Cracked tiles look bad and accumulate dirt. You have to pay money for getting the tiles repaired immediately. Such sudden expenditure can come as a setback. Tiles may crack due to different reasons but the most primary reason is a problem regarding installation of the tiles in the first place. The ceramic, porcelain and stone tiles all can get cracked and you will not be able to detect installation problems beforehand. It is true that ceramic or stone floors do not need regular maintenance and they are sturdy but still cracks may appear ruining your perfect and costly flooring.
Before the tiles are placed the sub-floor needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Inadequate cleaning procedures can make the tiles crack later on. The base over which the tiles have to be laid need to be completely clean and flat and they should not have any roughness. Vacuuming the sub-floor is the best way of getting rid of the excess rubble, oil, grease or paint. Chemicals that stay behind can weaken the mortar and make the tiles crack. Ceramic tiles should never be placed on top of plywood base. The plywood flexes with a rise in temperature and can cause the tiles to crack.
The tile will be tightly attached with the floor only if the mortar is spread properly. For big tiles the back of the tiles should be covered by mortar before placing them on top of the base. If the mortar doesn’t become hard and the tiles are placed prematurely then the tiles may break. Concrete is a bad choice of base for placing the tiles. Concrete easily expands and shrinks and also retains moisture. All these affect the tiles adversely and reduce their longevity.
A certain amount of gap has to be left between the tiles so that they can expand without colliding with each other, creating friction. Disobeying these rules can lead to tile cracks.
