What Causes a Floor Tile to Loosen? Leave a comment

Many dwellingowners have asked me, “Why do floor tiles loosen?” It is superb to me, with the advances in floor preparation and modified mastics, that tiles can still come loose. It’s potential to understand why floor tiles come loose without employing the assistance of a flooring professional or basic contractor. Permit me to inform you why this happens.

First, it is necessary to understand what holds the tile to the floor. Tiles, whether or not made of ceramic, porcelain, slate, granite, or marble, are all held in place by a substance called thin set. Thin set is a Portland cement primarily based material containing a particular mix of additives which give the mixture the ability to softly flex under strain and return to its unique position. This strain, additionally known as load, will be the results of climatic modifications, such because the passing of the seasons, or from a physical nature, comparable to the weight of an individual or item positioned on the tile.

Sometimes the strain or load could be an excessive amount of for the thin set. If a heavy object is positioned on the tile floor, corresponding to a piano, it is very potential to overload a person tile. If this happens, the bond between the tile and the thin set might be broken and the tile can sheer away. Once sheered, the tile will never re-bond with the thin set. The result is a loose tile only held in place by the grout surrounding its 4 sides.

Subsequent, the structure of the floor must be considered. Before installing any type of tile floor, the contractor or flooring professional ought to survey the sub floor. The sub floor have to be built inflexible sufficient to support its own weight, the burden of the tile, and the load of the items positioned on it. Most local codes state that if the floor is framed with 2×8 floor joists, 16″ on center, and sheeted with a 5/eight” plywood material, it may be tiled. Remember, earlier than starting any construction project, check with your local building code officials. Higher safe than sorry.

In many houses, the floor just isn’t built or framed sturdy enough to support its own weight and the weight of a tile floor. When floors aren’t framed sufficiently they have an inclination to move perpendicular to the plane of the earth. This up and down motion stresses the bond between the tile and the thin by as applying too much weight or load in one area.

The bond between the tile and the thin set might very well be sturdy enough to just accept an overload a few times. The number of instances is directly associated to the quality of the thin set. Inevitably, even the most costly thin sets will fail if subjected to continuous overloading.

Final, the commonest reason why a tile will loosen from its thin set is improper installation. Careless contractors are likely to tile weak floors. The thin set needs to be mixed in keeping with producer specification. If blended too wet or too dry, the thin set will not properly cure. This improper curing leads to a weak floor.

Over time, most tiled floors will have a tile pop loose. This is to be expected and will be repaired. If over the life of a floor, many tiles pop loose, a more serious problem is the cause. In my experience, human error is the cause.

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