Hello everyone,
We have been living in our house for almost 3 years now. Unfortunately, a defect has appeared.
Several tiles in the area of the front door (first row of tiles) have come loose from the substrate and are now hollow. This is not a big issue, the tiler has already been informed and will fix the problem next week.
However, I see a bigger problem. Right in front of the side panel of the front door is the staircase leading to the upper floor. In the area of the front door, the staircase stands on the tiles, and one of these tiles is affected. When you step on the staircase, you can hear the tile is loose and creaks underfoot. This did not happen before.
Is there any way to fix this without having to dismantle the staircase?
Thanks and best regards,
Matthias
We have been living in our house for almost 3 years now. Unfortunately, a defect has appeared.
Several tiles in the area of the front door (first row of tiles) have come loose from the substrate and are now hollow. This is not a big issue, the tiler has already been informed and will fix the problem next week.
However, I see a bigger problem. Right in front of the side panel of the front door is the staircase leading to the upper floor. In the area of the front door, the staircase stands on the tiles, and one of these tiles is affected. When you step on the staircase, you can hear the tile is loose and creaks underfoot. This did not happen before.
Is there any way to fix this without having to dismantle the staircase?
Thanks and best regards,
Matthias
Hello Matthias,
The edge chamfers, which ultimately led to the tearing off of the flexible sealant between the baseboard tiles and the tile surfaces, are due to the overnight drying of the screed and the associated shrinkage back towards the insulation layers.
In your post, you only mentioned that the tiles were hollow. However, with large-format tiles, as far as I can see from the photos, when laid with the thin-bed method, it is not possible to achieve 100 percent bedding and therefore not a 100 percent back coverage of the tiles.
This would only be possible with the medium-bed method because of the greater tolerance for compensation.
This is simply because the substrate’s tolerance-compliant unevenness works against it for larger formats.
So, if the large-format tiles were only partially hollow (35% to 40%), this alone would not be a cause for concern.
It could become problematic, however, if the tiler did not perform a residual moisture measurement on the screed before starting their work.
But I don’t want to open up another issue here!
Therefore, it should be noted that the tearing off of the flexible sealant below the baseboard tiles is not a cause for concern and occurs in many other new buildings.
This is why such joints are referred to as maintenance joints, the regular inspection and, if necessary, renewal of which is the responsibility of the builder or the occupant of the property.
---------------------------------------------
The edge chamfers, which ultimately led to the tearing off of the flexible sealant between the baseboard tiles and the tile surfaces, are due to the overnight drying of the screed and the associated shrinkage back towards the insulation layers.
In your post, you only mentioned that the tiles were hollow. However, with large-format tiles, as far as I can see from the photos, when laid with the thin-bed method, it is not possible to achieve 100 percent bedding and therefore not a 100 percent back coverage of the tiles.
This would only be possible with the medium-bed method because of the greater tolerance for compensation.
This is simply because the substrate’s tolerance-compliant unevenness works against it for larger formats.
So, if the large-format tiles were only partially hollow (35% to 40%), this alone would not be a cause for concern.
It could become problematic, however, if the tiler did not perform a residual moisture measurement on the screed before starting their work.
But I don’t want to open up another issue here!
Therefore, it should be noted that the tearing off of the flexible sealant below the baseboard tiles is not a cause for concern and occurs in many other new buildings.
This is why such joints are referred to as maintenance joints, the regular inspection and, if necessary, renewal of which is the responsibility of the builder or the occupant of the property.
---------------------------------------------
M
Matthias18216 Aug 2016 20:14Hello KlaRa,
thank you very much for your detailed response. However, removing the maintenance joints is not an option for me here. The tiler will renew them soon. At the same time, I would like to have that unsightly edge eliminated somehow.
A concern for me is the loose tiles. It is clear that due to the shrinkage of the screed, the tiles have "sunk" relative to the skirting boards and the maintenance joints. However, what is strange is that the first row of tiles right by the front door behaves differently. If you look at the photos again, the first row consists of four tiles. The ones on the far right and far left (the ones under the stair support at the back) have this edge and are hollow. When stepped on, the tile clearly creaks. You can feel this when stepping on the second stair tread.
From my point of view, the screed and tiles form a composite layer, so I would expect the shrinkage to also affect these tiles. But this has not happened; instead, they have detached from the screed. This, in my view, represents a defect, as the adhesive mortar does not provide sufficient bond for the tiles.
A CM measurement was taken, and the residual moisture at that time was below 1.5% in all rooms. Based on this, the architect declared the floor ready for installation, which I also consider appropriate.
Best regards,
Matthias
thank you very much for your detailed response. However, removing the maintenance joints is not an option for me here. The tiler will renew them soon. At the same time, I would like to have that unsightly edge eliminated somehow.
A concern for me is the loose tiles. It is clear that due to the shrinkage of the screed, the tiles have "sunk" relative to the skirting boards and the maintenance joints. However, what is strange is that the first row of tiles right by the front door behaves differently. If you look at the photos again, the first row consists of four tiles. The ones on the far right and far left (the ones under the stair support at the back) have this edge and are hollow. When stepped on, the tile clearly creaks. You can feel this when stepping on the second stair tread.
From my point of view, the screed and tiles form a composite layer, so I would expect the shrinkage to also affect these tiles. But this has not happened; instead, they have detached from the screed. This, in my view, represents a defect, as the adhesive mortar does not provide sufficient bond for the tiles.
A CM measurement was taken, and the residual moisture at that time was below 1.5% in all rooms. Based on this, the architect declared the floor ready for installation, which I also consider appropriate.
Best regards,
Matthias
In my view, this clearly constitutes a defect, as the installation measurements do not ensure sufficient adhesion of the tiles.Without any doubt, this is a defect!
... CM measurement was carried out ... residual moisture was at that time below 1.5% in all rooms.Well, that value is hard to believe.
Firstly, with a cement screed, you only reach about 1.5% CM if it is a heated screed, and if it were a calcium sulfate screed, the value you stated for readiness to install would not be correct anyway, as it is too high!
Furthermore, the flaking edges of the sealant clearly indicate that a night drying of the screed with re-wetting took place. That cannot happen with 1.5% CM either.
So something is clearly wrong here.
Most likely (based on my professional experience), the CM measurement report does not reflect reality....
Now off for several days on a business trip, regards: KlaRa
M
Matthias18216 Aug 2016 21:15It is a heated screed. I cannot answer the other question. However, the value was recorded by the architect.
Measurements are taken centrally in each room using measuring points embedded in the screed.
Finally, the question that is actually crucial for me remains. Is there any way to fix the loose tile underneath the support of the staircase?
Measurements are taken centrally in each room using measuring points embedded in the screed.
Finally, the question that is actually crucial for me remains. Is there any way to fix the loose tile underneath the support of the staircase?
The answer is: without extensive damage to the tile surface, only through injection.
However, the cause of the detachment remains unknown, which is why this method should be rejected.
Reason: Without knowing the cause of the damage, a "repair carried out blindly" is not reasonable.
However, the cause of the detachment remains unknown, which is why this method should be rejected.
Reason: Without knowing the cause of the damage, a "repair carried out blindly" is not reasonable.
M
Matthias18217 Aug 2016 13:39Hello KlaRa,
completely understandable. But what options are there to investigate this if I cannot really remove the tile without affecting the staircase?
Regards,
Matthias
completely understandable. But what options are there to investigate this if I cannot really remove the tile without affecting the staircase?
Regards,
Matthias
Similar topics