Product category:
Floors
News Release from: Contract Flooring Magazine | Subject: Floor Tiling Problems
Edited by the Buildingtalk Editorial
Team on 12 August 2005
Technical article on Floor Tiling
Problems
Contract Flooring Magazine series that focuses on the laying of floor tiles and the dreaded problem of Tiling Shift.
Contract Flooring Magazine publishes advice in the 'Advice From Experts' section of the magazine and has a series that focuses on the laying of floor tiles and the dreaded problem of Tiling Shift Each article is published from editorial supplied to Contract Flooring Magazine by Schluter-Systems, as most will already know, experts in this field
This article was originally published on Buildingtalk on 20 Jun 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Laying of floor tiles - problem of Tiling Shift.
Contract Flooring Magazine publishes an advice in the 'Advice From Experts' section of the magazine and has a series that focuses on the laying of floor tiles and the dreaded problem of Tiling Shift.
Installing Ceramic Tiling
Answering frequently asked questions about the installation of ceramic tiling.
This month we focus on the following: Movement Joints -- Why? Where and How.
Ceramic and stone tile installations can be subjected to a variety of strains and stresses leading to tiles bulging, cracking, or becoming detached from the substrate.
The correct placing of appropriate stress-relieving movement joints will absorb many of these strains, preventing damage.
Further reading
Fast Track Pumped Industrial Floor Screeds
Cyril Potter, Chief Chemist at Ardex UK, discusses fast track pumped industrial floor screeds.
Practical Aspects Of Applying Pumped Screeds
Technical Director Of Ardex UK, S.A. Brooks, takes an in depth look at practical aspects of applying pumped screeds.
Installation Of Ceramic Tiling
Cyril Potter, Chief Chemist at ARDEX UK Limited answers questions typically asked regarding the installation of ceramic tiling.
Therefore, movement joints are an essential part of any tiling installation and should be incorporated at the design stage.
However, most calls to our technical support service from architects, specifiers and tilers relate to movement joint recommendations or application problems.
Amongst the many factors causing ceramic tiles to move, are significant changes in atmospheric temperature, weight loading, traffic density, rigid attachments such as fixed plant, pillars etc., and thermal and moisture movements in the structural base, background and tiling.
Movement joints create a tile field which moves independently from those around it, and should be included at set distances in floor and wall tiles, in accordance with recommendations from the British Standards Institution (BSI).
BS 5385 says the maximum tile field should be no more than ten metres in each direction for floors -- but in practice, depending on the application and the aesthetic possibilities, it tends to be between five and eight metres on floors, and every three to four-point-five metres for walls.
Because there are specific movement joints for specific types of application, most tiling failures are caused by using joints that are not suitable for what is being asked of them A typical installation should include movement joints within the tiled area itself and on internal corners of walls, along with the floor-to-wall connection.
They should also be used at the perimeter of applications of over two metres, or where there is excessive thermal and vibration movement.
Installers and specifiers should always refer to the BSI recommendations for specific applications.
There are different widths of pre-formed movement joints, and the correct width and material (brass, aluminium, stainless steel and PVC) must be specified to take thermal movement into account, along with traffic density.
If the wrong one is specified the installation is likely to fail.
The amount of movement that can be absorbed depends on the size of the joint and the compressible material used.
Pre-formed surface joints will usually accommodate movement up to 20% of the movement zone width.
Therefore, a 10mm joint will extend and compress by approximately 2mm.
Schluter's largest movement joint, the DILEX-KS, which is 15mm wide with a movement zone of 11mm, will accommodate tile movement up to 2.5mm.
Along with the wrong type of joint being specified, other common mistakes include failing to lay a movement joint where the substrate changes.
In renovation work, tilers could find they're having to put one tiled surface over two abutting substrates such as timber and concrete.
Because the two substrates will move differently, it's essential to install movement joints immediately above the junction.
And yet I've lost count of the number of times I've personally discovered this to be the cause of tiling failures.
Another common problem occurs when tiling first-floor bathrooms.
A movement joint must be inserted where the floor goes over a structural beam or where there's a supporting wall below.
I've been on site numerous times where the tiles have split straight down the middle of the room.
Giving thought to the tile setting-out and choosing the correct joint would alleviate these problems.
Because tilers, architects and specifiers generally know that movement joints must be used, the problem is lack of knowledge of which joint to opt for.
The BSI says that ultimately the specifier is responsible for choosing the right joints and deciding where they'll be positioned.
But we've found that some specifiers aren't fully aware of exactly what is required of them regarding tiling installations, so it generally falls on tilers to make informed recommendations.
However, that depends on how knowledgeable the tiler is.
In a nutshell, aluminium is ideal for commercial use, whereas brass and stainless steel are used for heavy commercial and industrial projects such as warehousing, production facilities and airports -- and where the tiled surface is cleaned by a scrubbing machine, or where there are rolling loads such as pallet trucks and metal-rimmed trolleys.
Stainless steel is also ideal where chemicals are used, such as laboratories and food processing plants.
PVC can be used for residential and medium duty commercial applications including offices and swimming pools, and areas subject to light mechanical loading such as showrooms and car dealerships.
There are many situations, each with their own technically engineered solution in the form of the correct movement joint.
And any number of movement joints would be wrong for each installation.
So it's no surprise to both Schluter and the Royal Institute of British Architects that there is a problem in the field.
Therefore, Schluter, the world market-leader, has become part of the RIBA provider network, delivering to architects, specifiers and tilers, a RIBA Continuing Professional Development programme: "Ceramic Tile Movement Joints -- Why, Where, How".
This is in addition to full technical back-up for individual projects, and training present and future tilers on how to install the joints correctly.
It's attention to detail that counts: the success of all installations is down to detail.
So it's in everyone's interest that ceramic and stone tiles are installed with the correct movement joints.
Where the wrong joint is used, it's a disaster waiting to happen.
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