1

My house is an Indian style apartment.

I have laid floor ceramic-tile with no other covering over it. There are of air bubbles developing under the ceramic-tiles which eventually leads to breaking of the tiles due to pressure below the tile.

What's the way to prevent this?

1
  • 2
    What is an "Indian style apartment"? Mar 7, 2012 at 13:16

2 Answers 2

9

By "no other covering over it" - I assume you mean you didn't properly prep the sub floor, and so you put down ceramic tile over an uneven surface.

Which means you didn't "develop" an air bubble (an air bubble won't form under inflexible ceramic tile like it will under vinyl), but rather, you put the tile down over voids, so there was nothing to support the tile.

The ONLY fix for this is to remove the tile completely, level the floor (I suggest floor leveling compound), then put down a layer of Ditra (orange grid flexible underlayment that protects the tile itself), then the appropriate depth of mastic and re-tile.

There is no other way to fix an improperly prepared subsurface when dealing with rigid tiles like ceramic.

2
  • 2
    Ditra is crazy expensive, he can just put cement board underneath the tile
    – Alex
    Mar 7, 2012 at 15:30
  • 1
    Cement board is an option, sure, but its more likely to crack if it's not properly supported. Ditra also protects the tile from movement in the subfloor because of it's flexibility, something concrete board can't do. Mar 7, 2012 at 16:30
0

Your tile may have been laid too close to the bottom framing boards. Tile doesn't expand the way wood does but it does expand. The solution would be to remove the baseboards, cut an expansion gap into the tile and re-install the baseboards.

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.