Ceramic Tile Water Damage

Water intrusion at a home can often result in floor tiles becoming loose.

Ceramic tile water damage.

If you leave water standing on the surface it can. The subfloor may be particle board or plywood sheet. Sometimes it is easy to tell if your tile flooring has been harmed from water damage. If the tile was not installed per industry standards then it is possible that the tiles could have been damaged to some degree from the water loss event.

There is no way the water could have migrated 10 15 feet below the tile and slab surface. Tile floors are cemented into place when they are installed. Unlike ceramic tile concrete will shrink back to its original size as it dries. In modern construction shower tile is generally installed with a moisture barrier under a base of waterproof cement board so water damage is somewhat less likely.

Note that underlayment and padding are particularly susceptible to water damage and must usually be removed. Other times it may be it bit more difficult to determine. Water damage to tile floors. The tile itself may not allow moisture to penetrate but the grout or thin lines of mortar between the tiles is susceptible to water damage.

In older homes ceramic shower tile was often installed directly over drywall. These walls are susceptible to water damage if the tile s grout joints develop gaps. However this also presents an opportunity to install new waterproof flooring in the area. This makes porcelain tile an excellent choice where you want the look of wood without wood s susceptibility to water damage.

Damage may not become evident for several. While ceramic tile generally has solid color and pattern porcelain tiles are available that are remarkably good at mimicking natural stone such as marble or even wood grains. Ceramic tile high end vinyl and certain engineered wood materials can all help protect floors against future water damage repair. By mark nation on november 29 2011.

The technical term for this is debonding of the floor tiles. Posted in homeowners insurance. Standing water does not damage ceramic floor tiles. When dried the slab returns to its original size but the ceramic tiles do not shrink back to their original size.

Ceramic floor tiles are not harmed by standing water but it can damage the grout between the tiles and detach the adhesive. The wood soaks up the water and expands causing the tile floor to buckle or tiles to become loose. However it damages the grout between the tiles loosens tile adhesive and saturates the subfloor.