Nine Signs of a Bad Tile Installation

How do I know if my tile was installed badly?

Tap across the tile with a knuckle or a coin. A solid sound means the tile is bonded; a hollow sound means there is a void under it. Then run a fingernail across the joints — if it catches on the edge of the next tile, that is lippage.

• Hollow sound when tapped — incomplete mortar coverage, and the tile will crack eventually
• Lippage — one tile sits proud of the next; a trip hazard on floors and visible on walls
• Grout lines that change width across a run — the layout was never squared
• Cuts landing at eye level or at the room entry instead of in the least visible place
• Grout cracking at the corners and changes of plane — should be silicone, not grout
• Grout cracking in a straight line across the floor — a missing movement joint
• Tile running straight into the shower pan with no waterproofing transition
• Sloped shower floor that ponds water instead of draining
• A musty smell, or soft drywall on the other side of the shower wall

Which of these are cosmetic and which are serious?

Lippage, uneven grout lines and badly placed cuts are workmanship problems you can live with. Hollow tile, cracking that recurs after repair, ponding water and any smell or soft drywall are failures — water or movement is already at work behind the surface.

The dividing line is whether the problem is on the surface or under it. Surface problems annoy you. Substrate problems get worse and cost more the longer they run.

What should I do if my tile installation is failing?

Get it looked at before you pay for a cosmetic repair. Regrouting a shower whose waterproofing has failed hides the leak for a season and changes nothing about the cause.

We are called to redo failed installations regularly across Greenville, Taylors and Greer. We will come look, tap-test, take moisture readings and tell you plainly whether what you have is cosmetic or structural — including when the answer is that it is fine and you should leave it alone.

Can a bad tile installation be repaired, or does it need to come out?

Cosmetic problems can sometimes be improved in place. A bonding failure or a waterproofing failure cannot — those need the affected area opened, because the problem is under the tile and nothing applied on top of it reaches the cause.

We would rather tell you a repair will not hold than sell you one we know will fail. That conversation costs us the small job and is the reason we get the large one later.