Ready to hire?

Post your job in minutes, browse real reviews and choose who to speak to.Post a job

Need some tips or advice?

Tiling

Cracked floor tiles - cracks run in same direction as timber underneath

Anonymous user 28/02/2024 - 3.03 PM

I've recently had my kitchen completely redone including replacing the joists under the floor as the previous ones we're rotting. 18mm ply was then laid before installing the tiles. This took place in October and around 2 months ago, I started hearing a loud bang/pop every now and then, usually when there were more than 2 people in the kitchen. About 3 weeks ago I noticed 4 of the tiles have a crack going through them and directly underneath is the timber - the cracks run in the same direction. The builder said he has followed the correct installation method and says we should wait a whole longer to see if anything else happens before he comes to correct it. He thinks maybe the timber has shrunk or possibly expanded. My concern is, will this keep happening and more tiles crack if we replace them? I've also noticed that the floor seems to have lowered by about 3 mm on one side as the gap between the tile and the skirting has got bigger... Any help would be greatly appreciated, I'm very worried :( Thanks

Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?

2 Answers

Anonymous user

If it has been tiled direct to the 18 mm ply that is your problem, it should have been overboarded with a tile backer board or an uncoupling matt. What's happening is the ply is moving with the joists hence the cracking, this will continue so my advice would be to get the builder to replace the floor using the correct method which he has clearly not. Hi, thanks for inviting me but the job is bit too far for me to come. Please let me explain the reason why your tiles are cracking, your builder has tiled direct to the ply that has been fixed to the joists and as the joists move so will the ply hence the problem you are having. What he should have done is overboard the existing ply floor although you can still use ply, it is far better to use tile backer board or an uncoupling matt like Schluter Ditra, this eliminates any cracking but the most important thing is it must be overboarded. Also there might be some deflection (bounce) on the floor which if there is will need sorting, he is right that there is movement in the floor and just waiting to see what will happen is not going to solve it .

Answered21 March 2014

Anonymous user

The ply underneath should be staggered and secured. Either that was incorrect. Your adhesive was incorrect. Or they have not put movement joints in the floor

Answered18 March 2014