Expert Answers in Movement Joints

ANSWER – You don’t need to remove your cabinets. You should use a wet saw with a diamond blade to cut to the cabinets, but leave a 1/4″ wide open joint between the tile and…

ANSWER – The lower course tile in a vertical wet area should be above the floor tile and there should be a joint there of 1/4″ that is properly treated as a movement joint per…

ANSWER – You should always have at least a 1/4″ gap between the tile and the wall it abuts.  If you but a base on top of the tile it will cover the gap, so…

ANSWER – If I understand your question, you are saying that you are installing 18×18 ceramic tiles over 3 floor areas.  I assume one is a concrete slab, and…

ANSWER – Lack of expansion joints is number one enemy in our industry. Should be placed at least within every 25 feet in all directions for interior applications, around all perimeters of walls and columns, and…

ANSWER – If the absorption of your tile is 3% or less it is considered frost proof.  Normally that is only an issue if it is an exterior application because if the tile is…

ANSWER – Installing stone over pine isn’t recommended because it isn’t a good material for achieving a reliable bond, and might have too much deflection. It is possible to bond the slate to the risers…

ANSWER – Porcelain tile, which is a type of ceramic tile, can crack for a variety of reasons, although if installed correctly it should never crack.

Considering your tiles are installed on a concrete slab…

ANSWER – When there is ceramic tile or stone failures it is normally due to compounding issues.

There could be excessive movement beyond the industry limit of L/360 deflection, but your subfloor description sounds substantial.

ANSWER – two reasons:
1. Transition joints are movement joints to allow expansion and contraction of the various materials.

2. Transition joints are normally areas where multiple products merge and they have a propensity…