Penny tile shower floor grout is cracking. Normal?
Kuyaariel
2 years ago
Hello. We had our 2nd floor master shower redone. The shower floor is penny tile. When they did the demo I noticed the subfloor was plywood.
After about 3 months of use I noticed cracking on the floor grout. It's on the low spot that flows into the drain. Is this normal?
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Liz H
2 years agoRelated Discussions
What might cause shower floor grout to crack?
Comments (10)Yes, tile being what it is, there are industry standards in place for preparing a good solid, sound substrate and how much deflection is acceptable in tiling installations in order to avoid situations like yours. Essentially, the floor should not be moving or the tile and/or grout will crack, further, allowing water to escape. Once the flooring person starts to lay that floor, he has taken ownership that it is a good foundation. Now, whether anything else ever enters into it or there could be unforeseen conditions no one could know, someone else might be able to answer. Do you know anything about the details of the install? Did you watch at all? Does the contract state any details or specs for how the job will be done. Say anything about "to be installed per industry standards, ANSI ASC ... "?...See MoreShower wall grout cracking, normal with house settling?
Comments (20)"One shower wall is an exterior wall, another has no cabinetry on the other side, and another has very minimal cabinetry." Well then, there you go. It's not due to work that was done on the other side of the wall. ie, no one tiled a wall then had other workers beat the heck out of the other side of the wall, causing the tile to crack. Could it be settling? Sure, But if it is, it's unusual. When a house settles, cracking usually first occurs in the changes of plane (corners) because those are the weakest points in a structure. If the grout between the field tiles within a wall is cracking due to the house settling, that's significant in terms of it being a significant structural issue. Also, you have marble tiles which are not very strong. If you had significant structural issues, your tiles could crack too. But again, looking at the grout itself: pinholes in the grout, raked out grout lines, inconsistent surface texture of the grout within the grout lines. And the cracks that look more like shrinkage cracks instead of structural cracks? Those are all signs of a poor installation by the person that installed the grout. "How can you tell the grout wasn't mixed well? " Because everything you described, and everything I see in the photo, is a symptom of that. I'm not saying I'm right. I'm telling you that's my opinion based upon the evidence you have provided. And that's assuming (rut row) that he properly installed and prepared the tile backer board. If he didn't properly detail the backer board then the seams in the backer board could telegraph through as cracks in the grout. But you provide no information on that. Just the photo. But based upon the information you have provided, in my opinion it's simply a grout installation issue, and it's the fault of the installer. But again, that's simply my opinion. Good luck with your remediation....See Morecracks in granite floor tiles - is this normal?
Comments (4)If they were cracked before he installed, he would/should have seen it. If not, then he laid them on an uneven surface and when stepped on they cracked. Some granite has veining that makes them more prone to cracking, but as said above, you should not be seeing cracks after installation. If they crack more, he should come back and fix the problem........ but I don't think I'd want him back....See Morebest grout for penny round tile/shower application
Comments (1)Posting for updates as I'm making the same decision right now. Our penny tile is on the floor in a kids' bathroom, so we need something that is durable. Our tile installer has recommended Custom's Pro Fusion in Bright White....See More
Kuyaariel
2 years ago
PRONorwood Architects
2 years ago
millworkman
2 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
2 years ago Kuyaariel
2 years agomillworkman
2 years agoKuyaariel
2 years agomillworkman
2 years agoReyna Ybarra
last yearmillworkman
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PROMint tile Minneapolis
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