Replacing and Restoring Tile Grout
I had new ceramic tile installed in my bathroom, but now every time I walk on it I hear a crunching sound. The grout is coming up and the tiles seem to move slightly as I walk on them. What is causing this?
It sounds like your tile was installed on a subfloor that was not completely level and secure. When laying tile, we typically recommend using cement board, such as Tilebacker or WonderBoard, as a base. If plywood is used, a minimum ¾” plywood reinforcement on top of the subfloor is necessary for a sound base. This is especially important with large tiles, which are more likely to crack without a sturdy foundation.
In your bathroom, it seems likely that either thin plywood was used, or that the cement board wasn’t screwed down securely. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. Regrouting will not solve the problem. If your tiles are moving and grout is disintegrating, the only real solution is to rip up the existing tile and install new tile.
Gina Chapman is President of Mr. Handyman of Richmond, providing Handyman Services to Richmond, Chesterfield, and Glen Allen, Virginia.
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Gina, We’ve ran into a similar problem on the first floor, between the front hallway and the kitchen with continuous tile in 3 rooms for a more than 300 sq ft, so it wasn’t practical to rip up all the tile. Fortunately the basement was unfinished so we were able to add support from underneath the floor to stop the floor from flexing which was causing the tile to crack. While not an ideal solution, it worked here because the problem was mostly under the doorways between the mudroom, kitchen and front hallway.