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Have you ever finished a tile and grout repair only to turn around and find yet another crack in your tile? It’s such a pain! And in some cases, it might even leave you questioning whether putting down tile was really the best decision.
The truth is that there are common reasons that tile or grout could be cracking. It might have to do with the way it was installed, but not always. The good news is that there are a variety of ways to fix tile, so don’t give up just yet.
Check out these reasons your tile might be cracking.
Impact
One of the most common things that lead to cracked tile is unexpected impact. Accidents do happen, and this can damage your tile. This type of cracking will typically be confined to a small area where the impact occurred. However, a crack that isn’t repaired could spread.
An impact typically happens from dropping something on the tile. Maybe you were walking in the door with your hands full and dropped a bag of canned goods for the pantry. Maybe you grabbed your cast-iron pan from the cabinet and lost your grip.
These are just some examples. But you get the idea – dropping something heavy can crack the tile.
Overload
Tile companies do strength testing on their materials. They typically do have to meet a minimum load testing. This is 250 pounds of pressure. However, that doesn’t mean that a heavy refrigerator is going to fall under that range. In fact, it is quite easy for some larger appliances to be heavier. In this case, your tile could crack.
The good news is that most appliances will be under the mark. It is primarily your fridge that could cause concern for a load that leads to cracked tile. You may be able to place a mat under your fridge to help. However, the weight of the fridge does not change. This could still be a risk, unfortunately.
Tile Installation
Next up, let’s talk about installation. When you install your tile, you mainly think about getting it properly lined up and then adhered to the floor. But here’s the thing: your floor joists and how they are placed could cause your tile to crack. It is the same for a control joint.
Again, this might not be anything you did wrong. It’s simply the structure of your floor. If your joists have excessive space between them, this can place too much pressure on the tile and cause it to crack. However, if you know to look for this, you might be able to combat it.
Aged Substrate
Finally, your tile might crack simply because the substrate has begun to crack. This depends on the substrate itself. It is concealed under your tile so you might not even know it’s cracking. Unfortunately, when it cracks that can lead to cracks in your tile as well. This issue can be harder to pinpoint since the cause isn’t visible.
Tile and Grout Repair
If you’re noticing cracked tile or grout, we can help. The King of Kleen offers tile and grout repair services. We can come in and help stop the crack and repair it so you don’t have to worry about it spreading further. Give us a call!
