Cracked Grout

[Time's Ran Out]

You will always get movement between different materials especially at the edges where skirting would normally cover this.
Your builder has suggested it's the stairs that's moving so not a tiling issue.
A good honest opinion - If the photos are the worst of the problem then a tube of Silicon will alleviate your worries.

 

[natalie stanley]

I hope it's the worst. If I can prove the creak is coming from the stairs I'll be happy. What bothers me, is that the cracks are not just running through the middle of the grout but also at he bottom on the side of the grout, as if the floor tiles are coming away from it..

 

[Bill]

I hope it's the worst. If I can prove the creak is coming from the stairs I'll be happy. What bothers me, is that the cracks are not just running through the middle of the grout but also at he bottom on the side of the grout, as if the floor tiles are coming away from it..

From those photos you have shown, I would not be worried as it looks just like a perimeter movement and not a lateral one that could cause cracks in the tiles. Try not to worry and let your tiler sort it out.

 

[Flintstone]

Grout up to skirting boards is always gonna settle with a slight movement like that, just have him Silicon it, job done, if there is no cracks or loose tiles on the floor, stop worrying.

 

[J Sid]

Everyone is assuming there is no bounce or movement on the 18mm ply floor, a bit thin I think if going over joists.
What was the ply fixed to? Joists? Chipboard floating floor?, should the floor make up and the possibly of bounce not be ruled out first!
If there is to much movement / bounce in the floor then the first sign of problems would be perimeter cracking at high foot fall area's such as doorways and base of stairs.
Floor may, and I hope it is, be well layed and fine, with just a bit of cracking between tile and wood, which should have been a movement joint anyway.
But if its not, best to find out now before builder / tiler disappears.

 

[Bill]

Julian. I think you are over playing this. You are making this tiler sound like a cowboy.

 

[J Sid]

You are probably right Tom 😉
I do not intend to make him sound like a cowboy, just after more info.
The tiler may well have done a top job and done every bar the perimeter by the book and everything is good.
But when I see 18mm ply and no movement joints around the perimeter alarm bells start ringing for me.
If Natalie can confirm the complete floor make up and there is no bounce or movement in the floor and it is not as I think it is, then I will go back and hide under my stone 😉

 

[Bill]

One more point, these are the only cracks, so far, after 9 months of tiling?.... next to the busiest part of the floor....ie swinging on the stair posts as you go up and down.... looks like a normal family house to me!

 

[J Sid]

Yes Tom, it has been a while since its been finished, and agree that if its only these perimeter cracks then all should be fine. I was only after more information re make up of floor before I would say 'all's good and there should be no more problems down the road'
Trouble is, I have seen 18mm ply over joists fail many years down the line due to moisture/damp getting in from under the floor.

 

[natalie stanley]

Hi all thanks for your replies so far.

The stairs that meet cracked grout - there's only 3 of them and so no stair posts to be swinging from.

Just to give you some background - I first had the floor done in october 2013 by a builder who did lots of other work for me. To cut a long story short, he didn't do a good job with the subfloor so the whole floor had to come up. He hadn't screwed the ply down enough and cracks started to appear in the tiles.

I then got the whole thing done again, this time using professional tilers who were fully aware of my previous disaster.

The tilers strengthened the sub floor themselves putting in additional noggins and laying ditra on top on the ply.

Around a month later I noticed a crack running horizontally across the grout right next to the back door to the garden. I was told it was nothing to worry about by the tiler.

Recently (a month ago) I spotted another line of cracked grout, this time by the stairs. This one is worrying me the most because I can determine if the creak is coming from the stairs or floor.

The cracked grout in this area is getting worse I'm guessing and hoping because we walk up and down those stairs several times a day. Please note there's only 2 of us that live there.

Given what happened previously i would like to think the tilers were extra cautious but I'm obviously a little anxious due to what happened before.

The tiler who did the work came to look at the cracks a few weeks ago and was of course very keen to point out that he had followed building regulations and that he thought it could be movement in the house as it's so old and not unusual for this to happen. I've spoken to other people and my builder friend and he said the joists would and should be independent from the walls therefore movement in the house wouldn't impact the floor.

Just to note, I have a cellar and can see under that part of the floor where the cracked grout/stairs is so will get a torch to it this weekend to have a look.

I truly hope it's just a case of 2 different materials meeting.

Any further advice would greatly appreciated.

Thanks