www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Please help! We have just had some porcelain niro granite tiles fitted in the conservatory and kitchen. The 'tiler' used ceramic adhesive in the conservatory. Will these tiles definitely pop and crack?

In the kitchen, the tiler tiled on top of old tiles without scratching or scoring them, using proper porcelain adhesive this time. The problem is that both sets of tiles are starting to crack - small hairline cracks are appearing. Why could this be and are they likely to get bigger??

Would really appreciate any words of wisdom!

Did he spread the adhesive out with a notched trowel or did he dab the tiles with blobs of adhesive?

You can tile on top of existing tiles without scoring the old ones as long as you clean them with sugar soap first-

http://www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk/tilin ... _tiles.htm

He used a notched trowel but did not use soap first. Thanks for responding. He attempted to scratch the surface but to no avail.

Can we see a pic or 2.

When you say cracking, do you mean the tiles or the grout between them?

I have a remedy for this but it is not terribly professional.

I mean - hairline cracks in the centre of the tiles. The tiler was stomping on them to get them in place - could this have caused the cracks?

If the tile is cracking, it suggests that he couldn't get the centre of the tile low enough so that all sides were flush. My experience suggests that the tiles most be loose and therefore cracking because it is being stressed.

The offending tiles should be removed if this can be done easily and then relaid which may be more difficult. In the past, I have used gripfill to relay the odd loose tile. Expensive compared to tile adhesive but if surfaces are properly dry and there are only a few to do, it appears to work. You need to cover all the lines of adhesive before putting it back down to ensure a good bed. Then regrout as normal.

I must stress that this is not considered good practice but it has solved problems for customers in the past in similar situations.

Wot is underneath? Is it concrete base or wood of sorts? floorboard/Ply?

Is there underfloor heating?

if he was stomping on them.........was his mixture tooo thick?