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Old 01-28-2012, 11:34 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
11,495 posts, read 26,770,721 times
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My house was built in 2009. It has a slab foundation. I have ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. I've noticed that in my kids' bathroom, the tile is cracked. The crack runs diagonally across two tiles and through the grout alongside a third tile. When I first noticed the crack, it looked like a hair on the floor. It's been several months and the crack is wide enough to fit a fingernail in.

Does this sound like a crack in the foundation? Or just the tile? Nobody has dropped anything on the tile. It's in a spot usually covered by a rug (and a few layers of kid clothes). Other than the usual settling cracks you get in the corners of the ceilings of a new house, there are no other signs of foundation trouble in the house.
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Old 01-29-2012, 06:55 AM
 
Location: Charleston, SC
5,615 posts, read 14,752,427 times
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If it's a crack in tile on the 1st floor then yes, it sounds like a crack in the foundation. If it were only one tile it could possibly be inadequate thinset on the tile or a lack of backbuttering the tile while it was installed, but multiple tiles suggests it's something going on underneath the tile. Give nearby tiles a tap test to see if they've also pulled up. If it sounds hollow when you tap it with a pen the tile is no longer attached to the concrete below.
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:11 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
11,495 posts, read 26,770,721 times
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Today the crack spread...it was through three tiles, now it goes from one bathroom wall to the other. Some of the tiles along the new part of the crack do have that hollow sound.

I always thought foundation problems would be along the outer walls of the house, this is in the very center. I also thought it was something that happened to older houses. This summer we had a bad drought, but I watered the foundation like we're supposed to.

I have a warranty on the foundation, although several of my neighbors have said they think I'll have trouble getting the warranty people to cover it.
Attached Thumbnails
Cracked Ceramic Tile-diagram-house-problem.jpg  
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:42 AM
 
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I really doubt that it is a foundation issue. More likely the tiles were not properly set. The stress when there is no isolation membrane nor a proper mortar bed for tiles can easily cause them to crack, pop off, or just have a "hollow" sound.

You are absolutely correct that the vast majority of foundation issues are going to occur on the perimeter and NOT first surface near the center of the structure.

My guess is that it will be worth your peace of mind to talk to a qualified expert and have them do an on-site evaluation, but even the best equipment and the most experienced professional does not have X-ray vision and they will likely recommend ripped out all the tile and then evaluating the whole exposed area....
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Old 02-01-2012, 07:52 AM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,628,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom View Post
Today the crack spread...it was through three tiles, now it goes from one bathroom wall to the other. Some of the tiles along the new part of the crack do have that hollow sound.

I always thought foundation problems would be along the outer walls of the house, this is in the very center. I also thought it was something that happened to older houses. This summer we had a bad drought, but I watered the foundation like we're supposed to.

I have a warranty on the foundation, although several of my neighbors have said they think I'll have trouble getting the warranty people to cover it.
Why don't you chunk out the tiles and see what it looks like underneath them? Surely you can get a hammer & screwdriver and pound around the mortar and get one of the tiles up?
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Old 02-01-2012, 08:10 AM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX
11,495 posts, read 26,770,721 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirl View Post
Why don't you chunk out the tiles and see what it looks like underneath them? Surely you can get a hammer & screwdriver and pound around the mortar and get one of the tiles up?
I can. The only stumbing block to that is the hubby, who won't even let me hang pictures in his "new house". If it was just me, I'd have had those first cracked tiles up a couple months ago when I noticed the cracks.
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Old 02-01-2012, 08:25 AM
 
Location: Simmering in DFW
6,952 posts, read 22,628,025 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hedgehog_Mom View Post
I can. The only stumbing block to that is the hubby, who won't even let me hang pictures in his "new house". If it was just me, I'd have had those first cracked tiles up a couple months ago when I noticed the cracks.
Its your new house, too! Just sayin'
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Old 02-01-2012, 11:21 AM
 
600 posts, read 3,442,973 times
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The most likely culprit is subfloor/slab movement which is transferring structural stress to the tile. Tile doesn't just break. Something breaks it. And tile doesn't fracture along a specific line without some stress issue that creates the faulting or fracturing. The tile mortar (thinset) is not strong enough to create that stress. An actual mortar bed (3/4" to 1 1/4") thick is strong enough, but something has to cause that to move as well. So we're back to structural movement in the house, which moves all the time. Some houses move more than others, so the age of the house is not much of a factor, except that newer houses tend to move more than older ones which have already had time to settle.

Regards,
Streamer1212
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