Designing Kitchens and Bathrooms - replacing shower tile over tile
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gbbwwhite
09-21-07, 11:32 AM
About 4 years ago, we had new shower tile installed (they installed it over existing tile). I have been smelling a foul odor and discovered that the new tiles are loose. I pulled one up easily and found black mold underneath. It appeared that water was under all of the tile, so I have removed all of the tile, leaving the original tile exposed. I cleaned it real good with bleach to remove the mold. AFter it dries, do you think I could just re-tile the shower floor and seal it up real good or do I need to remove the original tile too?. It must not have been sealed good when it was replaced the last time.
***Duplicate thread created in the
Toilets,Sinks, Showers, Tubs and
Disposals has been deleted***
***Duplicate thread created in the
Toilets,Sinks, Showers, Tubs and
Disposals has been deleted***
chandler
09-21-07, 08:01 PM
Welcome to the forums! I am not an advocate of tiling over tile. You either remove the tile and backer, renew the backer and install new tile. Tile over tile IMO is a disaster waiting to happen (as you have seen). Others on the forum may have better news for you, so give it a chance to evolve.
brewcityc
09-22-07, 02:29 AM
I agree. Rip it out and start over.
quickcurrent
09-22-07, 07:49 AM
It seems to me that tile on tile is OK if done properly. I have a 20 year old shower used several times daily, with tile on tile on the walls, with no problems at all. The builder had the first course of tiles all uneven and I asked them to re-do the tiles. They later told me they had installed new tiles over the first course to even out the walls. They've held up very nicely, but my next door neighbor had to have his shower re-done some 10 years back (at 10 years of age!).
If only I had them re-do the mosaic tiles on the floor too, which are also uneven! - my next project. The problem with re-tiling the floor is usually the drain. The barrel of the drain is often not long enough to accommodate two layers of tile (which I expect to be my case), but if you have removed one course of tiles, then that shouldn't be a problem for you.
My suggestion is sand the first course of tiles really well so that you'll have good adhesion between the two layers of tiles when you apply the thinset, and use a good grade of thinset. Use caulking around the drain.
If only I had them re-do the mosaic tiles on the floor too, which are also uneven! - my next project. The problem with re-tiling the floor is usually the drain. The barrel of the drain is often not long enough to accommodate two layers of tile (which I expect to be my case), but if you have removed one course of tiles, then that shouldn't be a problem for you.
My suggestion is sand the first course of tiles really well so that you'll have good adhesion between the two layers of tiles when you apply the thinset, and use a good grade of thinset. Use caulking around the drain.
HeresJohnny
09-23-07, 07:16 AM
The tile over tile that you removed is likely not the problem. If you have mold over the old tile you likely have a bigger problem. Its likely the mud bed under the first layer of tile is saturated and not draining. This is usually caused by clogged weep holes in the shower drain or no preslope under the pan liner that dont allow the water in the bed to escape to the drain. Its a breading ground for mold. Once you start to use the shower again, the mold and bad odor will return. Replacing the shower pan is likely what you need to do.:wall: