Are there standards for tile installation workmanship?

QUESTION

Had shower tile work in my home. Seeking remedy with builder for poor workmanship and want to know if there are basic tile installation standards for quality installation? I have some toes bulging from the wall 1/16 inch or more, gaping at mitered corners and a lopsided niche. Help please! Thank you

ANSWER

ANSWER - Yes there are industry standards for workmanship.  ANSI A108 .08-2013 4.0 General requirements for tile installations provides many of the workmanship requirements for the installation of tiles.

Walls cannot be out of plumb, or the required plane, more than 1/4" in 10 feet or 1/16" in 12 inches for tiles less than 15" in facial dimensions.  Tiles that are 15" or larger cannot be out of plumb, or the required plane, more than 1/8" in 10 feet or 1/16" in 24 inches.  

It states what the allowable tile lippage is for tiles with various grout joint widths.  It has a section 4.3 on Workmanship, cutting, fitting, and grout joint size, and sections on other aspects of a tile installation.

Consumers should make sure their tile installers and their helpers are ITS Verified through the University of Ceramic Tile and Stone at www.CTaSC.com.   This is an online course they can take that will verify that they know and understand the industry standards.  Of course that doesn't teach them how to install tile properly.  Consumers should ask for photos and references from their installers to make sure they will perform quality work.

40 thoughts on “Are there standards for tile installation workmanship?

  1. Ronnie Prudhomme says:

    I recently had tile work done ( kitchen back splash) and have many problems with the work. I am looking for standards to determine what the problems are. The company I hired claim the work is OK but I cannot agree with this. The glass tile are 4×12 and are laid in a running bond with overlay at 50%. I feel that this tile should have been laid with a 30% overlay and the problem with lippage would not be as great. Can you help me with this?

    • Donato Pompo says:

      ANSI A108.02-2019 says that any tile with an edge larger than 15 inches should not have an off-set greater than 33%. Even though your tile is only 12 inches long at a 50% off-set it will tend to show maximum warpage that will generally increase the tile lippage in those spots. Glass tiles tend to have more warpage than ceramic tiles particularly if it is a cast glass.

      Lippage on wall tiles with a grout joint between 1/16″ and 1/8″ wide can’t have more lippage than 1/32″ (thickness of a typical credit card) PLUS the inherent warpage in the tile. So if the warpage is 1/32″ you add that to the 1/32″ allowable lippage so in that case the lippage can’t be over 1/16″.

      Review a copy of the glass tile manufacturer’s brochure and data sheet and see tolerances they commit to and look at their photos to see if they install it at a 50% off-set and if it looks similar to your installation.

      • Jeff Beyder says:

        Mr. Pompo,

        Are there standards which cover how far off the wall a tile can be installed to assure plumpness? Wall tile 10×16 at 8 ft. height sticks out 1/4 to 3/4 over the 8 foot height of the shower!!

        • Donato Pompo says:

          If I understand your question correctly, you are asking if there are standards on how thick can the thin-set can be between the back of the tile and its substrate within a 8 foot span in order to make the shower wall plumb.

          The answer is no there are no specific standards in that respect. There are standards for different types of thin-set mortar on how thick the thin-set can be which ranges from 1/4″ to 3/4″ depending on the thin-set. And that they are not intended to be used in truing or leveling underlying substrates of the work of others.

          There are standards that say the substrate surface cannot vary out-of-plane more than 1/8″ in 10 feet for tiles that have one side that is 15″ wide or larger. Or 1/4″ in 10 feet if the tile is less than 15″ wide.

  2. Michael Sloane says:

    I am have a new home built, and I am not happy with the quality of the tile installation. Compared to past tile work I have had done on earlier homes and remodels, the tile work for our kitchen back splash is cosmetically ugly, in my opinion. I am curious if there are any industry standards regarding the placement of the tile, or is this all strictly subjective?

    Below are links to photos of some of the work I am not happy with. Do I have a legitimate complaint on any of this, or is this representative of industry standard workmanship.

    Photo 1: Here is a photo showing corner detail in our kitchen. This looks terrible to me.
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GL-vlfV-_0TCP4WjlQh23thcBljZnwpb

    Photo 2: Here is a photo showing uneven grout lines and uneven tile placement. Is this acceptable?
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=10gn7I06Uf86GOfaM8_wisklxus9HwFeV

    Photo 3: Here is a photo of the “Fix” that the tile contractor did when I complained about the corner job in Photo 1. This looks to me like a hack, trying to hide the poor workmanship. Am I off-base?
    https://drive.google.com/open?id=12QNH64Ycym5mGZBUFtslxj8EQratQ-jY

    • Donato Pompo says:

      Regarding Photo 1, the ANSI A108.02 standards state that usually no cuts smaller than half the size of the tile should be made unless it is unavoidable. In this cause it was avoidable if the installer had laid the tile out in advance and adjusted for it.

      Regarding Photo 2 doesn’t look terrible from what I can see. You have a subway tile with a slight cushion edge with some tile warpage so you might get some variation in the grout joint width. The installer could have avoided some of the variation where the tile didn’t align up to the adjacent tile.

      Regarding Photo 3 where he put a quarter round trim along vertical wall transition doesn’t look good. Its not grouted so maybe if it were grouted it might help or not. I see what looks like an excessively wide joint at the top of the right wall and if that is the case that is not considered acceptable. Whether it was avoidable or not depends on the squareness of the ceiling and whether you want to adjust the tile to compensate for it.

      • B says:

        Hey Donato – I am having the same issue in Photo 1. Our building code does not require compliance with A108.02 as it does not involve safety, but rather workmanship. If they do not fix the issue, is there any recourse beyond leaving bad reviews for the builder and installer?

        • Donato Pompo says:

          If it isn’t practical to hire an expert forensic investigator like CTaSC to use our report as leverage, or to hire an attorney to write a letter or to litigate the matter. Then most states have licensing boards. You can file a complaint with them. Or you can go to small claims court. Get a copy of the standards and quantitatively document the defects to use as evidence in court.

          Of course that is assuming that you are correct that the workmanship doesn’t meet the industry standards.

  3. Joan says:

    Hello, we are also having a new home built and we were not happy with the ‘mitered’ corners on the backsplash Schluter strips (Photo 1). They agreed to redo the strips and instead did rounded corners; however, they replaced with strips that are wider than before and are not flush with the tile thickness (Photo 2, 3). The grout joint is also wider now, and the installer says this is why the grout looks darker (the grout has lightened a little with drying time but is still darker than elsewhere). We do not like the wider grout joint or the thickness of the strip, but he claims this is good work. We pointed to the Schluter website and the instructions on matching tile thickness and having uniform joint widths, but he and the building manager said they are just suggestions, not requirements. Furthermore, during the repair, the tiler chipped the corner off the granite countertop and tried to fill in the space with grout (Photo 4). The builder is trying to see whether the chip could be filled with resin, but we are skeptical it will look good because it is a larger chunk that is missing and we would rather the slab be replaced. Could you please clarify what the standards really are? Thanks for your help.
    Photo 1: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HoTxaE_1KrTMZEUGVDxUaDZHhKvM3ki4/view?usp=sharing
    Photo 2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jtSOBl4B3VB0woP3ucFi7zvMmV8rwxds/view?usp=sharing
    Photo 3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yMwIfCoaCSeukAn7aicLE-prW6gmlud-/view?usp=sharing
    Photo 4: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E1h_-waZtV2oKtxD2D_wD_xxEKY1WJYI/view?usp=sharing

    • Donato Pompo says:

      The Schluter metal trim profile around the perimeter of the tile does look sloppy and not professional. The profile should not be higher than the tile surface.
      Industry standards do say that it is acceptable to repair granite counter tops as long as the repair doesn’t become noticeable.

    • Donato Pompo says:

      I see that they look to be a 6 inch marble Hexagon tile. The ungrouted tiles tend to accentuate the variation in grout joint width.

      The variation in grout joint width might have something to do with how much the the tile varies in size. The ANSI A108.02 standard states that the grout joint width should be at least 3 times the actual variation of facial dimensions.

      There isn’t a specific standard for what is the acceptable tolerance for grout joint width variation, but I have submitted to the ANSI A108 committee that it should be the same as the standard for movement joint widths which is
      +/ – 25% from the intended grout joint width.

      That means the grout joint should not vary more than 1/4th of the specified grout joint width both in terms of 1/4th smaller or 1/4th larger.

  4. Elizabeth says:

    Hello There
    Iam buying a new built house and the perimeter of the tile instaled on the walls of the bath tub and in the floor by the Chimney does not have Schluter metal trim. I am claiming that is not finish status and the builder refuse to fixed it because he has already get the C of O from the city.
    Is there any standart that I can bring up to builder to make them complete the work?

    • Donato Pompo says:

      The industry standards don’t require that ceramic tile trim is used. There are some building codes that require cove base for commercial areas for sanitary reasons.

      Other countries typically don’t use the trim that we often use in USA such a surface bullnose, quarter round and coves. Although metal or plastic profile trims are used a lot when a tile doesn’t come with trim or if you don’t want to spend the extra money for tile trim, but not everyone likes that look.

      Personally I prefer leaving the exposed edge of the ceramic tile even if the color of the body is a little different. I will even grind the edges of a field tile to round it out even when the body of the tile is a different color. So it is up to the individual on what they prefer.

      The tile installer should have clarified if he was going to use trim or not and should have given you a choice; unless this is a development of homes and the developer specified that the installer install the tile the way that he did.

  5. Jackie says:

    Hello I am wondering if someone could look at these pictures and tell me if this is factory standard? I am told by my contractor it was laid to factory standards.

    • Donato Pompo says:

      There isn’t any way that you can look at photos of a tile to determine whether it meets industry standards or not. Depending on the type of issue it would require laboratory testing or an on-site inspection.

  6. Karen says:

    We are having our walk in shower retiled. They are putting tile on the wall now. I noticed that the backer board has gaps and not taped at seams. Also, the wall tile is 12 × 24 inch and they are using “spot” Application so it goes on even. It is causing huge air gap between tile and backer board. Should we be concerned for shower wall installed this way?

    • Donato Pompo says:

      Industry standards and the manufacturer’s directions for the backer board is that you install the backer boards in staggered rows. There should be a 1/8″ gap that is filled with the thin-set with an alkaline resistant tape applied over the joint.

      Industry standards clearly state that spot bonding is not allowed for bonding tile. The ANSI A108 standards state that the thin-set contact between the tile and its substrate should be 95% contact with no voids larger than 2 square inches (size of golf ball).

      If you reduce the adhesion by 50% then the bond strength of the tile has been reduced by 50%. Have excessive voids in the back of the tile allows water to collect and can lead to efflorescence staining

      • Rebecca Levy says:

        Your comments are soo helpful! Its so sad that there is such a large group of ppl who all seem to have these issues. Are these standards applicable/ enforceable across all states? We are building a house in nj. Our builder hired a terrible tiler who completely botched the mittered edges in our kitchen backsplash as well as did uneven and not matching sizes of very thin tiles to fill in bc he didnt plan accordingly. He also cut slabs for our bathroom niches that arent right angles. The builder is now saying they are fine and wont pay for them even though he said they were bad for months and interviewed tilers to redo the work. Are there standards of care/ workman like standards for these types of issues?

        • Donato Pompo says:

          There are industry standards for workmanship. Some of them are quantitative, but others are subjective. So it takes an expert who is an expert at the relevant industry standards and understands their intent how they can be applied to your situation. Some workmanship issues can be repaired, but some can’t without removing much of the tile.

          Many states have contractor licensing boards where complaints can be filed against the general contractor and/or sub contactor. Or there litigation, which isn’t always practical. You need a creditable objective expert like CTaSC to evaluate the tile conditions and to point out and substantiate any alleged deficiencies. This too isn’t always affordable or practical.

      • Justin says:

        What if you are using a waterproof grout like Quartslock? Water would not get through to collect and the urethane grout would not have efflorescence staining.

        • Donato Pompo says:

          Bostik’s Quartzlock 2 grout is an urethane premixed grout. The data sheet doesn’t say it is waterproof. The grout might me impervious or close to it at <1% absorption, but that doesn't make it waterproof. Their data sheet specifically states that it is not a replacement for a waterproof system. If you have a glazed impervious tile and the if the installation of the grout creates a watertight grout joint, then it might keep water from coming in from the surface of the tile, but it won't prevent water from migrating up through the concrete substrate. The data sheet doesn't say the grout will prevent efflorescence, but it might depending on a number different variables....

  7. Lauren says:

    I hired a company to redo my bathrooms recently. The owner of the company is a licensed plumber but sub contracted the work out to an unlicensed person. There are now all sorts of problems and neither the owner or the installer are taking responsibility for them.

    The guest bathroom tile was put on regular sheetrock instead of hardy backer or anything waterproof. In the master bathroom, the installer moved the water lines and didn’t install a fitting properly and that started leaking out of my wall. He came back to fix that. That evening, I ran water in the shower, and it started coming out of the wall as well. I then realized they did not replace the shower pan when they redid the shower. They said the concrete was in good condition still, so they left it as is. My house was built in 1975 and we are the second owners. I know the previous owners did not upgrade their shower after they built the house in 1975; meaning the shower pan they left in my new shower is the original one from 1975. They also put heavy ledger stone tile on greenboard instead of hardy backer or anything waterproof. They did not seal up any seams in the greenboard before putting tile on.

    Is this against code or industry standards? If so, is there proof showing this is against industry standards I can get in writing because I believe this will end up in small claims court unfortunately.

    • Donato Pompo says:

      There are industry standards for the installation of tile for various applications both in terms of workmanship and also in terms of the materials and the configuration of the application.

      It is acceptable to install tile over gypsum sheetrock if it is in an interior dry application. Hardibacker board is not waterproof. It is a porous cementitious product. It has to be waterproofed when used in wet applications like a shower. There are foam backer boards or Coated Glass Matt Water Resistant Gypsum backerboards that are waterproof if installed correctly. Greenboard, which is a type of water resistant gypsum board, is not allowed to be used in showers per the building code.

      The showerpan should have a waterproof membrane per the International Plumbing Code.

      To forensically investigate these issues to find and document evidence showing that the industry standards and building code was not followed would require hiring a forensic expert like CTaSC. This is not always practical as it can be very expensive to hire an expert of our caliber. To retainer CTaSC services visit our webpage at https://ctasc.com/ctasc-services/forensic-failure-investigations/

  8. five nights at freddy's says:

    I had a professional install a backsplash of hexagonal tiles in my kitchen. They didn’t utilize any spacers, so we have no idea whether it was done correctly. There may not be enough room for grout between certain tiles. In the photos, I have labelled them with stickers. Prior to installing the grout, do you believe this has to be redone?

    • Donato Pompo says:

      There is no requirement for using spacers in a tile installation. Some smaller tiles come on sheets and are self spacing. Some tiles have lugs on the sides for self spacing. They still need to adjust tiles as they go through the installation. Normally for individual tiles they do use spacers.

      Tiles should never be butted together and they should have at least 1/16″ wide grout joints. They will have to use a non-sanded grout for any grout joints less than 1/8″ wide for the grout to fit. If the tiles are butted then the grout will tend to come loose if it can’t fit into the grout joint and full fill that joint from top to bottom.

  9. robbers alice says:

    I didn’t have any expectations concerning that title, but the more I was astonished. The author did a great job. I spent a few minutes reading and checking the facts. Everything is very clear and understandable. I like posts that fill in your knowledge gaps. This one is of the sort.

  10. Leah H says:

    Is there an industry standard for material and space used between ceramic tile backsplash and countertop? I’ve read that sanded caulk should be used for the seam between tile and countertop but is that specific use as the industry standard? My installer used grout and we are less than a month out from completion and it’s cracking at the countertop already. Any guidance is appreciated!

    • Donato Pompo says:

      Per the TCNA EJ171 for movement joints for interior applications at perimeters it is recommended to have a 1/4″ wide joint, but never less than 1/8″. For countertop typically you would go with an 1/8″ wide joint so the sealant and bond breaking backing fit.

      There is latex sanded grout that does not work well or last long. Plus it doesn’t meet the EJ171 requirements of using an ASTM C920 sealant that is typically either a 100% silicone or polyurethane. You don’t want to add sand because it reduces the performance of the sealant. These types of sealants are more expensive and more difficult to install. You need to put painters tape on both side of the joint and pull the tape right away after filling and tooling the joint. Your installer should not have installed cementitious grout in that joint and that is why it cracked.

  11. Dale Miller says:

    My tile contractor grouted all the joints in my bathroom. Inside my shower, he then applied caulk over the grout on the joints where the wall and floor tiles meet and about 1/3 of the way up the joint where the two walls meet, and on all grouted joints inside the niches. Is it correct to caulk in top of grout? The caulk had started to discolor and in places loosened and pieces of caulk have even washed into the drain.

    • Donato Pompo says:

      First of all it does no good to put the sealant/caulk over the cementations grout joints. Per the manufacturer’s directions and industry standards the joints are to be free of any material. Then either a closed-cell foam backer rod is inserted or a bond breaker tape. The sealant is to be at least 1/4″ thick. This required in order for the sealant to work properly.

      Chances are he is not using an ASTM C920 sealant for caulking which is normally a 100% silicone or polyurethane. Acrylic or siliconized caulking that is easier to install doesn’t last long and doesn’t meet the standards of TCNA EJ171. If it was an ASTM C920 sealant and installed correctly it will last for many years and be tenaciously bonded to the joint.

      The sealant joints are to be continuous at all perimeters and change of planes. Not just partially up the wall. The entire length of the joint is to be filled.

  12. May says:

    The tile contractor who renovated my bathroom installed the tiles on my top shower curb but the two long piece tiles looks uneven and weird looking
    the grout size joint on the left looks bigger 3/16”than the right tiles 1/16”
    I took the measurement on both tiles
    The left tile measures 5 5/8” width and the right side of tiles measures 5 3/4” width
    The tile contractor stated that’s within the standards .

    • Donato Pompo says:

      There are no specific standards for those conditions. There are workmanship standards that are quantitative, but some are subjective.

      Tolerances have to doe with what kind of tile is being installed. Porcelain tiles are normally more consistent. The installer might have been trying to line up the tile on the curb with the floor or wall tile, but I would expect it would require the grout joint width to vary that much within the same plane. Normally for a porcelain tile the widths should be close. Maybe 1/16″ +/- 1/32″.

      The standards say cut tiles should never be less than a 1/2 the size of the actual tile, unless it is unavoidable. 1/8″ difference isn’t that much, but that is probably why the grout joint was wider to make up for the shorter tile. More than likely the tiles should have been cut the same size, but it depends on what the conditions were.

  13. Kevin says:

    I have a tile bathroom that was done and the tile is about 3/8″ out of square in 5 ft is there a industry standard on the tolerance for out of square layout

    • Donato Pompo says:

      There is no standard that gives a required tolerance for squareness. Often the house or room was constructed out of square. There is no way for the tile installer to correct that with his tile installation. You would have to shim out walls to square it up. Normally the tile installer will try to layout the tile installation so it doesn’t accentuate the condition.

      If you are talking about a shower wall where an installer is starting from the studs, then he should be able to square it up by adjusting the mortar bed if that is the method or if it is a backerboard installation he shim the board to square it out. In those cases the standard of care would be that the walls should be square.

  14. Plushette says:

    We have a new build home and after the second complete redo of all of the bathrooms, these two bathrooms were incorrectly grouted again. So they removed the grout and some damaged tiles(from grout removal), but not all tiles in both bathrooms. However, they did not remove multiple tiles which were chipped and scratched during the grout removal process and we were told this was acceptable standard even though the tiles had no defects prior to the grout removal. The tile liner was reinstalled with uneven cuts on top and bottom and there are dark marks on many tiles from something they did as it is not coming off with cleaning. The result of the grout installation this time is discoloration throughout the floors and shower walls, pinholes, and white spots. The grout was tested and nothing is wrong with it. Also, there is a tile which is hollow and the builder says it is within standards along with all of the above issues. Every contractor that has been in our house (and we’ve had many due to multiple issues) has said that the tile job is substandard but is unable to provide codes, standards for support. we were told to ask you. What ANSI or workmanship standards or codes are applicable? Any advice is appreciated. Thank you. /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_6023.JPG/ Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_1134.heic /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_6019.JPG /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_5989.JPG /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_6015.JPG /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_8732.jpeg /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_1306.jpg /Users/plofton/Desktop/IMG_8676.HEIC

    • Donato Pompo says:

      Workmanship standards for tile installations are in ANSI A108.02 standards. Some of the standards are quantitative and others are subjective. There are no building codes that address installer workmanship. Grout performance is dictated and committed to by the manufacturer of the grout. Hollow sounds technically is not considered a defect as there are many reasons why a tile can sound hollow to some degree. Although sometimes a hollow sound can be a symptom of a defect. The only way to know for sure is to remove a tile or two with the same conditions.

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