Can grouting leak water?

[Sombrero]

I've recently retiled the bottom row of tiles above the bath and put in a plastic sealing strip behind the tiles and over the bath.

I now have a small leak, but seeing as i siliconed under the plastic, i'm wondering if it's possible that the grout between the tiles is 'leaking'?!!

It's possible that when i grouted the joints, i wasn't completely thorough, so is it feasible that the joints can leak 100ml of water during a shower?

 

[tpt]

waterproof grout doesn't stop water passing through it, it just doesnt fall apart, so yes water could be passing through it.

 

[joe-90]

!00ml is a leak - not a bit of dampness through grout.

 

[tpt]

just spotted that, yes your right that does sound a hell of a lot.

 

[jctilingservices]

where exactly do you see the water, its very unlikely that the amount of water you are saying is permeating through the grout, I would think either the joint between bath edges and tiles is not silicone sealed correctly or you have a leak

 

[Sombrero]

I couldn't agree more.

I took off the bottom row of tiles (nightmare job!) and cleaned up the walls and bath top. Then applied a bead of sealant between the bath and wall.
I then applied a weak solution of pva to the wall where i'd removed the tiles and the paper on the plasterboard....

I then put on the tile adhesive, applied a bead of sealant to the bottom of the 'L' shaped plastic strip, and pushed it into the tile adhesive. Put on a bit more tile adhesive and pushed on the tiles.

 

[Sombrero]

I now read the small print on the Wickes "all purpose sealant" tube i used...

Limitations: "locations subject to continuous water immersion where porous substrates would permit water infiltration to the bond surface"

WTF does that mean? I figure if water falls off it, then it's ok. But if you have a plastic strip under a shower which traps the water on the sealant it fails?

And to support that, yesterday, there's a wet white liquid coming out from under the plastic strip !!

I've now bought a "power shower clear sealant" and put that under the edge of the plastic strip. Looks cr@p, but will have to do. I can't be arrised taking tiles off again !

 

[jctilingservices]

defo NO PVA.

Question for you

Before you sealed with silicon, did you fill the bath with water, then silicon, leave water in overnight or for at least 3-4 hours to cure, then drain water out?

Reason i am asking is, the water adds weight to the bath, allowing it to sink a little , if you just silicone, when you fill he bath or stand in it for a shower, the bath will drop slightly, that's where your water could be coming from.

 

[Sombrero]

defo NO PVA.

Question for you

Before you sealed with silicon, did you fill the bath with water, then silicon, leave water in overnight or for at least 3-4 hours to cure, then drain water out?

Reason i am asking is, the water adds weight to the bath, allowing it to sink a little , if you just silicone, when you fill he bath or stand in it for a shower, the bath will drop slightly, that's where your water could be coming from.

Thanks for the reply.

I used PVA because in taking the tiles off, the paper came off the plasterboard, so i was left with raw plaster.

And i've heard the 'fill the bath' advice, and in modern baths, i think that's a fallacy. I did that when i first installed the bath, and if it moved at all it was lass than 1mm, and with a 5mm bead of flexible sealant between the bath and wall, i can't see that being an issue. And this time, i marked the wall and got in the bath and the mark was the same.

The final application of the proper silicon seems to have done the job though...