My daughter is moving to a flat that has a cracked ceramic kitchen floor. She hopes to continue her new 'business' of making and hopefully selling iced biscuits.
To do that she has to have local authority vetting. She believes without some kind if treatment the floor would lose her current status of 5 on Scores on Doors.
Is there any kind of treatment that might solve this problem?
Lay sheet vinyl on top. It won't look great, but it should be hygienic.
Tile cracks can be solved by any of: cut the tile out & fit a new one. If you can't find a match use some sort of feature tile epoxy in the crack angle grind the crack & grout.
Which the authority accepts I've no clue.
NT
If it is easy to clean and there is no detectable ledge at the crack to collect dirt I can't see why the LA would object. After all, they accept grouting.
Of course. Now try applying that to BR, MOT or indeed any other such test and you'll realise what the problem is.
NT
Is this one tile, or lots of them? Against my better judgement, dad believed a tiler who said tiles can be laid on floor boards with some special adhesive. They're all cracked now. They don't move and are still stuck down, but floor boards were not adequate support.
I prepared a floor for tiling for a friend more recently. I pulled up the floorboards and laid an 18mm plywood floor in whole sheets. I didn't do the tiling, but no tiles have cracked on that floor.
Before buying, I would want to know why the tiles had cracked. If nothing else, it might be possible to negotiate a reduction in the price.
I did not see any mention of the word buying in the OPs post.
The floor was laid in the 1980's. The tiles not smooth faced. The cracks appear to be in places where the former occupants dropped heavy objects. Replacement cost is too much. If I could find something to seal the cracks after thorough scrubbing, it would be a practical solution.
superglue?
I don't think it is as simple as that. I depends on the spacing of the jois ts under the floorboards and the length of the floorboards - i.e. how much deflection is there. Put a glass of water on the floor and jump up and down . How much does the water (or glass) move?
I agree though that 18mm would be absolute minimum. If the additional heigh t could be tolerated I'd be using 25mm ply (which I have done in a bathroom refit). Either way ideally overboard the ply with cement board (6mm) and t hen tile onto that ensuring full coverage of adhesive.
They may not.
I had tiles over 18mm chip that cracked on a 3mm bed of quick set, I replaced them with tiles on a 6mm bed of flexible. They haven't cracked
Yup. On the other bathroom with a greater span I went to significant lengths when building shower and bath enclosures to tie the floor to the wall to lower flexure: That also worked on a bigger depth of cement (the floor was not level).
The depth of the floor is less imporatant than what it rests on. 6x3 herringboned at 400 centers is pretty rigid.
If the additional
As I said, you are not thinking this through logically. What matters is not te skin, but the structure on which it rests
Far better to double up joists and herringbone if the floor is bouncy than use a one inch ply over
We just had our kitchen floor redone, floorboards taken up and extra joists added or replaced where dodgy. Then 22mm T&G chipboard screwed down, with the T&G bits glued. Amtico on top of that, job done, and its flat and doesn't move.
Contrast with the utility room, done by previous owners. Joist span too long by far, so floor movement. Chipboard too thin, and short edges of the sheets not over a joist. Result: long linear cracks in the tiles.
With tiles it wouldn't have moved either. Thass the point. And in contrast to the other room, which you snipped.
ists under the floorboards and the length of the floorboards - i.e. how muc h deflection is there. Put a glass of water on the floor and jump up and do wn. How much does the water (or glass) move?
ght could be tolerated I'd be using 25mm ply (which I have done in a bathro om refit). Either way ideally overboard the ply with cement board (6mm) and then tile onto that ensuring full coverage of adhesive.
I can only say my experience so far. I've seen many jobs where the substrat e wasn't hard as rock, and they all have failed sooner or later. Tiles simp ly have no tolerance for movement, no flexibility. On a cement floor they c an last well over a century.
NT
Open the cracks out with a grinder and fill with grout?
No they won't. I did similar 10 years ago. 2 layers of 12mm ply staggered, glued and screwed. Tiled and still good.
"Replacement cost is too much"?
It might help if you gave some idea of the budget available, and the quotes that you have received. Also if the costs are for a complete floor replacement or just individual tiles.
Another pertinent point raise is the ownership of the flat. If it is rented then the landlord should be keeping it in good order (although should also agree to a business being run from the premises). Modifying, repairing, replacing flooring would also need the landlords agreement.
As GB has already suggested, why not just lay vinyl over the top? You haven't said how big the kitchen is. You also haven't said how many tiles over what area are cracked. You have also assumed that the damage is due to things being dropped, not flexing of the substrate.
Nobody has mentioned floor paint yet; if this will adhere to tiles (possibly with assistance) then this could be an option.
Finally, if the cracks are hair line and full of dirt, then they will have to be opened out to remove the dirt before anything can be used to seal them up again.
Cheers
Dave R
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.