Tile problem

[georgehudson]

Not sure if this is where to get advice. I had a pool installed 2 years ago by a national provider. The one who is on TV and has all the shows. Well now I am having issues with the deceptive tiles that were installed. I have travertine and instead of using plaster to build up the back to match the thickness of that tile for the deceptive tile, the just put globs of plaster on the back of each tile and the put grout in. The grout is falling out because it isn’t attached to anything. They are telling me that is the way tile is installed in pools. The tiles are now falling out. Below is a picture of the does anyone know if this is standard practice? It seems I am in for thousands of dollars to have of the tiles removed and installed correctly. This section is where the spa waterfall flows into the pool.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

What is a "deceptive tile"? You mean defective?

Tile is glued to the shell using thinset. Then grout is put in the tile joint lines.

Lazy tile installers will put a blob of thinset on each tile and stick it on the wall. Best practice is to coat the wall with thinset using a notched trowel, butter the back of the tile with thinset, then push the tile onto the wall. There are plenty of YouTube videos showing good tile techniques.

Read Waterline Tile Installation - Further Reading

 

[ajw22]

Is that picture on your spa spillover wall?

Show us wider pictures of your pool and spa and the problem areas?

 

[birdman579]

Not sure if this is where to get advice. I had a pool installed 2 years ago by a national provider. The one who is on TV and has all the shows. Well now I am having issues with the deceptive tiles that were installed. I have travertine and instead of using plaster to build up the back to match the thickness of that tile for the deceptive tile, the just put globs of plaster on the back of each tile and the put grout in. The grout is falling out because it isn’t attached to anything. They are telling me that is the way tile is installed in pools. The tiles are now falling out. Below is a picture of the does anyone know if this is standard practice? It seems I am in for thousands of dollars to have of the tiles removed and installed correctly. This section is where the spa waterfall flows into the pool.

View attachment 621133

The thickness of Thinset mortar is not necessarily a problem because some are rated as a medium bed mortar. The problem I see is you have less than the required 95% coverage on the back of the tiles and your grout is completely unsupported. This is not a proper installation. I have the same issue on my pool and it lasted about 10 years before major problems showed up that require a major renovation to address. I’m surprised your tile failed so quickly even when installed incorrectly. My advice is to get new tiles installed correctly very soon to prevent issues migrating to the main plaster/pebble in the pool. Also, unfortunately your type of tile installation is very common because it allows the installer to position the tiles to account for inconsistency in the pool shell. The proper approach is to use a bonded mortar bed with a thin layer of Thinset to adhere the tiles to the mortar bed.