Kitchen tiles cracked - solution?

abbas5001

Hello everyone,

We originally had tiles in our kitchen when we moved in to our current house back in 2007 but put in lino in about 2012.  We decided to change the lino in 2020 and when we took it off noticed many of the tiles below were cracked.  My father in law was saying it was because the base hadn't been put in properly and there should be plywood put down first for a solid base and then the tiles (or something along those lines, as you can tell i am not DIY minded).  I decided to take the easy way out (wrong decision!) and replace the tiles that were broken and put new lino in on top.  The tiles are cracked and the sharp edges have damaged the lino on top too. 

I now want to fix it properly.  Unfortunately, my father in law isn't around to ask anymore so was wondering if this is a problem others have seen as i imagine it will not be too uncommon.

Many thanks

macman

Is this a solid floor or suspended? If the lstter then your FIL was correct. Tiling directly onto floorboards will result in the tiles cracking, as the boards will move. 

scottishblondie

Movement in the underlying floor is causing the tiles to crack. Your FIL is correct the floor was not properly prepped for tiles. 

Best solution now is to take the tiles up and then fit new flooring. 

Alternative solution is to cover them with a solid surface and lay new flooring on top.  This comes with the additional problem of raising the floor level. 

grumbler

If the floor isn't solid and the tiles are big, e.g. board-like, then, even with extra plywood and/or cement board, tiles are likely to crack. Use smaller and thicker tiles in this case.

abbas5001

scottishblondie said:

Movement in the underlying floor is causing the tiles to crack. Your FIL is correct the floor was not properly prepped for tiles. 

Best solution now is to take the tiles up and then fit new flooring. 

Alternative solution is to cover them with a solid surface and lay new flooring on top.  This comes with the additional problem of raising the floor level. 

Yeah i think raising the floor level would be a problem so i would just rip the tiles up and start again.

I am not sure what properly prepping them exactly entails though and who would do this kind of work - a joiner?

abbas5001

It is a solid floor not a suspended one.  I think just need to rip the tiles up and start again

I am not sure what properly prepping them exactly entails though and who would do this kind of work - a joiner?

FreeBear

abbas5001 said:

It is a solid floor not a suspended one.  I think just need to rip the tiles up and start again

I am not sure what properly prepping them exactly entails though and who would do this kind of work - a joiner?

A solid concrete floor - You'd want a tiler (preferably one that comes with good recommendations).

The old tiles will need to be lifted and as much of the old adhesive removed as possible. A layer of self leveling compound may be required  to get rid of any humps & hollows. If you are going to use large format tiles (300mm and up), they need to be back buttered and a tile leveling system used. This way, you ensure that 100% of the tile is in contact with adhesive, and lippage is reduced to a minimum.

Tiles cracking when laid on a solid concrete floor suggests that insufficient adhesive was used, and there are hollow spaces behind the iles.

Norman_Castle

Do you want a lino floor or a tiled floor?

abbas5001

Norman_Castle said:

Do you want a lino floor or a tiled floor?

I should say i want to remove the lino and the tiles underneath and replace with click vinyl flooring

GDB2222

abbas5001 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Do you want a lino floor or a tiled floor?

I should say i want to remove the lino and the tiles underneath and replace with click vinyl flooring

If you go for solid core click vinyl, you might get away with laying that on top of what is there? It might be worth chancing it, because ripping up the existing floor tiles and adhesive will create large amounts of dust. 

FreeBear

GDB2222 said:

abbas5001 said:

Norman_Castle said:

Do you want a lino floor or a tiled floor?

I should say i want to remove the lino and the tiles underneath and replace with click vinyl flooring

If you go for solid core click vinyl, you might get away with laying that on top of what is there? It might be worth chancing it, because ripping up the existing floor tiles and adhesive will create large amounts of dust. 

Spray the area with water, and dust will be minimal. Not that lifting tiles and chiselling off lumps of adhesive will generate much. Grinding back snots of old adhesive on the other hand, will generate s***loads of dust that will get everywhere, so best avoided if possible.

If putting down vinyl, I'd lift the old tiles, remove as much of the old adhesive as possible, and then put down some self leveling compound. Leave for a few days or a week before putting the tiles down.