Shower tiles keep falling off

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In our house, there's an upstairs shower and toilet. This bathroom was originally part of the master bedroom but was partitioned with a plasterboard wall.

The shower "cubicle" is in the middle, against the plasterboard wall. There are two plasterboard walls on either side of the shower base, and there's a folding door on the fourth side.

On the back wall, some of the tiles have been falling off. We had this issue around ten years ago. We then had the inside of the shower cubicle redone. This involved taking all the tiles off, removing the plaster and plasterboards and replacing them with newer ones, replastering and retiling. We also had a new shower tray installed. The old plasterboard on the back was warped.

Since then, a few years ago, the tiles came off in the same place. The tiles are 6" x 6" and the area is 4 tiles x 3 tiles, about two feet below the mixer. It's always in the same place. We've tried drying out the underlying plaster (it's damp) and regrouting the tiles but it happens again and again.

I don't know where the water is coming from - we have a mixer shower and the tiles around the mixer are fine. In fact, all of the other tiles are fine except this one particular area.

Any ideas on what's causing it? Is it a leak? It doesn't seem to be the mixer, so where's it coming from?
 
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In a shower its no good using plasterboard\plaster and moisture and it will fall apart - when you stripped it out you needed to either using backerboard, aquaboard or if you already had a plastered wall then you need to using a tanking to waterproof it.
 
Definitely aquaboard. Couldn't remember the phrase and searched for waterboard but that has a different meaning entirely. :LOL:

But given everything is set up the same, why are the tiles falling off in only one area?
 
you mean it is aquaboard? be careful there are two types - the one i'm referring to is concrete based - there is a moisture resistant plasterboard sold as aquaboard, that is still plasterboard and no good for showers.

i'd expect its where the water normally hits, or that its at a point where the water runs down a lot, or that there may be a minor leak somewhere.
 
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Think so. I'm trying to remember what the guy used and we're talking about trying to remember something from 10 years ago.

Any sensible way of checking for leaks? I've noticed nothing if we leave the shower alone for a few days.
 
“Aquaboard” is made by Lafarge & is just a moisture resistant plasterboard; useless in a wet area unless it’s tanked. “Aquapanel” is a waterproof tile backer board made by Knauf & is the minimum you should use in wet areas.

A shower/bathroom using quality materials (waterproof tile backer boards & quality trade tiling products) should last at least 10 years, possibly up to 20 years with maintenance. If it’s Aquaboard or plasterboard & lasted 10 years you’ve done very well, I rip out 3 year old plaster board installations that are totally shot; how old is this shower installation?

From what you’ve said it does sound as if you have a leak behind there somewhere, possibly the mixer valve or shower head pipe work or if the shower mixer valve is over 10 years old, it’s possibly leaking due to normal wear & tear; it may only leak when it’s on, impossible to say without site investigation. It could be due to water ingress around the mixer valve wall plate or through the grout itself, especially if cheap products are used. Standard waterproof adhesive & grout is only waterproof in the sense it won’t disintegrate when wet, it’s not impervious to water and that’s why a waterproof tile base is so important in wet areas.

I think it maybe time you thought about a complete renovation.
 
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The original shower installation was over 30 years old. The interior of the cubicle (shower tray, aquaboard/aquapanel, grout, tiles and mixer) are all approx 10 years old.

I can't remember when the new mixer was installed (it was before the rest of the shower was redone I think).

If we use aquapanels and keep the same tiles, what kind of products should we use for the grout/adhesive?

The mixer could easily be replaced but just wandering about how we can make sure it's the mixer and not say the inlet pipes from the loft?
 
The original shower installation was over 30 years old. The interior of the cubicle (shower tray, aquaboard/aquapanel, grout, tiles and mixer) are all approx 10 years old.

I can't remember when the new mixer was installed (it was before the rest of the shower was redone I think).
It’s probably all getting a bit tired by now & even a quality 10 year old mixer valve will be showing its age without maintenance.

If we use aquapanels and keep the same tiles, what kind of products should we use for the grout/adhesive?
If you can get all the tiles off without damage then a decent trade tub ready mix will be adequate for tiles that size/weight. I appreciate you may not be in a position to but, personally, I would skip the lot & replace with something more modern.
This is what I would use;
http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/white-star
http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/microflex
but there are other trade materials equally as good. Avoid cheap own brand & DIY products, they are mostly crap. Read the tiling forum sticky & archive posts to avoid making any disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes.

The mixer could easily be replaced but just wandering about how we can make sure it's the mixer and not say the inlet pipes from the loft?
Once you rip the old plasterboard out, it should be easy to check the pipe work integrity & serviceability. Be prepared for the worst though, if it’s been leaking to any degree behind there, the studwork timbers are also likely to be shot.

Is it a pumped or gravity system? Many modern ceramic taps & mixer valves have a minimum operating pressure or they just won’t work!
 
Cheers richard - i did mean aquapanel!
 
A quick thought: Given that the rest of the shower cubicle is okay, is it worth using the above adhesive and grout for just the affected areas? Even if it's just a temporary measure?
 
That entirely depends on the condition of the plasterboard. It may win you some time but if it’s badly damaged or damp then it’ll be pointless as the tiles won’t stay up there very long. You could cut away & replace just the damaged bit of PB but the timber studs need to be in sound condition & any leaks will have to be fixed.
 

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