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Expert Answers
Can a Flood Incident Cause My Travertine Tiles to Crack?
QUESTION
Can a flood incident cause my Travertine Tiles to Crack? I recently had a major water leak and believe it may of penetrated through my Travertine tiles as it is cracking and seems like the cement backer boards and hardwood floor underneath are curling or buckling but my insure adjuster claims it is foundation issues,is there a way to know for sure?As the adjuster does not cover foundation issues.ANSWER
ANSWER - Travertine is normally resistant to water. Although it can develop staining from being subjected to floods, but it can normally be cleaned. Cementitious backer boards are resistant to water too.Although the travertine and backer board may not be moisture sensitive, the underlying materials and substrate may be moisture sensitive, which can result in damages to the travertine. If there is a wood subfloor and the water gets to it, then it can expand and then when it dries it can contract and lead to deformations that can subject the stone to stress. If movement joints were not installed at the tile area perimeters, or within the field of stone, then that can compound the problem of the stone being subjected stress that can't be mitigated with movement joints. If the backer board wasn't installed correctly then that can further compound the situation where it makes the travertine installation more susceptible to damages.
The only way to know for sure whether the travertine was damaged due to the flood incident is to have an experienced forensic expert perform an intrusive inspection by removing a number of tiles to determine what caused the stone to crack.
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My home flooded. Had 10,000 gal per hour for 3 hours run through the house all the floors and ceilings ruined it was raining in the house we had water going out the front a basement door. The sup pump kicked in and pumped so much water out our back yard looked flooded. Now the marble is cracking everywhere and mold is growing like grass our of the cracks. My adjuster wants to keep the floor. Its trash. It is cracking a part and if you touch it in places it crumbables away. It is separating from the wall and bowing in the dining area. I very afraid it will fall through.
If the tile installation was installed correctly it should perform well even if subjected to a flood.
If the water is a class 2 or 3 contaminated water and the marble or grout absorbs the contaminated water then that might require a deep cleaning and in some cases replacement.
Generally speaking, if a flood event resulted in damage to the marble floor regardless if the marble had been installed correctly, the insurance will cover the cost to repair. In extreme cases they may cover the cost to replace the floor. Although if there is pre-existing damages to the marble that were not resultant damages from the flood event, they won’t cover the cost to repair or replace those. Forensic investigators like CTaSC can determine if damages are pre-existing or resultant damages.