[InnerPieces]

Hello!

So, there I was... renovating the kids' bathroom. With about 5 tile left to lay I happen to notice a slight drip from the sink shut off valve. Rather than shutting off the water supply before tinkering with the plumbing, I tapped it with my finger. The shut off valve fell off and began to drench my tile installation. Let's not get in to why that happened. :wink2: The water was shut off within 60 seconds, but that didn't stop everything from being drenched.

I was noticing the tile would discolor when I'd cut it because water running across the back. It seemed as though the water would seep into the tile. Anyway, I stuck those pieces in the oven for a bit and they dried out and the color returned. That was before the flood.

I'm not as concerned about the quick-set. Despite freaking out and all the wet/dry vac work, I managed to not apply much pressure to many of the tiles. My main concern is the discoloration of these tiles. Clearly I can't pop them in to the oven to dry them. I've got box fans focused on them now.

If it's relevant, I am installing the tile on Ditra and had been laying tile for about 4 hours at the time of the flood.

Surely this has happened to someone out there. How screwed am I?

Thanks.

 

[InnerPieces]

I apologize for my panicked top post. This all happened at the end of a very long day. I should have at least had a specific question and I do: Will the tiles dry installed? I know they dried so quickly in the over because the water was evaporating. All I can do while they are installed is keep a box fan on them.

I'm trying to decide how long I should give it for the natural color to return before busting it up, ripping it out and starting over.

Thanks again.

 

[JazMan]

You never mentioned what type of tiles they are. Sounds like they're a soft bodied ceramic and not porcelain, but could be stone.

Were you able to wet-vac the water from between the tiles? When did this happen? It might all be ok if you removed the water and didn't disturb the tiles.

Is this a wood subfloor? Where did the extra water run off go?

Jaz

 

[ZTMAN]

Post a pic. I don't know what you mean a tile changed color. If the tiles are ceramic or porcelain they shouldn't change color on the finished side. If they did, there would be no purpose of putting them in a bathroom.

 

[InnerPieces]

Hi. Here is a photo. I set a "clean" piece on top. The darkening occurred when the sides of the tiles were wet.

 

[InnerPieces]

You never mentioned what type of tiles they are. Sounds like they're a soft bodied ceramic and not porcelain, but could be stone.

Were you able to wet-vac the water from between the tiles? When did this happen? It might all be ok if you removed the water and didn't disturb the tiles.

Is this a wood subfloor? Where did the extra water run off go?

Jaz

Hey Jaz. This is the tile from the distributor's site: https://www.flooranddecor.com/ceramic-tile/rio-pelotas-bone-iii-ceramic-tile-100091677.html

I did wetvac the water from between the tiles within 5 minutes of the exposure. The tiles were not shifted. I checked the spacers on them all (this is a 25 sq ft space and easy to check). After the initial cleaning, the only thing that was on the tiles was a level and, of course, fan air.

The subfloor is recently installed plywood and I used Schluter Ditra on top of that (instead of backerboard).

As for the water and color thing... I was curious about why it would darken the tile. I ran water across the surface of a "clean" piece and it did not darken. When I let the water ran along the side and bottom, the tile seemed to darken a bit. When I put it in the oven, the heat caused the water to evaporate and the tile returned to it's original shade.

 

[JazMan]

The tiles absorbed water from the edges and created picture-frame affect. No need to put them in an oven, it'll go away when the moisture does. What type (spec) of ply did you use? Was it and underlayment of "the" subfloor? Did water go to the edges of the room and therefore into the plywood? The condition of the subfloor would be my only fear. Basement or crawl?

I think you'll be ok depending on the above, but give the tiles an extra day to dry before you grout. Check them by tapping which the handle of a screwdriver and listen for a solid sound.

Jaz

 

[InnerPieces]

The tiles absorbed water from the edges and created picture-frame affect. No need to put them in an oven, it'll go away when the moisture does. What type (spec) of ply did you use? Was it and underlayment of "the" subfloor? Did water go to the edges of the room and therefore into the plywood? The condition of the subfloor would be my only fear. Basement or crawl?

I think you'll be ok depending on the above, but give the tiles an extra day to dry before you grout. Check them by tapping which the handle of a screwdriver and listen for a solid sound.

Jaz

That the effect has a name sounds promising. I'm capable in other areas, but this is my first time laying tile.

I replaced the subfloor myself last Friday. It's 3/8" plywood. The garage is beneath and the water drained to the garage floor. I put a fan on that from underneath. I mean... I just replaced the floor! I made certain it was dry and stable.

Being my first time, I really want this to look nice. The kid's restroom has been in sad shape for a long time. I'm also a "do it right" kinda guy so if I have to tear it out and start over, I will. I'm glad it sounds like I won't have to do that.

I'll give it a day and see how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[JazMan]

I replaced the subfloor myself last Friday. It's 3/8" plywood.

No, that is not "the" subfloor, hopefully it's the underlayment. The subfloor is the wood attached to the joists and hopefully it's ¾" t&g.

Did you mis speak? You said you replaced, what was removed? Did you remove the wood that was directly on the joists?

Jaz

 

[InnerPieces]

No, that is not "the" subfloor, hopefully it's the underlayment. The subfloor is the wood attached to the joists and hopefully it's ¾" t&g.

Did you mis speak? You said you replaced, what was removed? Did you remove the wood that was directly on the joists?

Jaz

I apologize. It's 3/4". I failed to proofread my last response or else I'd have known that was ridiculous. LOL

 

[JazMan]

I still don't know what you did. (I'm gonna raise my rates, maybe) :wink2:

Did you remove and replace the ¾" t&g subfloor, or did you add a layer of ¾" ply? If you removed, did you block under the edges where necessary? Glue

Jaz

 

[InnerPieces]

LoL, no I am just not 100% familiar with the terminology. The first is a picture of subfloor I used. It was identical to what was there originally. The second picture shows the blocking I used. I essentially framed the entire replacement with 2x4s that I glued and then screwed into the joists.

 

[JazMan]

Subfloor grade ply or OSB is t&g, not square edge, but blocking cures the no t&g. It's also labeled exposure 1 or similar which tells you the plies are glued together with waterproof glue. Did you also glue the ply to the joists?

Do you know the grade of this ply you used? I'm not liking the knots I see. But anyway.......

Back to the Ditra and thinset. Which thinsets did you use?

Jaz

 

[InnerPieces]

Subfloor grade ply or OSB is t&g, not square edge, but blocking cures the no t&g. It's also labeled exposure 1 or similar which tells you the plies are glued together with waterproof glue. Did you also glue the ply to the joists?

Do you know the grade of this ply you used? I'm not liking the knots I see. But anyway.......

Back to the Ditra and thinset. Which thinsets did you use?

Jaz

I did glue the ply to the joists. My dad gave me his opinion of the knots and even at 42 I learned my lesson there. I get it now... t&g for tongue and groove.

As for the thinsets, I got them both from Floor and Decor as well. I felt I researched the Ditra well before making that choice. I used one with a polymer for the subfloor and an unmodified for the tile. I bought a roll of Ditra that came with an instruction manual and I was certain to double check the info there with what I bought. I compared the ANSI ratings. The modified was A118.11 (https://www.flooranddecor.com/mapei.../mapei-ultraflex-1-gray-mortar-100037092.html) and the unmodified was A118.1 (https://www.flooranddecor.com/mapei-installation-materials/mapei-kerabond-gray-mortar-100034511.html). Both were white, not gray.

I appreciate you being so thorough, by the way. It shows you care.

 

[JazMan]

OK on the thinsets. Ultraflex 1 is good enough on ply for Ditra and Kerabond is an extra very good unmod.

Jaz