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Our Florida condo has 15 x 15 tile floors and last night I heard several gunshot sounds and when I went to look, three tiles in the hallway had cracked explosively and ruptured upwards.
Is this common? No one else in nearby units had problems. Our Board says this is expansion, common in hallways and other constricted spaces. True?
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Yes, the expansion and contraction, moisture and drying can cause that especially on a concrete slab floor, or foundations in sandy soil. Proper installation with a flexible membrane helps, but if it's an older home it may not have that.
The Board obviously knows nothing about construction since it’s not common for tile to break if all of the construction was properly installed.
And how could anyone say this is “common” without first investigating to determine the cause which is not very difficult to do for someone who understands construction.
A quick examination of the area and the removal of a few tile would most likely reveal one of the two reasons why the tile failed. It’s not all that complicated!
I was standing in the lunch line one time in a cafeteria when suddenly there was a sound like a gunshot and the tile floor all the way across the building snapped. It was quiet unsettling.
In your case -- Condo. In Florida. -- I'd push the board to have some good Engineers in there pronto.
I need to clarify a couple of things. We are not on a slab, at least in our unit, which is on the top floor of a 4 floor building. The building is much longer than it is tall, and has a couple of 35° "wings," in one of which our unit is located. As I'm writing this last two sentences, it has occurred to me that I've written the recipe for a problem right there.
My experience was much like yours, TNFF, in that I heard all the gunshots and the crack ran linearly at a 45° angle across the hall. We have someone coming tonight to look at it and we'll take the tiles up at that time. Haven't wanted to take them up yet, until someone is there.
Normal....nope! There are a few possibilities here: Incorrect installation such as directly installed on subflooring is pretty common or the support underneath is deflecting or there is building settlement. Does the unit below you have the same issue? Unless you see an obvious cause, you may want to get a structural engineer to evaluate!
Normal....nope! There are a few possibilities here: Incorrect installation such as directly installed on subflooring is pretty common or the support underneath is deflecting or there is building settlement. Does the unit below you have the same issue? Unless you see an obvious cause, you may want to get a structural engineer to evaluate!
Yes, you are right. The tiles are probably installed directly on the concrete flooring. A contractor we had in two days ago said they should have been installed on a cork or other substrate which would have taken the stress and not affected the tiles (maybe!). Anyway, they will be out tomorrow morning to take the tiles up so we will see what's under them.
The people below us are away but nothing has been reported by anyone else, and their condo watcher has reported nothing.
Very long buildings such as ours do experience movement, and there are expansion joints at the points where the building makes an angle, so I would not be surprised to find there was some movement.
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