Make life easy, search the forum.

Discuss Grout starting to crack around floor tiles in the Tiling Advice | Tile Forum area at TilersForums. USA and UK Tiling Forum

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
Please checkout the following advertisement.
Not long ago I had the existing water damaged downstairs bathroom floor replaced with a whole new chipboard floating floor – this was before considering tile, so I realise it would have been better to fix the floor but too late now.

Having later decided to tile, the tile supplier suggested covering with 6mm No More Ply, priming it and using Ultra Tile Fix ProFlex SPES S1. The grout used was Mapei UltraColor-Plus to match what was used with the wall tiles. The whole floor has not been tiled - just the small visible area - 6 x 4 330mm square tiles.

The floor tiles have only been down for 5 weeks and already the grout is starting to crack and I can just about see deflection up and down of the tiles!

Is this simply because of the floating floor, or the wrong https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ or the wrong grout – a bit of all perhaps?

What do you suggest as a way forward? A whole new floor would mean ripping out bath and fitted furniture etc!
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
Any thoughts on the way forward? Is there a grout replacement that would be flexible enough to cope? - cracks are hairline. Do I have to take up tiles and https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ and use S2 (or something else) - presumably a nightmare to take up and certain to destroy floor! Or am I just knackered and will just have to cover tiles with lino!!
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
Hard to tell from tapping sound - it's very echoey in the room - but I think a couple must be loose underneath as there seems to be slight up/down deflection just pressing and letting go on the corners
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
So tiles have to come up and be refixed with an alternative to S1 or tile simply not an option? I thought No More Ply on a floating floor was supposed to be OK?
 

Dave

TF
Staff member
Arms
Esteemed
Reaction score
389,872
:)
So tiles have to come up and be refixed with an alternative to S1 or tile simply not an option? I thought No More Ply on a floating floor was supposed to be OK?
I don’t know who told you NMP is ok for floating floors but if you have deflection then it simply won’t strengthen it sufficiently.
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
STS site says "6mm PrePrimed NoMorePly strengthens timber floors before tile. They prevent tiles and grout lines cracking by removing the ‘flex’ in timber floors caused by footfall. Slim 6mm boards provide the same strength as 15mm plywood and so reduce the ‘step’ into the tiled area."

I was actually going to risk tile direct onto chipboard with S2 but thought I'd play it safe and use NMP.

Wish I'd gone with S2 now.

Though really wish I had a fixed floor
 

Dave

TF
Staff member
Arms
Esteemed
Reaction score
389,872
Timber floors ( joists ) and floating floors are totally different. To tile any timber floor you need to virtually remove deflection. With a floating floor this is virtually impossible unless you use say 25mm ply , that can reduce deflection in the majority of a floor but they tend to still flex at the perimeter.
Your understanding of the wording timber floor doesn’t include floating floors I’m afraid.
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
So any thoughts on a way forward?
Attempting to get all the grout, tiles and https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ removed will surely destroy the NMP and chipboard?
I can only think to just leave and see how bad it gets and maybe lino when it gets really bad!
 

Dave

TF
Staff member
Arms
Esteemed
Reaction score
389,872
That’s your choice, sometimes on smaller floating floors, you can use longer frame fixings and pull the floor down tight to the substrate to remove bounce. Then tile with nmp again and S2 https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ and a highly modified grout.
 
OP
R

rl11tr

-
Reaction score
1
That's a good idea. Have used long frame fixings to level with laminate before. Would have been easy to do before tile
 

Garyo

TF
Reaction score
1
Just throwing in an idea ! Is this floor going to get light traffic, and is it your own home ? If so then there is another way…..rake out and vacuum all the old grout and replace with silicon mastic. All the movement that you had will remain but the joints won’t open up, and water won’t get into your floor. It will need to be light traffic though ! And take it easy with cleaning….
 

Jon591

-
Reaction score
0
:)
Any thoughts on the way forward? Is there a grout replacement that would be flexible enough to cope? - cracks are hairline. Do I have to take up tiles and https://www.tilersforums.com/forums/tile-adhesive/ and use S2 (or something else) - presumably a nightmare to take up and certain to destroy floor! Or am I just knackered and will just have to cover tiles with lino!!
You need a mastic joint matching grout colour around the floor to wall junction.
Should always have all tile to tile junctions siliconed anyway, as regardless of what they are fixed to, the grout always cracks and falls out as it’s not flexible
 

Reply to Grout starting to crack around floor tiles in the Tiling Advice | Tile Forum area at TilersForums.com

Or checkout our tile training advice or the Tile Standards

This website is hosted and managed by www.untoldmedia.co.uk. Creating content since 2001.

New Tiling Questions

UK Tiling Forum Stats

Threads
66,601
Messages
866,709
Members
9,513
Latest member
05jtaylor
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock