Cracked bathroom tile

Leif

I was about to prepare the bathroom window sill for silicone sealant, having painted the walls and noticed that a tile is cracked. In summary, the wall up to the window sill is tiled, and the window sill is tiled, with a plastic edging strip at the join. The left most tile on the window sill is cracked (several irregular cracks 6" long), and the edging is loose. I tapped the tile with a knuckle, and it sounds hollow over most of the surface, hence I assume it is not glued down properly. In fact quite a few tiles on the windowsill sound hollow. It has not been abused, all I have done is place a book on the tile (a gardening book to be precise), nothing heavy.

So, how do I go about the repair? I assume I must remove the grout around the tile, then lift the tile carefully, scrape away the cement, then retile. Oh, and how do I know I have matching grout? (I will contact the fitter, but I will not hold my breath.)

As an aside, I am pee-ed off with this. I had to repair a light switch which fell off the ceiling, as the electrician was too lazy to screw it to anything other than the plasterboard. I went into the loft and screwed a solid piece of wood to a joist to act as a support. There is also some rather untidy finishing e.g. bad edging miters, and bad finish at the top of the tiled bath panel. The first refit was totally bodged, requiring a refund.

keystone

Yes remove the grout all round it first. If it sounds hollow then you have voids beneath it (inadequate adhesive). The truth, however, is probably that the guy that did it bulked up the space with the tubbed adhesive he used rather than doing it properly so that as it cured (by evaporation) it shrank and in doing so has shrunk away from the tile which by now is probably largely held in place by the grout. Sorry to say it but you'll probably find that its the same across the whole windowsill. He probably should have laid a strip of plasterboard or something similar to pack the sill up to start with before tiling. If the grout is white then you should be OK to match it. If its coloured then you do need to make sure that you use the same manufacturers stuff to get a colour match.

Cheers

Leif

Thanks Keystone, I know there are good trades (used some myself) but this is annoying. Could I use a cement based adhesive? Not Unibond rubbish of course. Tiles are about 4" by 6" (cut down from larger).

Actually thinking about this, the fact that it all sounds hollow suggests they have tiled on a board of some kind, which bridged the gap between the two walls. I'm starting to wonder if I can do a neat job of retiling, with the existing plastic strip, without damaging the plastic. It cannot be replaced (goes along the wall too).

keystone

Bummer. Actually it can be replaced. Use a dremmel or a fein or similar you can cut it off. I wouldn't like to try and do it with the thing in situ tbh. I could be maligning him incorrectly of course - it may well be that what he's put down on which the tiles are laid is what is causing the hollow sound and that the etoles are firmly bonded to it. But the one thats cracked does imply some voids beneath.

Yes of course - no reason not to use a cement based addy.

Cheers

societys_child

Only a suggestion, but if all the tiles on the sill are a iffy, what about a upvc window board siliconed over the top

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=upvc+window+board

Also available at all good sheds . .