How To Repair Tile Tenting

QUESTION

Why did my tile Tent after 16 years? - This calendar week the 12 inch tile in her kitchen started tenting early in the morning. The insurance adjuster came out to look at it and he said that tile normally doesn't tent after sixteen years, which is I believe the age of the business firm. I accept lived in that location for 7 years. He and so sent an architectural engineer out to await at the tile. The engineer removed a 3 inch foursquare section of tile and dropped some water on the concrete below to determine if the concrete had been sealed. He determined that information technology had not.

I believe that a more thorough investigation of the cause of the tenting should have been performed. Could you give a possible explanation for why the tile would tent suddenly after 16 years? We know it's not a sinkhole, which the adjuster didn't rule out. Nosotros did receive 9.86 inches of rain in September, which is 175% more than the boilerplate of 5.64 inches. 6,86 inches were received in the three weeks prior to the tile tenting, beginning 9.fourteen.xiv through 09.30.fourteen. Then maybe that is a contributing gene?

ANSWER

Reply - Tile tents for a number of compounding deficiencies. Outset the tile isn't bonded as well as information technology should be for various potential reasons. There probably are no movement joints at the perimeter of the tiled areas and within the field of tile in longer spans. The tile looks to be a porous body type of tile meaning that information technology has a college coefficient of expansion when subjected to moisture or heat.

Why the tile tented afterwards 16 years? Again probably for compounding reasons. The tile has probably been poorly bonded and under tension for quite some time. Then the pelting may have caused the concrete slab to exist subjected to additional moisture that then migrates up to the tile causing the tile to expand, which was probably the straw that bankrupt this camels back.

To determine why the tile wasn't bonded improve than it was would require removing tiles and performing diverse tests and observations.

To prepare the floor will likely require removing all of the tile and re-installing the onetime tile if it came up cleanly without the thin-set mortar attached to its back or to replace it with new tile. Of course it needs to be installed correctly per industry standards to ensure a successful installation.

Donato Pompo, CTC CMR CSI CDT MBA, is the leading tile and stone forensic skilful and consultant in Northward America, and he is a National Tile Contractors Association Recognized Consultant. Donato is the founder of CTaSC.