Expert Answers
Will a Water Flood Damage my Tile or Stone?
QUESTION
Hello . . . Question for you:With all of the flood waters receding around here, I’m getting a lot of questions about the effects of the flood waters on peoples natural stone and porcelain tile floors. In my mind, as long as the tile was installed correctly, whereby the trowel ridges were pushed down resulting in full coverage of thinset with no voids underneath, they should be fine with respect to bond performance. Would you let me know what you think?
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I have one particular customer who has filled and polished travertine that was sealed and got flooded. A bunch of it. It appears to be bonded well, and looks really good, but he’s concerned about problems related to residual allergens, etc. that could cause poor air quality. Any thoughts you have about that as well?
ANSWER
ANSWER -You are right in that if the tile or stone was installed correctly with properly placed movement joints that the flood should not affect the tile.
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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 installation can possibly be harmed. If the tile is installed over a wood substrate, the water can cause the wood to warp that can cause damages. The only way to determine if the floor sustained damages from a flood incident is to perform a forensic investigation, which we often do. Click on "Forensic Services" for more information on our services.
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The other concern is the quality of the water that the tile was subjected to during the flood. If the tile is a glazed tile or porcelain tile it should not absorb the water, but a porous tile or porous grout 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
5 thoughts on “Will a Water Flood Damage my Tile or Stone?”
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Thanks for helping me understand that Category 2 is the kind of water that is unsafe for contact. As you mentioned, it is contaminated. With that in mind, I will be contacting experts to handle our water damage. I just think that it is contaminated because the source of the flooding is the pipe connected to the toilet since it was already cracked weeks before it happened.
I have ceramic tile and grout on a concrete slab. The tile by design is porous as it’s made to look like sandstone and has holes on it deliberately. I had a sewer backup that got cat 3 water over half my bottom floor. The State Farm claims rep is refusing to even acknowledge my tile, grout and subfloor are contaminated without ever looking at my flooring. What can I do to test my tile or is there any documentation or studies to counter his blatant refusal to acknowledge that there may be a reason to remove and replace the tile?
Insurance companies normally need evidence that there was in fact resultant damages from the sewer backup situation. That in fact the underlying stone subjected to the loss was compromised and is contaminated by Catetory 3 liquid. If you hire an industrial Industrial Hygienist they can test the floor and and determine if in fact it is contaminated.
Depending on the type of stone and how porous it is or isn’t, you might be able to power wash the floor and vacuum it up and rinse the floor to remove any contaminates. The can be tested by the Industrial Hygienist where they test before it is cleaned and after it is cleaned to determine if the stone is conaminated and repairable.
Our home was just flooded inside by Hurricane Helene. The entire 2400 square feet of porcelain tile on the first floor was flooded about 14 inches deep . My concern is that our tile was polluted with God knows what and could be contaminated between the bottom of the tile and the concrete subfloor, which could begin to produce mold and whatever else that is bad to breathe. In view of this, is it reasonable for my flood insurance company pay to remove and replace the tile? Thanks very much. Steve
Insurance companies will only pay for repairs or replacements if there are resultant damages from the flood. They won’t pay for any preexisting damages.
Porcelain tile by definition cannot be more absorbing than 0.5% which is technically impervious. Most porcelain tiles are even less absorbing that that. The porcelain tile itself is not likely to be damaged from the flood.
It is possible that if the tile was not installed properly it could show some damages like tented tiles or some types of cracked tiles. Or if the tile was installed over a wood substrate that gets wet, warps, and causes resultant damages then it could be covered by the insurance.
If the tile assembly has a cementitious grout and if the flood water was a category 3 grossly unsanitary water then theoretically the unsanitary water could migrate down through the grout joint leaving unsanitary residuals in the grout. The only way to determine or prove if there are underlying contaminates that cannot be cleaned away, is to get an Industry Hygienist to test and evaluate your floor.