidable. Is this actually what its supposed to look like when its installed? I am hesitant to take their word for it. I know the mesh backing was white, so I am not sure why I am seeing dark areas.

Some google searches are suggesting to me that its not the mesh that I am looking at, but that its voids left from the troweled adhesive, and that they should have collapsed the ridges flat installing. Is there any truth to that?

I also asked what it would cost to replace that mosaic with…

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Isaac Ostrom

May 16

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I recommend pulling a few tiles to see if there is enough thinset behind it. The thinset should squish into the grout joint 1/16” or so. Then the grout fills in the rest of the joint.

April 6, 2025

Shower flange above slab by an 1/8”

Got the demo done on my walk-in shower and noticed the flange is above the concrete. Everywhere I’ve read says that should be flush with the slab. Not really looking to break the slab up and replace as I am just a DIYer. I am planning on doing the mortar bed and putting down some hydroban as my waterproofing. I am curious if anyone else has ran into this problem and what they did to remedy it?

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Isaac Ostrom

Apr 07

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Hi Zach - building a tile shower is not an easy process. There are different approaches and methods. It sounds like you are going for an old school water in/water out system. Hydroban does not work with that type of system unless you do a “divot method”.

I recommend switching over to a sealed system. But we’ll need some more info from you