Repair loose floor tile without removal - anyone tried it?

[TopDeadSenter]

We have a couple of loose tiles in every room. Quite annoying to walk on, and I remember having the same problem in a previous house which we ignored which finally resulted in every single tile coming loose.

 

 So in the search for an easy bodge/workaround I come across this guy that drilled holes in the grout, then injects epoxy resin thinned slightly with acetone. Makes sense this could work. The video on youtube is not promoting any product, hope it is OK to share as an example?

 

 

Has anybody here tried this, or any similar method with products available in Thailand?

[NanLaew]

Tile lifting suction clamps are available in hardware stores. I have seen them at Mr. D.I.Y. which would definitely be the cheapest.

 

Bulk epoxy adhesive resins are also available but the guy in the video specified the type in fiberglass construction? If there's not a boat-builder nearby, lazada would be a good option for that as well as the acetone and the syringes.

 

AFAIK toilet tissue on a roll is also widely available in Thailand.

 

I might give this a go as I have about five tiles in the lounge that 'tick' when walked on. I wasn't in the country when the ceramics guy was doing his stuff and forgot to leave my golf ball behind for Mrs NL to check on his work.

[TopDeadSenter]

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Tile lifting suction clamps are available in hardware stores. I have seen them at Mr. D.I.Y. which would definitely be the cheapest.

 

Bulk epoxy adhesive resins are also available but the guy in the video specified the type in fiberglass construction? If there's not a boat-builder nearby, lazada would be a good option for that as well as the acetone and the syringes.

 

AFAIK toilet tissue on a roll is also widely available in Thailand.

 

I might give this a go as I have about five tiles in the lounge that 'tick' when walked on. I wasn't in the country when the ceramics guy was doing his stuff and forgot to leave my golf ball behind for Mrs NL to check on his work.

Thanks for the info. Checked with a nearby boat supply shop they keep epoxy resin and hardener in stock. Acetone I can only find on Lazada. HomePro do sell an epoxy thinner which I may try instead of acetone. Other YT videos I watched about thinning epoxy resin with acetone showed it is a bad idea over (i forget exactly how much) a 3% mix because the resin never fully cures. That would be a disaster for floor tile repair.

 Well if you try it before me pls share your results, otherwise I will try ASAP on the most out of the way loose tile and report back with findings.

 

One note is the video guy has nice thick grouting allowing him to inject the resin easily. Here they really like to lay tiles close together with minimal space for grout. Could be problematic.

 

For your situation of 5 loose tiles this looks a perfect solution. The thinned epoxy flowing to fill the air space under the tiles. In theory seems a better solution than pulling up the tiles, grind out the old tile adhesive or concrete, then re lay the tiles - which will never be exactly level with surrounding tiles. Then due to unbelievable amount of dust that got everywhere from grinding, repaint and decorate the room.

 

[NanLaew]

^ My tiles are large but also have the same, really thin grout line. I'm not sure if using the cutting disk per the YT is practical. I do have a Dremel with much finer and thinner disks though. Pretty disappointing since the guy did three rooms plus the hong nams and the lounge was the only one he cocked up on.

[uncleP]

You can make a really thin tile adhesive mixture. Pour it over the loose cracks and tap the tile with a rubber mallet.  The adhesive should get into the cracks and fix the problem. 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Acetone I can only find on Lazada

Every chemist (pharmacy) has it in stock 

[Artisi]

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Tile lifting suction clamps are available in hardware stores. I have seen them at Mr. D.I.Y. which would definitely be the cheapest.

 

Bulk epoxy adhesive resins are also available but the guy in the video specified the type in fiberglass construction? If there's not a boat-builder nearby, lazada would be a good option for that as well as the acetone and the syringes.

 

AFAIK toilet tissue on a roll is also widely available in Thailand.

 

I might give this a go as I have about five tiles in the lounge that 'tick' when walked on. I wasn't in the country when the ceramics guy was doing his stuff and forgot to leave my golf ball behind for Mrs NL to check on his work.

Please you took your balls with you, wise move ????

[Susco]

4 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I wasn't in the country when the ceramics guy was doing his stuff and forgot to leave my golf ball behind for Mrs NL to check on his work.

 

You think the golf ball would have given any indication of substandard work, even in the first weeks after he finished the job?

 

My experience is that it takes months, if not years, before you get that hollow sound.

[Artisi]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

^ My tiles are large but also have the same, really thin grout line. I'm not sure if using the cutting disk per the YT is practical. I do have a Dremel with much finer and thinner disks though. Pretty disappointing since the guy did three rooms plus the hong nams and the lounge was the only one he cocked up on.

It was ahead of the game and much to the disbelief of the Thai tiler, I insisted on 3mm gap and dark grout, easier to remove a tile if needed and dark grout doesn't get dirty looking of patchy black after a few years. 

 

Been down for 10 years 

Edited December 3, 2020 by Artisi

[Yellowtail]

15 minutes ago, Susco said:

 

You think the golf ball would have given any indication of substandard work, even in the first weeks after he finished the job?

 

My experience is that it takes months, if not years, before you get that hollow sound.

 

I can't speak to golf balls, but you can hear voids in the adhesive/loose tiles even before the adhesive is dry. Decent tile-setters (tradesmen, not grunt-labor)  check the sound of each tile as it is set. 

[Artisi]

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I can't speak to golf balls, but you can hear voids in the adhesive/loose tiles even before the adhesive is dry. Decent tile-setters (tradesmen, not grunt-labor)  check the sound of each tile as it is set. 

Correct, but doesn't overcome the occassional tile / adhesive parting company. 

[Susco]

5 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I can't speak to golf balls, but you can hear voids in the adhesive/loose tiles even before the adhesive is dry. Decent tile-setters (tradesmen, not grunt-labor)  check the sound of each tile as it is set. 

 

I know my tiler did that, and I don't have any 60x60 tiles inside the house that I'm aware of that have an issue.

 

But I have quite a few 20x20 clay tiles on my outdoor walkways that sound hollow, and they are usually a few next to each other, so i think the real reason for it is movement of the base

[Yellowtail]

On 12/3/2020 at 7:43 PM, Susco said:

 

I know my tiler did that, and I don't have any 60x60 tiles inside the house that I'm aware of that have an issue.

 

But I have quite a few 20x20 clay tiles on my outdoor walkways that sound hollow, and they are usually a few next to each other, so i think the real reason for it is movement of the base

 

I don't understand how the "base" moving could cause the tiles to come loose, can you explain how? The tiles should move with the base and or crack, they should not come loose

 

I think it more likely that (assuming there were no voids in the adhesive) the surface of the base and or tile was either contaminated or too dry. It could also be that the tile-setter used the adhesive too long and kept adding water to soften it up, rather than discarding it and mixing fresh. That might explain why they might come loose in clusters.

[Pilotman]

I wanted to watch the video, but the guys boring voice made me feel suicidal before I got to the fixing bit.  I think I need a large whisky before I try to look again. 

[4MyEgo]

On 12/3/2020 at 6:49 PM, TopDeadSenter said:

hen due to unbelievable amount of dust that got everywhere from grinding

I always have the wife next to me holding the vacuum so as to suck in the the dust before it escaped, works wonders.  

[Pilotman]

1 minute ago, 4MyEgo said:

I always have the wife next to me holding the vacuum so as to suck in the the dust before it escaped, works wonders.  

I use my wife to do the sucking too, what a coincidence. 

[sometimewoodworker]

25 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I don't understand how the "base" moving could cause the tiles to come loose, can you explain how? The tiles should move with the base and or crack, they should not come loose

There is no guarantee that the substance that is under the tiles adheres strongly to them so of cause the tiles can loosen 

[4MyEgo]

10 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

I use my wife to do the sucking too, what a coincidence.

 

I makes sure mine doesn't miss any...beat that !

[Yellowtail]

20 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

I always have the wife next to me holding the vacuum so as to suck in the the dust before it escaped, works wonders.  

 

Get a wet grinder

[Yellowtail]

20 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

There is no guarantee that the substance that is under the tiles adheres strongly to them so of cause the tiles can loosen 

 

I think it fair to assume that the substance under the tiles is tile adhesive, which does stick strongly to them if applied correctly. If something other than tile adhesive is used, or is tile adhesive used incorrectly then yes, tiles may come loose.

 

Of course if the substrate has not been prepared correctly or if it has not been allowed to cure completely prior to installing the tiles they can come loose as well. But again, this is an installation issue. Poorly installed tiles come loose, properly installed tiles do not. 

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

Sand. The finer the grain the better. We'd use silver sand in the UK and I dunno if its available in Ting Tong Land. Any ways you can filter normal sand and only use the driest smallest of the filtered sand. keep sweeping the filtered sand into the joints whilst rocking the loose tile. The sandy grit will work its way into any voids under your tiles. To help the sand get under the tile just keep rocking the tile till it stops. It's way paviors correct a rocking flagstone. No need to thank me.   ????

[IvorBiggun2]

^

Kiln Dried Sand

Kiln dried sand is very dry fine sand that contains no moisture. The sand is used to fill the joints of block paving and paving slabs. By filling the joints with dried sand you keep the structure of the paving rigid and strong. It also stops the ingress of water & stops the paving from moving and becoming loose.

[4MyEgo]

47 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

Get a wet grinder

 

Too messy IMO

[Yellowtail]

2 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Too messy IMO

 

Well I've used both, and cleaned up after both and I would much rather clean the floor than clean every crack, crevice, curtain and cupboard in the house. The vacuum is better than nothing but (in my opinion) it does take two people, it is more dangerous and still leaves a significant mess, unless you're just drilling a few holes. It will also clog your vacuum quickly causing it to overheat particularly if your vacuum does not have replaceable bags. 

 

 

[TopDeadSenter]

Well I ordered some cheap epoxy resin on lazada, should be here any day and I will attempt the epoxy bodge and report back on how it went. This morning started removing grout but we are talking a 1 or 2mm gap between tiles I think it's just not enough room(OK yes with dremel and tiny grinding wheel can probably get grout out OK but not enough space to cleanly get the epoxy in). Will try drilling gently through the tile itself and use a giant syringe to squirt the thinned epoxy mixture. A nice round hole in the tile should marry up nicely with the syringe head. If after 48 hrs I can bounce a golf ball with no hollow sound I will deem it a success and repeat the process in more obvious loose tile areas.

 Worst case scenario I mess it up completely(crack the tiles or can't get the epoxy underneath for some reason) and end up paying the pros to change tiles, we have plenty of spares. Which means there's nothing to lose by trying myself 1st.

[Yellowtail]

13 minutes ago, TopDeadSenter said:

Well I ordered some cheap epoxy resin on lazada, should be here any day and I will attempt the epoxy bodge and report back on how it went. This morning started removing grout but we are talking a 1 or 2mm gap between tiles I think it's just not enough room(OK yes with dremel and tiny grinding wheel can probably get grout out OK but not enough space to cleanly get the epoxy in). Will try drilling gently through the tile itself and use a giant syringe to squirt the thinned epoxy mixture. A nice round hole in the tile should marry up nicely with the syringe head. If after 48 hrs I can bounce a golf ball with no hollow sound I will deem it a success and repeat the process in more obvious loose tile areas.

 Worst case scenario I mess it up completely(crack the tiles or can't get the epoxy underneath for some reason) and end up paying the pros to change tiles, we have plenty of spares. Which means there's nothing to lose by trying myself 1st.

 

Not to meant to offend, but did you try using a grout removal tool? They're cheap and work pretty good. 

[4MyEgo]

39 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

 

Well I've used both, and cleaned up after both and I would much rather clean the floor than clean every crack, crevice, curtain and cupboard in the house. The vacuum is better than nothing but (in my opinion) it does take two people, it is more dangerous and still leaves a significant mess, unless you're just drilling a few holes. It will also clog your vacuum quickly causing it to overheat particularly if your vacuum does not have replaceable bags. 

 

 

 

Um you aren't talking about cutting tiles are you because I was referring to the grout and if a good vacuum cleaner, you won't see any dust, again that is if you are cutting out the grout.

[IvorBiggun2]

 

[Susco]

On 12/5/2020 at 11:06 AM, Pilotman said:

I wanted to watch the video, but the guys boring voice made me feel suicidal before I got to the fixing bit.  I think I need a large whisky before I try to look again. 

 

I have that with 90% of "instructional" youtubes

[steve187]

the  problem with tiling in Thailand is 

joint gap too small should be min 3mm

thick bed sand and cement is used to 'stick' the tiles down.

porcelain tiles which are the most common for living room areas will not stick to sand and cement, it just puts and imprint of the  pattern on the back of the tile in the sand/cement bed, but not stuck, after a while the tile warps or foot traffic causes the tile to pull away from the sand/cement bed. A thin bed adhesive tile adhesive with a 'porcelain'  formula is the way to go, 

the only way to fix a loose tile is to remove the grout and take the tile up, remove 5mm or so of sand/cement bed, then stick the tile or a replacement down with the thin bed adhesive as above, 

that's my 2 cents worth after 40+ years as a ceramic wall and floor tiler