Expert Answers in Ceramic and Porcelain Tile

Answer:   If I understand you correctly, the wood sub-floor was squeaking before you installed the tile over it.   That means that the plywood sheets were not solid and there were weak spots on them.  Screwing…

ANSWER – If in fact you have ground water migrating up through your concrete slab and up through the porous tile grout joints, installing French drains around the perimeter of your house could divert the…

ANSWER – Squeaky tile floors normally mean that either the wood sub-floor under the tiles is not stable in those spots or wasn’t fastened down properly.

When you install tile over tile the new tile…

ANSWER – I assume you had a water leak of some sort that resulted in your concrete slab having a high level of moisture.  If that is the case, then you should let the slab…

ANSWER –  The ANSI A108.02 standards state that any tile being installed in a running bond/staggered/off-set pattern where the side being offset is greater than 15 inches, the offset pattern will be a maximum of…

ANSWER – In the past we would always use an ANSI A118.3 epoxy adhesive to bond to steel floors in freezers and elevators.  The steel would have to be scarified and cleaned first.  Then grout…

ANSWER – Mexican Saltillo tiles are unglazed tiles that are very porous, although they are normally sealed that will help resist moisture saturation.  Often sealers are not reapplied regularly as they should so the sealer’s…

ANSWER – According to industry standards having hollow sounding tile is not a defect in itself.  Although a hollow sounding tile can be a symptom of a defect.

A tile having a hollow sound could…

ANSWER – You are correct to install caulked movement joints at the perimeters and inside vertical corners of the tile installation.  Caulk should be an ASTM C920 silicone sealant per TCNA EJ171 standards.

The ceramic…

ANSWER – Whether or not the Mexican tile was installed correctly with properly placed movement joints the water coming up through your grout joints may or may not affect the performance of the tile.

The…