What could have damaged tiles?

[coffeebreak]

First time posting. I hope this is the right category to post issues with tiles…if not, please let me know.

Does anyone know what could have damaged these spotter tiles? In naked eyes, it looks like bird poop!

We remodeled our pool in November. We refurfaced the old plaster with stonescape mini pebbles, replaced waterline tiles, spa overfill tiles, and coping. For the most part everything went smoothly and the first fill was done before thanksgiving.

While water was being filled, I noticed the white marks on some of the blue spotter tiles. I thought maybe it was leftover cement of some sort and contractor should be able to remove it easily. I took pictures and shared with the contractor. Their project manager said they can fix it and 2 guys came over a few days later to fix.

It looked like they just brushed it snd the white marks were still there after they left, so I contacted them again. This time the pm said the white marks are not cement but it’s just how some tiles are. That means the tiles are like that when they installed them!

He then told me they can replace with better looking one but only after 45 days when the mini pebbles are cured. I said fine.

The problem is, for them to replace the tiles we will have to drain and refill pool again and we all know water is not free. I want the contractor to pay the water since they were the ones who choose to use the ugly tiles but they refused to pay for it and now stating that the water and chemicals might have damaged the tiles.

I don’t believe water and chemical can damage the way these tiles look and also it doesn’t make sense for water and chemical to damage just a few tiles and not all(the same tiles are used for spa overfill and none of them have white marks).

I’m thinking it was damaged during acid wash but there is no way for us to prove that. Sigh.

Any input would be appreciated and sorry for the long post!

 

[PoolGate]

I also agree this is just an anomaly/variation in the tile. You can't live with that?

 

[coffeebreak]

I also agree this is just an anomaly/variation in the tile. You can't live with that?

It looks lot worse in the naked eyes!
We used the same tiles for spa overfill and none of the tiles(out of hundreds) look like this, yet 3 out of 10 spotters look like this.
Somethinf must have happened during acidwash is what my gut feeling tells me.

 

[ajw22]

Welcome to TFP.

Acid wash will not damage tiles.

They look like they were that way on installation.

I would not tear them out and replace them. No one will notice them when they are enjoying your pool.

 

[coffeebreak]

Welcome to TFP.

Acid wash will not damage tiles.

They look like they were that way on installation.

I would not tear them out and replace them. No one will notice them when they are enjoying your pool.

Our contractor says the tiles didn’t have the white marks when they installed it.

What are the cons of tear them out and replace them?

 

[ajw22]

What are the cons of tear them out and replace them?

The plaster around the tile is not likely to match.

If you don't like those scratches, you may not like the slightly different colored border around the replaced tiles.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

Did they do any polishing or sanding of the surface? More pictures of other tiles might help but at first glance it looks like a tile that has had the glaze and color removed by a sander/polisher.

 

[JamesW]

If you can't feel the difference, just forget about it.

In the grand scheme of things it is a mostly irrelevant issue.

 

[PoolGate]

Our contractor says the tiles didn’t have the white marks when they installed it.

What are the cons of tear them out and replace them?

If they did not, then they should be able to be cleaned. Can you feel this anomaly with your finger or is it smooth?

 

[coffeebreak]

Did they do any polishing or sanding of the surface? More pictures of other tiles might help but at first glance it looks like a tile that has had the glaze and color removed by a sander/polisher.

Unfortunately I wasn’t watching when they came to ‘fix’ it so I’m not sure what they did
The contractor changed his story many times and at this point, I don’t believe anything he says.

Tile is glazed and it does feel like the glaze was removed and ceramic is exposed.
Would the exposed part cause issues in the future since it doesn’t have the protecive layer?

 

[coffeebreak]

If you can't feel the difference, just forget about it.

In the grand scheme of things it is a mostly irrelevant issue.

I do feel the difference and the most of all they are ugly. I paid good money for it so iy does matter to me.

 

[coffeebreak]

If they did not, then they should be able to be cleaned. Can you feel this anomaly with your finger or is it smooth?

I too feel they should be able to clean it if the tiles looked fine when they installed them. But they said they couldn’t clean it

 

[coffeebreak]

The plaster around the tile is not likely to match.

If you don't like those scratches, you may not like the slightly different colored border around the replaced tiles.

I actually prefer a slight discoloration than these ugly tiles. The white marks are very noticeble. I wish I could take better pictures but this is as good as it gets with my iphone.

 

[MAPR-Austin]

Unfortunately I wasn’t watching when they came to ‘fix’ it so I’m not sure what they did
The contractor changed his story many times and at this point, I don’t believe anything he says.

Tile is glazed and it does feel like the glaze was removed and ceramic is exposed.
Would the exposed part cause issues in the future since it doesn’t have the protecive layer?

No, the ceramic is fired and the damage is just cosmetic. They aren't going to get worse or fall apart.

My guess is that during the exposure they used a wet polisher, and scuffed the tiles. I have done this intentionally to remove tile glaze and it looks the same.

They look like 2"x2" tiles. A top notch tile guy can cut those out with minimal to no overcutting, set new tiles, take the stonescapes material and sift it to separate the colored cement from the aggregate, then use the cement to grout around the tiles.

It's really up to you, there is a risk that the attempt to fix it makes things worse. I tend to agree with @JamesW that living with it would be the easiest, but I also get that it is your pool.

 

[coffeebreak]

No, the ceramic is fired and the damage is just cosmetic. They aren't going to get worse or fall apart.

My guess is that during the exposure they used a wet polisher, and scuffed the tiles. I have done this intentionally to remove tile glaze and it looks the same.

They look like 2"x2" tiles. A top notch tile guy can cut those out with minimal to no overcutting, set new tiles, take the stonescapes material and sift it to separate the colored cement from the aggregate, then use the cement to grout around the tiles.

It's really up to you, there is a risk that the attempt to fix it makes things worse. I tend to agree with @JamesW that living with it would be the easiest, but I also get that it is your pool.

This gave me a piece of mind. So THANK YOU!!
And you are right about 2x2.
What you said make sense and I believe that's what most likely happened. Though I don't think our contractor will admit that because they don't want to take the fault.

Part of me wants to let this go (as it is tiring) and live with it as there is no garantee that they will replace it with seamless result. They did this in the first place, they could make it worse.

I took more pics just to share. You can see the same tiles were used for spa overfill and spotters. None of the tiles in spa have the issue.
I can live with the small white spot since it's minor and it's on the deepest step. The big white mark on the other hand is VERY UGLY and NOTICEABLE and I'm not sure if I can learn to live with it or not yet.

 

[PoolGate]

The thing is, if your builder does agree to replace them, they are probably not going to send their best tile guy. I think there is a good chance these will turn out worse. You'll see an even uglier transition between the tiles and the plaster. Not to mention is he going to cover the $500 water refill cost? Perhaps see if he is willing to give you a few hundred dollars or some other compensation.

 

[coffeebreak]

The thing is, if your builder does agree to replace them, they are probably not going to send their best tile guy. I think there is a good chance these will turn out worse. You'll see an even uglier transition between the tiles and the plaster. Not to mention is he going to cover the $500 water refill cost? Perhaps see if he is willing to give you a few hundred dollars or some other compensation.

That's a great idea!
Initially, I asked them to pay for the water. They said no and that's when they started saying they didn't cause the issue.
I'm now leaning towards not letting them fix it, so asking them for a few hundred dollars sounds like a good idea.