Question On Issue I Saw Today

MinConst

I was a regular customers home today doing a small repair and she pointed out a tile issue in her Lanai (Florida home). Not my install. There are 6 or 8 tiles that have raised at the grout line. Nothing is cracked but these tiles are about 1 to 1 1/2" up. Kinda like the sub floor buckled. This is on a slab. Older home maybe 20 years. The area is hollow so the slab is in place as far as I can tell. It's like the tiles expanded and buckled. I was just wondering how this happen. Any ideas?

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
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SelfContract

Slab crack due to weak foundation/wet soil movement.

Mike Finley

Actually based on your description it sounds like no expansion allowed for in a large floor.

firemike

I am thinking along the same lines as Mike, no expansion room at the sides and the tiles are being laterally compressed and being forced up off the slab.

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-Mike-

MinConst

The expansion is what it looks like to me too. Most tile floors I have seen done have been tight to the walls with grout. What type of expansion should be allowed in a case like this? Silicone? I realize the lanai being out doors has much more extreme temperature / moisture changes.

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
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I will never leave you hanging!

Splinter

It's called Tenting.. An expansion joint around the perimeter is usually adequate for a regular sized room... Either 1. remove the base trim, leave out the grout between tile and walls and re-install trim over this gap, or 2. leave trim in place and use a color matching caulk between tile and baseboard. Larger spaces may need an expansion joint down the middle as well.

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- Alex

Long Island Remodeling Contractor

JazMan

No doubt in my mind that it's tenting. It's caused as already stated, no expansion joints. This can also happen on interior floors if the person doing the install doesn't have the experience to know how to install tiles correctly. (Which today is well over half of those doing it...)

On larger floors you also need expansion joints in the field of interior floors. Especially in wet areas and rooms that get direct sunlight for a good part of the day. For exterior applications you have to also have joints in the field anywhere from 8-12 ft apart, in addition to those around the perimeter of the floor. But how often is that done?

Jaz

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Bill_Vincent

funny thing about that tenting-- an 1/8" of compression would be enough to raise a floor a foot off the concrete!!

Go figure!

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MinConst

Thanks guys. Now I can tell the customer something that makes sense. And maybe do the repair.

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Paul
Minichillo's Construction
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I will never leave you hanging!

Lazarus

Paul~ Realistically, the only "repair" possible is to pull the floor and re-install it. There is no "easy" fix for a floor that is tenting. Simply put, you MUST have, at the minimum, a gap at the walls. As has been said, for a large area, an expansion strip would be needed.

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