My 12x24 Porcelain Floor tiles

10 years ago

I purchased 12x24 rectified porcelain tiles for my kitchen and family room floor. They were installed on the slab using brick pattern with 1/16" grout line. However after the installation, I noticed the majority of tiles are bowed. They look really bad. The installer stated that the tiles this size are always bowed. Are the rectified tiles supposed to be bowed? If not, is the store selling them responsible for the defect? I appreciate any helpful advice. Thanks.
Jennifer

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PRO

R H Kitchen and Bath Ltd

10 years ago

I've heard of incidents like this due to the installation method. You need to know what kind of thinset was used underneath them and what kink of substrate if any was used. And you need to check with the manufacturer about the recommended installation method and type of thinset to use with these tiles then you can pinpoint what happened. If you have some leftover of the tile put one full tile on a flat surface like granite countertop and tap the corners and see if the tile was perfectly flat before the installation (if the tile rocks then it was not flat since the beginning), this will give you an idea on the tiles condition before and after the installation.

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Comments (6)

rinked
10 years ago
Get a second opinion from another installer.
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cdsimmons1
10 years ago
I just recently layed 12x24 porcelain tile in my kitchen and dining room. I was told many times that porcelain tiles that size, will almost always be bowed. Another factor would be the offset that they used for installing. The best method is said to be a 1/3 offset. It puts the areas of high and low warpage adjacent to one another. A 50/50 offset puts the area of highest warpage next to an area of the lowest lippage, so it makes it quite noticeable. I learned all of this the hard way after installation. No matter what anyone told me, I had to have a 50/50 offset. However, with a lot of mortar, you can counter some of the tile warpage.
PRO
Select Hardwood Floor Co.
10 years ago
Ahhh... more tributes to porcelain tile...
PRO
Cicely Hall Design
9 years ago
The problem could be the quality of the tile. Many inexpensive large tiles are bowed, which will affect the installation. Of course that doesn't help, if the job is completed, and custom orders generally aren't returnable even if they haven't been installed already.
PRO
David J. Design Inc.
9 years ago
I agree with cdsimmons1, when the tile has a bow the right way is to lay them in a 1/3, 2/3 grid not a 1/2 brick pattern. Your installer should have said something at the start before laying them.