Settling cracks and spare tile

When cracks in a floor seem to run in a continuous line through a few joining tiles, it is likely because the concrete slab beneath it is cracking. There is no sure fire way to prevent this but the best is slipping a membrane between the slab and the tiles. When I see sheet vinyl already down I have opted to leave it for that reason. There are adhesives that bond to vinyl and the vinyl over a crack will absorb most movement of a slab.

More importantly, it is in the best interest of the owner to have and keep SPARE tile when a job is done! And I typically advise to replace the tiles in question just before selling the house unless you have plenty of spares, as it can occur again. It is the earth moving! At least to the new owner the floor will be in acceptable condition.

There will be more written about this later.

Grout joint size

I have often been asked to make the grout joint as small as possible. Usually by people who imagine that a smaller grout joint will demand less cleaning because there is less to get dirty.

My answer is always the same: It will depend on how well gauged the tile is. Too often tiles are not the SAME SIZE! They may appear to be the same but often vary in size and sometimes even in shape. Tiles sometimes have a long and short size.

I have seen tiles sometimes vary in size as much as 3/8 of an inch! And typically porcelain tiles vary the most. If the variance is excessive, it denies the ability of the joint being too small. As it will finally cause the joint somewhere to be butt joint or too large a joint in order to keep the tiles aligned when there is variance.

Ceramic Tile - Price

I often tell my customers that in ceramic tile, inexpensive doesn't have to mean CHEAP! Many times the cost of tile can be inexpensive because of a number of reasons: Warehouses are trying to move it; a product is purchased in such a fantastic quantity as to produce a much lower cost for the supplier; the country where it is made can produce it cheaper; a color or style may not be popular overall but just right for YOU; a product is being discontinued; or just that the mark-up is significant enough to be able to sell it at a significant discount and still do okay. Especially if it causes the consumer to view other products.

The point is that factors that are important about buying tiles ought to be the color, size, finish, edging, shape and PRICE! Don't let an inexpensive price discourage you - unless the product is SECONDS. (Which typically are their rejects.) As long as it is first grade tile, the inexpensive tile ought to last just as long as the expensive tile.