Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Concrete Substrate Slab Expert Answers Flood Leak Moisture Problems Repairs

Will residual water from a leak cause damage to my tile installation?

ANSWER - If the tile was installed correctly the residual water/moisture should not harm the tile.  Tile is often installed in showers, fountains, and pools and the moisture should not harm them as long as…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Debonding Tile Expert Answers failures Insurance Claim Leak

Can a water pipe leak cause my tile to delaminate and will the insurance cover the loss?

ANSWER -  If the tile was installed correctly and had adequate movement joints installed, the water flooding should not have caused the tile to debond.  Unless the water leak in the slab created a hydrostatic…

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Caulk Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Movement Joints Sealant Caulk

What size and type backer rod can I use for Movement joints?

ANSWER - The closed-cell foam backer rod is suppose to be wider than the movement joint.  You can compress a 1/4" foam backer rod into a 1/8" wide movement joint. The backer rod serves two…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Standards stone

How many bad tiles are acceptable in a tile installation?

ANSWER -  In terms of manufacturing of ceramic tiles, which includes porcelain tiles that are a type of ceramic tile, there are quality control standards in ANSI A137.1  that allow a small percentage of tiles…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Movement Joints Standards stone

Can Movement Joint Widths be less than 1/4 inch as TCNA Handbook states?

ANSWER - TCNA Handbook does say that movement joints within the tile assembly should be at least ¼” wide, but the current version of the handbook does indicate that if your movement joints are installed…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Movement Joints Tenting

When do you need Movement/Expansion Joints?

ANSWER - Expansion joint is a type of movement joint.  All tile installations require movement joints of some type.  The tile industry installation standards require movement joints and all the manufacturers of tile and tile…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Exterior installation Moisture Problems Wet Areas

What is causing water to collect on the clubhouse deck that makes it slippery?

ANSWER - A vapor retarder goes under the concrete slab and doesn't have anything to do with water pooling/collecting on the tile surface. Industry standards require that the exterior tile surface that is subjected to…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Deflection Expert Answers installation Standards

What is the allowable deflection of a substrate suitable for a porcelain tile?

ANSWER - The standards for a porcelain tile is that the substrate can not have more deflection than L/360.  For natural stone over a wood subfloor it is L/720.  L stands for…

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Backer Board Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers Grout installation Moisture Problems Mold sealers Showers Wet Areas

Can I install Onyx mosaics in my Shower that don't have grout joints?

ANSWER - First of all what happen to the the 3rd wall in the shower?  I will assume it has a different substrate or you aren't tiling it. Not sure why you are using Schluter…

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Ceramic and Porcelain Tile Expert Answers installation Installation Guidelines Standards

What is the proper way to install tile over linoleum?

ANSWER - As long as the linoleum is well attached to its substrate, and the substrate is structurally sound, then you can install tile over it.  The new tile installation will only be as good…

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