QUESTION

Hurricane Irma came through where I lived early this morning. I have Mexican tile in my sunken living room and while it was pouring rain, I started noticing water seeping up on my floor through the grout. The power went out so I was unable to turn on my sump pump. The water did go down and my beach towels seemed to do the trick and dryer the floor. Could my tile have potentially been damaged? Should I have a professional come out and inspect? Who would I call (from what profession)? Thanks,

ANSWER

ANSWER - Whether or not the Mexican tile was installed correctly with properly placed movement joints the water coming up through your grout joints may or may not affect the performance of the tile.

The fact that the water came up through your grout joints indicates that you don't have a vapor retarder under your concrete slab to block the water. It also indicates that the water table could have rose to the point that it caused a hydrostatic condition that could exert a force on the tiles and cause them to debond.  Although the hydrostatic pressure might have been so low that it didn't affect the tile.

If the tile wasn’t installed correctly in terms of having properly placed movement joints and the tile isn’t bonded as well as it should be, then the tile would even be more likely damaged from hydrostatic water pressure.  Again, it depends on how much pressure the hydrostatic condition caused and how well the tile is bonded to the concrete slab.  The only way to determine if the floor sustained damages from a flood incident is to perform a forensic investigation, which we can do.  Click on "Forensic Services" for more information on our services.

I assume you have an unglazed Mexican tile like a Saltillo or Tecate tile paver. The other concern is the quality of the water that the tile was subjected to during the leaking incident. If the Mexican tile is an unglazed tile it is porous as is the grout, which both will absorb the water. How much it absorbs depends on how porous the material is and how long the floor was submerged in the water.

If the quality water is:

Category 1 water - No problem with Category 1 water which is sanitary water that you can drink and wash with.

Category 2 water is water that is definitely contaminated and unsafe for either contact or consumption. Depending on what the water contains it could absorb into the porous tile or grout joints and be a problem. It can be tested for contaminates by an Industrial Hygienist. They could power wash the tile and grout and then re-test to make sure it was sanitized.

Category 3 water is water that is grossly contaminated and may be highly toxic and called Black Water. It may contain sewage, pesticides and etc. Unlike the first two categories, Black Water will have a foul smell and likely contain pathogenic, toxigenic, or other harmful agents. The water contains it could absorb into the porous tile or grout joints and be a problem. It can be tested for contaminates by an Industrial Hygienist. They could power wash the tile and grout and then re-test the floor to make sure it was sanitized. If it doesn’t pass, then the floor might need replacing.