Rental Property Investor · Odessa, FL · Member since 2017 · 145 posts · 113 votes
This post is actually about my personal residence.
Our house was built almost 18 months ago and we're starting to notice hairline cracks on our tile flooring. Our builder warranty expired about six months ago and we already have about 4-5 tiles with these cracks. Some are pretty recent.
I'm curious if this is because of improper install, just settlement or cheap tile. We paid a pretty penny to get this tile installed and every time I find a new hairline crack I'm loosing hair from my head. Is this normal and I'm just stressing for nothing or should I start nagging the builder about this matter ?
Real Estate Agent · Tampa, FL · Member since 2017 · 191 posts · 98 votes
6y
@David Tsedaka
Hey David,
The highest probable reason is that your property is settling more than expected.
Most new builds move during the first two years since technically we are building on sand. Builders treat the concrete for this cracking along with sometimes using a thing coat of sheeting to prevent the cracking from hitting the tile.
It could also be faulty tile or bad installation.
I honestly have no idea what you can do to remedy it at this point. I’m sorry to hear that happened to you.
Realtor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2016 · 340 posts · 248 votes
6y
Hi @Account Closed,
It can be a couple of things.
Poor labor- tap the tile with a screwdriver to find the hollow parts. If there's a lot of hollow parts, it's likely they didn't use enough thin set.
Settling- This does happen. Tile is a very rigid product, and any movement can crack it. Regardless of quality, it will crack.
Thirsty slab- Concrete is super thirsty, it's part of the hydration process to make it stronger. If a slab isn't watered enough after it's poured, it will remain thirsty. So when they installed your tile with wet mud, the slab has drawn that moisture out causing it to shrink and crack. This is my educated guess since it's continuing to happen, and if the cracking is here and there in the house.