is this what i am looking for re expansion joints? i dont think the tiles are ready to come up yet... they are just wobbling at the moment... i am just presuming they will get worse... heating is off most of the time because of the weather...
Tiles starting to loosen
- Thread starter Random46
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is this what i am looking for re expansion joints? i dont think the tiles are ready to come up yet... they are just wobbling at the moment... i am just presuming they will get worse... heating is off most of the time because of the weather...
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Yes that is an expansion joint. Easily noticeable because they will be much wider than your standard grout lines.
If they can move, they should just be able to lift out, but you may need a suction pad to get it out. The only other way is to remove some of the grout and lever the tile up. Or wait until it gets worse.
How long have the tiles been down?
If they can move, they should just be able to lift out, but you may need a suction pad to get it out. The only other way is to remove some of the grout and lever the tile up. Or wait until it gets worse.
How long have the tiles been down?
There are definitely none of those anywhere. I dont know exactly how long they have been down at a guess down 6-8 months, heating was only used for 4-6 weeks prior to me moving in, the builder had the idea to put it on full and leave it on for 4 weeks to see if any cracks appeared in the house (perhaps contributing to the floor movement) ? I have only been in the house a month
I have been looking into this a bit further for you. The expansion joints and matting will definitely be needed if the floor is relaid onto the asphalt. However one other issue that I haven't considered is possible vertical movement. This will depend on the thickness of the asphalt, but as it heats up, it will also lose its viscosity and will go spongy. meaning under weight of foot traffic, it could compress and cause further difficulties with the tiles debonding and grout cracking etc.
Another thing I'd be interested to see is if the tiles have a solid bed of adhesive or whether they have been dot'n'dabbed. Do any of the tiles sound hollow?
To be honest, I cannot understand why anyone would think it be correct to put asphalt over heating. Truth is everything I have said above to fix it still has a slim chance of failing. But the recommended fix I would be switching to, is to remove the asphalt completely, and lay a sand:cement screed and tile onto that.
Asphalt is normally used to damp-proof a floor, which could mean they forgot to insert a DPM further down the floors construction. But whatever the reason, its not your fault its gone wrong. You should still be gunning for the house builder and their merry band of fixers to get this fixed at their cost.
Another thing I'd be interested to see is if the tiles have a solid bed of adhesive or whether they have been dot'n'dabbed. Do any of the tiles sound hollow?
To be honest, I cannot understand why anyone would think it be correct to put asphalt over heating. Truth is everything I have said above to fix it still has a slim chance of failing. But the recommended fix I would be switching to, is to remove the asphalt completely, and lay a sand:cement screed and tile onto that.
Asphalt is normally used to damp-proof a floor, which could mean they forgot to insert a DPM further down the floors construction. But whatever the reason, its not your fault its gone wrong. You should still be gunning for the house builder and their merry band of fixers to get this fixed at their cost.
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As its a small developer, I think they would rather go bust than fix it, ive been down the route before of taking people to court for poor workmanship, it never amounts to anything but more costs for me and no outcome, and lots of sleepless nights..
I have no idea about the asphalt its solid flooring across 2 whole floors all asphalt in every room so a vast amount of floors.. i am not sure it can be removed safely with ufh underneath it.. nor could i afford to and i would imagine there is more chance of pigs flying than the developer doing it. On one of the carpets I took up to replace with a karndean floor, they flooring guy said this floor sounds hollow? and is VERY uneven... so i guess that gives some ideas also, they screeded it before laying the floor but to be honest their work was not great either, floor is very uneven so needs taking up again ... seems ive been very unlucky every single time ive had work done with dodgy trades people.
When a tile comes loose enough i will pull it up to see how its fixed to the floor... I would guess there is a full contact patch as walking around where its not loose it really feels like your on a solid floor.
I have no idea about the asphalt its solid flooring across 2 whole floors all asphalt in every room so a vast amount of floors.. i am not sure it can be removed safely with ufh underneath it.. nor could i afford to and i would imagine there is more chance of pigs flying than the developer doing it. On one of the carpets I took up to replace with a karndean floor, they flooring guy said this floor sounds hollow? and is VERY uneven... so i guess that gives some ideas also, they screeded it before laying the floor but to be honest their work was not great either, floor is very uneven so needs taking up again ... seems ive been very unlucky every single time ive had work done with dodgy trades people.
When a tile comes loose enough i will pull it up to see how its fixed to the floor... I would guess there is a full contact patch as walking around where its not loose it really feels like your on a solid floor.
I could be wrong, but looking at that picture, the blue plastic could be a corner curl of the DPM. if it is, then asphalt was not needed and has made the situation worse. The encasing cement screed is fine, but an alternative finishing layer like a latex SLC would have been better.
I can't see the asphalt in the image so I will wait until a tile comes up before commenting further.
I can't see the asphalt in the image so I will wait until a tile comes up before commenting further.
I am gonna speak to builder today and see if I can get a diagram what's under there...after some reading last night I'm concerned the asphalt floors simply move when heated ...depends on the type of asphalt it seems at what temp it softens ? But am I right in thinking this could be true?
Even my other floors for example where the dining room floor was fitted it had a self leveller put down before the karndean now ... did they get it so wrong or has the floor moved...because it's resembling the north Sea atm..
Even my other floors for example where the dining room floor was fitted it had a self leveller put down before the karndean now ... did they get it so wrong or has the floor moved...because it's resembling the north Sea atm..
Here is the floor design
From clay ground strata approx 200 mm of compacted mot stone fill, 25 mm of sand blinding , plastic membrane , Jablite insulation , 200 mm reinforced concrete slab , underfloor heating pipework fast end to secured plastic rail system , approx 65 mm floor screed , with approximately 18 mm of asphalt underneath the carpeted area's but not under tiles.
From clay ground strata approx 200 mm of compacted mot stone fill, 25 mm of sand blinding , plastic membrane , Jablite insulation , 200 mm reinforced concrete slab , underfloor heating pipework fast end to secured plastic rail system , approx 65 mm floor screed , with approximately 18 mm of asphalt underneath the carpeted area's but not under tiles.
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