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Expert Answers
QUESTION
How to determine whether tile is cause of lippage and chipping? i have a commercial installation, with 2' x 4' ceramic tile. There is some lippage with the install. There is also a number of locations where the tile, at corners and edges, has chipped since the installation was completed. the chipping is happening whether the tile is high or low, if its in a location where there is some lippage. I think i have a problem with both installation (lippage) and the tile product itself in the way that it is chipping. this tile is installed in an office on upper floor of a multi-story building, so the traffic is light and clean. My question is what can I do to determine if I have adefective tile product? Any advise would be appreciated.ANSWER
ANSWER - I understand that the 2' x 4' tile was installed and has some degree of excessive lippage between the edges of adjacent tiles. Apparently the tile has chipped at some corners and edges. You want to know if the tile is defective in any way. The answer is yes, but it would be hard to determine if the tile is the problem without evaluating the other conditions that could contribute to such problems.2' x 4' tiles are very large and there are some special standards for these tiles in terms of making sure the substrate is appropriately flat, that the grout joint width is wide enough to accommodate the warpage in the tile, and that the tile is not off-set more than 1/3 if it was installed in broken joint pattern.
Then of course the tile installer has a responsibility to make sure the substrate and the tile is suitable enough to allow him to install it without excessive lippage. There are methods of installation to help minimize lippage.
The tile manufacturer also has minimum/maximum warpage requirements of the tile. So depending on if it is a more precise rectified tile or a standard calibrated tile it must meet those respective standards.
The chipping could possibly be due to the tile not being as durable as it should be, although I would need to better understand the type and extent of the chipping, and whether it is the glaze chipping or the body of the tile chipping. There are breaking strength requirements for tile that could be a reflection of its propensity to be sensitive to chipping. There is also an appropriate ratio of hardness between the body of the tile and the glaze that could determine the glazes propensity to chip.
Then there is a chance that the floor has been subjected to some type of abusive use in terms of equipment used over or transported over the tile.
Chances are there are a combination of deficiencies in your installation. It is our experience that when there is a problem it is never due to one deficiency, but rather due to compounding deficiencies. To determine the cause of the problem will require both evaulating the tile installation and performing laboratory testing.
To arrange to have the installation inspected and the tile tested visit our website at www.CTaSC.com.
