Tiles fall off after using chemicals

PatchDragon

New member
Apr 27, 2025
2
Spain
Good day, I apologize in advance for the language, I will most likely use the wrong terms. I used this chemical in the pool (link). The tiles started to fall off and I drained the water - the tiles continued to fall off during cleaning, upon examination it turned out that all my "putty" simply disappeared (see photo), and the layer behind the tile holding it began to crumble. I would like to know if I can restore this tile without buying a new one - I collect it and store it. I bought new putty and a means for holding the tile, I would be extremely grateful for a video example of how to do this. I understand that I am a beginner and ask a lot, in turn, I can share my experience of how I did it and what I encountered and contribute to the Internet and the forum. I took several photos of the pool and while I was doing them, some more fell off. Thank youIMG_4429.jpeg

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Welcome to TFP.

The "putty" is grout.

Thinset is used to attach tiles to the wall.


All the loose tiles need to be removed from the wall. The old thinset must be removed to the gunite using an oscillating tool with a grout blade. If you are going to reuse tiles the old thinset and grout must be cleaned off of them. Preparation is 80% of the effort.

Then, you can begin installing the tiles. Plastic spacers maintain the grout line spacing between tiles, which are laid in a bed of thinset.

Once the tiles dry in the thinset, grout fills the spaces.

There are many YouTube videos about laying bathroom tile, which is similar to the thinset and grout process.


For reference here is the current recommended glass tile installation process from Oceanside Glass & Tile...


https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0...l-Water-Feature-Installation.pdf?v=1625588595

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