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Expert Answers
Can Glazed Porcelain Tile Warp after it is installed?
QUESTION
I would like to know why glaze porcelain tile's surface flatness change after some time. Example: convex become concaveHow can I detect that post movement in advance?
ANSWER
ANSWER - I do not think it is possible for a porcelain tile to warp after it is installed. Ceramic or Porcelain tile only warp during the kiln firing process.Normally warpage in installed tiles is caused by the tile being subjected to moisture and that is only when it is a natural stone or a resin quartz type tile or a cementitious tile.
Porcelain tile has an absorption rate of 0.5% or less, and is technically considered impervious. It is not known to warp when subjected to differential moisture conditions as natural stone, quartz stone or cementitous tiles are.
We have seen warpage in natural stone, quartz stone and cementitious tiles. If the tile is bonded well enough with a rapid setting adhesive then the tiles can be restrained before they have a chance to warp. In Europe sometimes they soak the tiles in water before installing so they are uniformly expanded from the moisture and they won't tend to warp during the installation process.
There is a moisture sensitivity test that can be performed on moisture sensitive tiles to determine if they will warp during the installation process relative to the type of adhesive that is used. It is called the Modified British Standards (BS) EN 14617-12 Dimensional Stability Test.
If you had a true porcelain tile with an absorption rate of 0.5% or less that has warpage, then I think it was already warped when it was installed and it wasn't noticed until after it was installed.
4 thoughts on “Can Glazed Porcelain Tile Warp after it is installed?”
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I installed 8″ x 30″ porcelain plank tile and some corners warped upwards. Warping occurred before grouting process. After over 30 years of setting tile, this was the first time. Have had this happen again on some porcelain glazed planks.
Theoretically a porcelain tile should not warp from moisture because it is an impervious product. On the other hand, tiles typically do have some degree of warpage at the corners and at the center of the tile. It might be accentuated with a 30″ long plank. It is normal to have some warpage per ANSI A137.1 or A137.3. The thinner tiles do bend a bit. If you are using the leveling clips it is possible that the force applied in one spot might cause a counter force at the corners.
On the other hand, I sit on a MMSA committee that is developing a dimensional stability test protocol test to measure if a tile will warp when the bottom of the tile is subjected to moisture. There is a British test that we often use. We know this occurs with some stones and some resin tiles. There was one manufacturer rep who says he has seen a porcelain tile warp. So who knows. One way to find out is to test the tile per the dimensional stability test to see if it will warp from its bottom side being subjected to moisture.
Thirty years after installation, allmst all the tiles in 3 of my rooms have become loose, some at corners, some totally, some partly. Could it be due to retained stresses caused by rapid cooling?
Typically when there is a failure in a tile installation it is never due to a single deficiency, but rather due to multiple compounding deficiencies.
Part of the problem may be that the tile wasn’t bonded as well as it should have been. Maybe because the substrate wasn’t properly prepared and the tile was properly adhered. Contributing factors might be due to the lack of movement joints to mitigate the expected expansion and contraction of the tile due to either thermodynamic changes or due to being subjected to moisture cycles.