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I think we had a bad tile layer. You can tap some of the tiles and they sound hallow, one the grout is coming out of and its loose, others are sunk low or sticking up. The man who laid it said this was normal because the concrete beneath it is not even and nothing is wrong. He also said that the grout he used already has sealer in it. I found out when he came back to check why we complaining that he mixed the sealer in with the grout.
When I was at Lowes I talked to their tile sales person and he said that grout doesn't have sealer in it and shouldn't be mixed in with the grout. He said it would cause the grout to wear away and flake out if mixed together. I guess I just need to know if I've been taken.
The store where I bought the tile recommended him.
Yes, you had a bad tile layer, sounds like the job really ought to be redone. If the concrete underneath is uneven then he's right that it would be normal for the tiles not to lay flat. The trouble is you're supposed to make sure the surface is level before you put the tile down, otherwise you'll end up with different heights and you'll trip on the tiles that stick up higher, or the ones that sound hollow as you describe will crack eventually because they're not stuck down to the concrete properly. They sell self-leveling stuff that you can apply to the floor before you start. Or if there's just a slight bit of unevenness then you might be able to do a thicker/thinner amount of adhesive on the back of the tiles to compensate, but that can be kind of time consuming since you're constantly having to check for level so the self-leveling stuff is probably easier in the long run if large areas of the floor aren't completely level.
Can rolling over a tiled floor in an electric wheel chair cause any of this? We went to tile because carpet wears out under the wheels and has to be restretched.
Wheelchairs wouldn't cause any of the problems you mentioned above, assuming you waited until all the adhesive/etc had set up before you started rolling around on the floors. If the tile wasn't laid properly then the wheelchair could crack the tiles that weren't set properly, but properly installed tile would hold up just fine.
We called the tile company. They don't know whats going on we are the last in a lond time of bad jobs. They told us they will have it fixed before Thanksgiving. The store is trying to locate him but not having much luck. It seems that when he started wanting the money paid first before he did the job his workmanship went down hill.
Thanks for the help.
hi we had a guy come in yesterday and fit 60cmx60cm porcelain floor tiles in our kithen the problem is we are not happy with the way he fitted them, he didnt fit them agianst the skirtings and he left large gaps around the edges and at the doors he floored the area with 3cm plywood before he layed them and we want to redo it all would we be able to remove the tiles without breaking them to relay them properly??
hayu, I sincerely hope this has a happy ending for you.
Like ecrane said, any installer worth hiring would have checked the subfloor for level. That is tile installation 101. Secondly, if not level, it is easily rectified by adjusting uneven areas with a self-leveling concrete mixture. Thirdly, no grout comes with sealer, none. Fourth, wheelchair did not cause tile unevenesss; again, it was uneven subfloor and shoddy workmanship.
What is the tile company going to do? Remove previously installed tiles, level subfloor and re-install a new set of tiles? New tiles are needed as it would be pretty impossible to remove previoulsy installed tiles w/o damage. I hope they do, but frankly I can't see them incurring this expense in response to an installer that isn't even their employee. This shyster installer ripped you off and possibly ruined the tile company's reputation.
