Porcelain tile chipping

8 years ago

We installed wood look porcelain tile in the bedroom areas of our home on the first floor and on the entire second floor, except for the bathrooms. We choose a tile from Spain, purchased by our contractor from a reputable tile supplier. Installation was very expensive, and the tile ended up costing more than the white oak wood I was considering, but I wanted a maintenance free product.
After installation, the floor were immediately covered to protect them, and I did not have a chance to inspect the installation. Once they were uncovered, after baseboards, built-ins and closets were installed, the floors were uncovered. There was grout residue all over the floors and missing grout in some places. When the grout was cleaned, I discovered extensive chipping (over 50 chipped tiles) and some lippage. The tile installer has been fixing the chipped tiles by filling the chips, but it looks terrible. Some of the most severe lippage was fixed by replacing tiles, but the tile installer said the other lippage was normal and within industry standards. I hired a tile inspector who has reported the tile was not installed within industry standards, and that the chipping is unusual, and the filling of chips has not been done to industry standards. The inspector said I was well within my rights to demand that it all be replaced. Replacing all of the tile will require extensive work to be redone, including removing all closets and built ins, not to mention creating a mess. Our house is over a year behind schedule and this will cause further delays. I love the look of the tile, but have no idea what I should do. Our contractor is telling us once we move in, we won't notice the chips, but I think they will drive me crazy. Any advice? Below is a photo of a repaired chip and a chipped tile. Thank you.

Featured Answer

millworkman

8 years ago

" but ended up chipping some tiles around the replaced tile."

Then they keep replacing until they get it correct..................

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Comments (10)

geoffrey_b
8 years ago
Do not accept 'repaired' chips. They must be replaced. Any lippage, greater than the thickness of a credit card is not acceptable either.
jdsb2 thanked geoffrey_b
jdsb2
Original Author
8 years ago
They have replaced a few spots where the lippage was terrible, but ended up chipping some tiles around the replaced tile.
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PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
8 years ago
"but I think they will drive me crazy." You have answered your own question.
jdsb2 thanked Creative Tile Eastern CT
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I can already see that someone tried for too small grout lines with this install. I’d bet that they also had areas of 50/50 offset rather than having a maximum 1/3 offset.

This is a redo. But you need to educate yourself on LFT, and what is possible with it, so as to be careful to not instruct an installer to do things that violate industry standards.

And read this. https://www.ceramictilefoundation.org/homeowners-guide-to-hiring-qualified-tile-installer
jdsb2 thanked User
jdsb2
Original Author
8 years ago
Thank you, but I did not hire a tile installer, rather my contractor did. The tile installer was directed by my contractor and interior designer. The contractor builds very high end homes in our area and his subs are not inexpensive. The contractor also purchased the tile. I did select the tile with my interior designer and I love the look of the tile. I just don't want tile that chips easily.
asp4 aspi
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
hi! i know that this post is 2 years ago but i have the exact same problem in my new house now. My tiles is from Spain too and wood like. plz could you tell me the brand of the tiles?? I really want to know what went wrong. Sorry for my english.
jdsb2
Original Author
5 years ago
I don’t know the brand of the tile, but the problem was not the brand, it was the installation and the types of tools used when installing the grout. We decided to have about 150 tiles replaced and some chips were repaired. I am the only one who notices now. I wish we had demanded it all be placed, but I felt like had we done that our contractor was going to walk away from the job. We also held back some money from the tile installation.
asp4 aspi
5 years ago
Thank you for the reply. omg 150 tiles?!. In our case I believe is the tile. There are around 30 tiles with some chipping edges. Yesterday we accidentally dropped a very small glass bottle and the tile was chipped in the middle of the surfance. Maybe bad glazing i dont know... It is a pity to have something new

pay for it and be bad from the beginning
jdsb2
Original Author
5 years ago
Ours has not chipped from dropping stuff on it and we have had no new chips since we moved in. But, I do examine wood look porcelain tile everywhere I go, and do notice many chips. The problem is that it is not through body tile.