Tile Repair Question

[santacruzpool]

I have just discovered a section of tiles that have come loose at our cover vault wall. The tiles are pushing up and need to be repaired.

Apparently our tile warranty was only 1 year, so we either need to pay the original pool builder to come do the repairs, hire any tile person we want, and/or DIY the fix.

Seem like a pretty easy fix. However, we would need to get the safety cover completely retracted and out of the way. The tile is above the waterline, so there is no problem with water while it is repaired and the mastic or adhesive cures.

One fix I thought of was to just shoot some good construction adhesive or caulk under the tiles and press them back down into place and be done??? Or I could buy some latex modified thinset and do the repair.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions???

Thanks!

 

[santacruzpool]

 

[CaptainCannonball]

Any idea what is causing the tiles to lift? One year warranty or not, I would still have the builder examine it... hopefully they will work with you.

 

[santacruzpool]

These are 24" wide full tiles that are sitting on the sloping vault beam. I am not sure what is causing it - they do push back down into place just fine. I am thinking just a change in expansion at the vault end based on our record rains???

We did just go from torrential rains to hot weather when it happened...obviously the original tile job wasn't the best. The grout line at that area is/was poorly done - it was re-done at the pool builders request just after it was built. There is now some missing grout on that leading edge so water could get under that tile...

 

[blakeusa]

We do a lot of stone construction in New England and fix coping stones with construction adhesive no problem.

I would just remove the two tiles, inspect and clean the area with a brush to remove any loose material and reset the tiles with a Polyurethane Construction Adhesive.
If there is grout regrout with an epoxy grout.

This would work fine,
Loctite PL Premium 28 fl. oz. Polyurethane Construction Adhesive-1390594 - The Home Depot

 

[santacruzpool]

Thanks for the tip

I am still waiting to hear what the pool builders mason would charge to "fix" this.

 

[santacruzpool]

Pool builder stepped up - even though it is out of warranty. I was asking what the estimated cost would be to fix it, they said they are currently building 2 pools nearby so they would just have the mason stop by and fix it - at no charge

 

[pushin glass]

Can't beat that!

 

[Big Will]

Congrats! That is very welcome news


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CaptainCannonball]

Excellent, let us know how they repair it.

 

[santacruzpool]

The tile was repaired several days ago - the repair was a bit tricky as the cover bar sits over the tiles partially even when fully open. I don't think the mason would have known how to remove the bar and retract the cover further away from the tiling area.

They seem to have used standard grout and thinset, but I wasn't around to see them do it. There was some excess grout on the tiles that I was able to wipe off and clean up a little and a couple of tiny chips on one of the tile edges. Even though it isn't perfect it is now repaired and at no cost.

 

[santacruzpool]

My tile problem has returned - almost 6 years later - two of the big tiles are lifting when they get hot - so I am guessing a bit of expansion. If I put pool water on them they lower down.

I am thinking this time I might use a good waterproof adhesive like Lexel and just DIY the fix...

My idea is to lift the tiles up a bit - squirt some Lexel under them and then put a bucket on top to hold them down for the day...the picture below shows the tiles that are lifting

 

[MAPR-Austin]

If they are lifting when it is hot, I would try to replace the grout with a flexible sealant. I believe this is standard on raised tile walls, to have a flexible joint every 4-5 feet to combat thermal expansion.

 

[santacruzpool]

The tiles have very little grout - less than 1/8" between tiles.

I think it is due to expansion.