Of course, the best choice in the long term would be I think to replace the tile entirely. At this time that is not an option for us, so I'd like to ask this question. In a pinch, what would you recommend to fix some tiles which are beginning to pull away from the wall?
A good section of the lower row of tiles on the broadest wall in the bathroom is loose. I've used caulk to patch things in the past, which helps a bit, but the help is temporary as the tile either pulls away again or something else happens. One tile (which was coming loose at the base of it, where the rim of the bathtub meets the tiles) had steel wool inserted and fairly strongly caulked. In fact, that was my original problem tile; the problem seems to have moved onto others.
I've uploaded
some pictures (they're on my wife's flickr account). As you can see, the tile problems lead up to a soap dish (currently unused), which itself is a bit askew now and not firmly anchored to the wall.
Myself, I've had the idea of putting up a tension rod and a shower curtain in addition to any other repairs I could make, which may help until the final solution (re-tiling the whole thing) can be done. But any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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There are two options, you could probably buy a small amount of mastic from a flooring supply or hardware store and reset the tile, then caulk the grout joint as a temporary fix.
The other option is doing the same thing, but using a gorilla glue or some other adhesive.
Mastic is better, it i how the tile was set to begin with (ideally), but the gorilla glue is cheaper, quicker, and less messy.
Also, check behind the tile to see why it is coming up. If you have a leak behind the wall, or a bad seal with the tub, water could be getting behind there causing the problem.
posted by Loto at 4:03 PM on July 27, 2008