Expert Answers in failures

ANSWER - It is very difficult to find a qualified tile installer to fix problems caused by another installer or to get them to complete an incomplete tile installation. The qualified installer doesn't want to…

ANSWER - If the tile is making a sound and lifting up or sinking down that would suggest that either there were voids under the tile and the tile was subjected to some sort of…

ANSWER - Thin-set mortars should not deteriorate from being exposed to moisture.  Most thin-set mortars are used in showers and in pools and fountains. Moisture that migrates into the concrete slab from the ground and…

ANSWER - Normally when you get cracking over a suspended floor following the joints of the tile backer board that the tile was bonded to, it is due to a combination of excessive deflection in…

ANSWER - You are asking a lot that can't be answered without performing a forensic inspection to determine what is causing the failures.  I can make some general statements that may or may not apply…

ANSWER - Porcelain tiles are not likely to peel considering they are very dense tiles.  Although you say the tile is Carrara Marble look and the edges are white.  Manufacturers use the ink jet technology…

ANSWER - Regarding whether sealing a cementitious grout makes it waterproof, it doesn't.  Using an appropriate penetrating sealer over grout will make it moisture resistant, it will make it stain resistant, and it normally will…

ANSWER -  The transition joint between the top of the bathtub flange and the wall tile is not supposed to be filled with a cementitious grout.  It should be filled with a resilient ASTM C920…

Answer - The ASTM F1869 Calcium Chloride membrane was the dominate test for years and depending on the tile installation manufacturer they would request a value of anywhere from 3% to 12% per 1,000 sf…

ANSWER - Grout joints in a 12x24 inch tile should be at least 1/8" wide otherwise the grout can't fill the joint as it should.  If the grout joint is 1/16" or less then chances…