Question ceramic tile experts

powerboatr

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i have never run across this type of tile problem before.
i have a floor with 16x16 tiles
three of them are loose only on less than 1/3 of the tile area, they move enough to loosen the grout and i can flex em up about 1/8 inch but the opposite sides are firmly and soundly attached to to the concrete slab. the loose tiles do not share corners eithers with each other, and one is two over from its closest loose cousin
if i pry em up i am afraid they will pop into two pieces, has anyone ever heard of or tried injecting some sort of adhesive under a tile to rebond it to the floor?
i have thought about epoxy resin using a syringe?? like we did in composite repairs?
oh and the looses ones are differnt from the others in color if it helps
the middle pic shows the upper corner were its still tight and has the dull sound when tapped vice the ping from the loose areas
thanks
robert
 

BamaSixGun

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If those tiles are loose, it would be best to go ahead and pop them up, clean where the thin-set is and reset some new tiles.

Never heard of injecting any kind of adhesive under a tile.

It may just cause more problems pb.

The problem maybe that you didn't get an even amount of thin-set under the tile
and it has worked its way loose.
 

DaveBen

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Good advice, Bama!! Remove the loose tiles, no matter what and re-thinset the new ones back in. Do it right this time.

Dave
 

powerboatr

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Good advice, Bama!! Remove the loose tiles, no matter what and re-thinset the new ones back in. Do it right this time.

Dave

yep i was leaning that way, the thinset was the same batch for the whole area, cant figure out what went wrong...cept the light colored tiles are from mexico and the dark ones are from italy :dunno these puppies have been down for over a year, with no issues then BAM out of the blue they are loose :(
guess its a smash and re-set in the AM.
good thing i have some left overs
 

Zookie400

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definatly pop them up, clean, and reset the loose guys. before all that, make sure all the floor joists and underlayment are not walking around causing the tiles to pop, or your fresh set tiles will pop again.
 

BamaSixGun

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I think he layed them on concrete Zookie, but it could have some low spots which can cause the problem he is having.

Just gotta lay a good foundation of thin-set and put even pressure all over the tile until it has that nice and floaty feeling.

Robert, make sure your thin-set is made to the right consistency. If it's too thin or runny, it just want have the
adhesive power you need, and if it's to think, it may not cure right.
 

mwalls54

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just clean the grout out as much as you can around it and try and get it up and dont pry against the tiles beside it might break more than you want. did you use a thinset that was for concrete floors? I know when i just tiled my kitchen, the tile stored had about 10 different types of thinset for different floors. good luck with it.
 

DaveBen

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Back butter the tiles AND apply thinset to the floors and that will assure good contact. You can scrape up the excess thinset, if need be.

Dave
 

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