Help!: Hollow section under porcelain 600 x 600 tile, floor finished 2 months ago.

[Tilesponge]

Hi,

I had the whole bottom floor of my house tiled with 600 x 600 polished porcelain. Great job but there is a single tile where one corner (say 200 x 200) is hollow underneath (hollow sound when I rap it with my knuckles). I'm really worried about this breaking when one of my kids inevitably jumps on it. Is there any way to fill the hollow space under the tile without disturbing the tile? The grouting is about 3mm wide.

Thanks guys!

[Mike]

it would be best to have the tile re-laid. did you get a pro to do it? ask him to come back do it. i hope it's not been dot and dabbed or you could have more like that which over time you may notice. if you are doing the job yourself cut all the grout lines around the tile (carefully) with a stanley knife then smash the 'hollow' tile to remove. if you try lifting with a screwdriver/ chisel etc chances are you'll damage the other tile. good luck

[Billy Hunt]

Chances of it breaking with kids jumping on it are slim I would say,but if you have paid a pro to do this job why not call him back to replace?not a difficult job and piece of mind for you.

[Dave]

I would just leave it be, call the fixer back if it breaks.. and that is if..

[easyt]

If I had paid to have the whole ground floor tiled and found one with a hollow beneath I would want it replacing for peice of mind and to see what the adjacent ones are like.

[kilty55]

hi sponge how long has the floor been down? maybe ask your tiler to come back and change that 1 tile

[easyt]

hi sponge how long has the floor been down? maybe ask your tiler to come back and change that 1 tile

The clue is in the Title K. (2 months)

[diamondtiling]

Its not broke so leave it for the time being.

[kilty55]

The clue is in the Title K. (2 months)

lol..let me get a coffee

[easyt]

The thing though Diamond is how did the OP know. Unless he has sounded them all it could well be one that he walks on regularly and has noticed the sound when he steps on it.

[diamondtiling]

I know what you mean easy but its not broke.

[timeless john]

Make the original tiler aware of your concern.
Just be sure you've got some spare tiles of the same batch.
Keep off the stilleto heels and leave alone.

[garythetiler]

cut out the grout joint at right angles to where the hollow area is pour water down the joint until it wont take any more mix up a slurry or grout and water and add some bonding agent in it,pour this over the joint and the slurry is pulled under the tile as the specific gravity of the slurry displaces the water, keep going over the joints until all the water is displaced and then clean the area leave for 24 hrs and then tap the tile it will be 100% solid and you wont have to lift any tiles up

[Tilesponge]

Wow! Thanks for all the replies guys. I'm going to give the last post a go and if it works great. If not, no harm done. Plan B is to leave as is but keep a spare tile and flag it up to the tiler that he might be coming back. Thanks, TS

[taran]

Hi All = TileSponge - Did this method work.

I also have a similar problem on 600 x 300 polished porcelain. The tiles were laid on a 9mm bed of white rapidset, but I have found that there are maybe 10 tiles that sound hollow on some parts of the tile. There is glue underneath, and when tapped I get a short hollow sound, were the tile is hitting the glue underneath quite quickly - almost as if the adhesive hasnt bonded to the tile in a few places, - the rest of the floor is great, with no issues. Any advise would be great - also I havent had it grouted yet, as it needs to be sealed first....

[Sir Ramic]

What adhesive was used ?

[taran]

A white rapidset adhesive (Stonefix) which is for porcelain. I have had another look, and when tapped it feels like the tile is hitting the adhesive underneath, there must be a gap which is very small.

[taran]

Also It hasnt been grouted yet, not sure if that will help?

Ordered the sealers (Ultra Solv) by aqua mix which I will start on tomorrow, but wanted to know if I should rectify this issue first by possibly doing what "garythetiler" suggested above....

[Dave]

Were the tiles back skimmed and then set into adhesive bed..?

I use Stonefix and it is a good adhesive... S1 as well.

[taran]

not they were not back skimmed - after some research I also thought this could be a reason.

Only having this issue with a handful (Max 10 out of 220 tiles laid)

Do you think the solution advised on page 1 of this forum will work?

Or is it worth using a epoxy grout to give extra strenght?

[Dave]

If the tile is loose then IMO it needs to be re-fixed..

[taran]

No wasnt back skimmed, one one of the tiles is loose enough to remove without damadging, the rest are loose on just some areas i.e. one one side of the tile or a small area of it.

Dave do you think garys suggestion is worth a try on the one which are well stuck down on the majority of the tile?

[jay]

The tile that is loose lift it and take a picture so we can see what the problem is , no epoxy grout wont solve your problem . was the tiler notified of this problem

[taran]

Hi

Will try and get pics done later today/tomorrow

Tile was my friend, hes not a pro - hes a brickie by trade, but his tiling is good also. Couldnt afford a pro unfortunately!

Hes gone cyprus for a week or 2, so wanted advice here, so I dont have to wait for him to get back to rectify the problem - hes a good guy and would come back if I asked!

Loose tile or 2 I dont mind removing and relaying, its the ones that have not stuck properly i.e a corner, or one side etc - there are cira 10 tiles in question