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Best product for fixing loose tiles at transition

11 years ago

In our new house, the bathroom floor has a border of small tiles (maybe 2.5" square). Where they meet up with the carpet in the closet, several have come loose. What's the proper product for sticking those back down again? It's not an area that gets wet (it's a big bathroom, and those tiles are far from shower, tub, toilet, etc.) so I'm not really concerned with waterproofing. I just want them secure. I suspect that a transition like that will always be vulnerable, but what's the best way to make it as good as it can be (without re-doing the floor)?

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Comments (3)

TileTech
11 years ago
If there aren't too many, and you don't want to mix up some thinset, you could use a tube of "PL Premium" and set them in that, then grout as usual.....
floorguy
11 years ago
You say tiles but you didn't clarify if they were vinyl tiles or ceramic tiles.

Vinyl tiles: scrape the substrate and the back of the tiles as well as possible. A little sanding the back of the tiles to get as much of the old residue as you can.
Contact cement. Lightly paint the back of the tile and then the substrate( lightly, just a fine film) let those sit for approx. 10 minutes and then stick the tile, making positive you have it exactly where you want it before you touch the two adhesive coated surfaces together.

Ceramic: Remove the thinset on the substrate, along with any surrounding grout. Use cement mortar, not premixed mastic and mix up some mud. Set your tiles spacing it and pushing down to get the air out. If the tile sits low, you need more mud under the tile. If the tile sits high, push down and squeeze the excess thinset out of the grout joints and use a popsicle stick to remove the thinset in the joints. A wet sponge to wipe any thinset mess, with a bucket of water or a sink close by to wring the sponge out often. Let it sit for a day.

Next day scrape any thinset you missed out of the edges of the grout joints, vacuum, and then wipe down with a wet sponge. Mix your grout and let it sit.

%-10 minutes, remix the grout and get your grout floats and start packing the joints. Let that sit for about 10-15 minutes and using a clean wrung out sponge, wipe down and form the grout lines and remove excess grout from the tile surface. Let it sit for another 14-20 minutes

Using clean water and the sponge well wrung out each time. Wipe the tiles down in one direction, one swipe. Flip the sponge over and go right back over that swath. Rinse and wring out the sponge and do another swipe the same way. Wait about 10-15 minutes and do that same thing again.

Let it dry for about 5-10 minutes and then take a dry clean towel and buff off any haze left on the tiles. Kinda like waxing a car, and removing the wax.

AustinFloorguy
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Northlut
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry, they are stone. I think travertine. I meant to mention that. I assume the ceramic procedure would work for that too?

Thanks for the detailed instructions!!!

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