How to reattach ceramic tile skirting?

PhoenixClose1

We had our old stumped house relevelled. The next day I noticed that some of the skirting tiles had their grouts cracked (photo 1,2). Some tiles separated from the wall as well (3, 4). In 3 and 4 the black tiles are now just resting against the wall and can easily lifted away by hand.

I want to try and fix this myself.  Not too concerned about appearance for the black tile as they will be hidden behind a cabinet. The light coloured ones are in the lounge, so maybe I want the fix to look a little better.

- What can I use to reattach the black tiles? 

- How do I scrape off the hard stuff that used to hold them to the wall? (Is that grout?)

- Is grout the best option? Are there other options, like acrylic?  As we are monitoring if the foundation subsides, I'm thinking I want a solution that will crack (rather than quietly stretch, like silicon), so I know something's going on.

Thanks!

MitchellMc

Hi @PhoenixClose1,

A cement-based tile adhesive is the hard stuff used to hold the tile on. If you apply more adhesive around the old, you might not have to remove the existing adhesive. Removing the existing adhesive would be difficult, but you might be able to chip it off with a cold chisel and hammer. Be careful not to break the tiles, though.

You've got a couple of different coloured grouts there that you'll need to colour-match. If you'd like a cement-based grout that will crack if exposed to movement, then I'd suggest the Dunlop range of coloured grout.

Here are a couple of helpful step-by-step guides: How to lay tiles and How to grout tiles.

Remember your PPE, including a fack mask, safety glasses and gloves.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell